A small buy zone is located smack in the middle of the map making buy aliases almost a must for die hard Iceworld players. The map, although frowned upon by many CS purists, has become a hotspot for run & gun players who don't want to worry about objectives. In pubs, how many of us do worry about them, anyway? Yeah, that's right, who cares about rules!? Iceworld is a simple no-BS map: kill or be killed (oh, wait, I already used that cliché).

With the recent wave of Iceworld-only servers, many players are now developing tactics never before seen on your standard Counter-Strike map. How many times have you seen a guy charge and leap on top of a wall to attack an onslaught of enemies in Italy? How many times have you seen a guy jump over a wall to score a knife kill on some unsuspecting enemy's noggin? Odds are you never have outside of Iceworld.  Iceworld's sheer size, or lack thereof, makes things like this possible.

What is one to do when you turn a corner with nothing but a Mac-10 and see a handful of CT's waiting to dispose of you? Your options are quite limited. You can always choose the obvious and easy choice of death. Just stand there squeezing off rounds until you're met with a nice headshot. Hey, now that you're dead, it's time to socialize! Grab that microphone and make some friends!

You could always run away, which is somewhat entertaining. There is a problem with running though: you will eventually see the same group of ravenous opponents ready to kill you, only at a different location. It's a lose-lose situation. Last but not least you can decide to metaphorically morph into Neo or an Agent. How is this possible? Simple! Run at them with guns blazing, jump on one of those random rock walls like you are something special and just fire away until either you, or your enemies, are dead. Ten bucks says you end up dead, but now you have a story to tell.

"Oh man, you guys see me die!?!? I was just like freakin' Neo jumping on that wall with my UZI!" Afterward you will realize what a super-geek you are and just sit there in shame, pondering the meaning of your existence. Of course, there is that slight possibility you end up winning this fight, leaving you to answer the many claims that you cheat and/or happen to be a very lonely person.


What is one to do when you with your five live teammates are left to seek and destroy one poor enemy bastard? Well, this one's a no-brainer, pull out a knife! You will find there are two, and only two types, of lone gunmen in Iceworld. There is the guy who goes out in glory and the guy who sits behind a rock, wets himself, and eventually dies a shameful death. The player who goes out in glory is generally more respectful after being knifed to death. Do not be surprised to read 'LOL,' or 'Nice job guys' after you have sliced and diced him.

The other guy will probably hit you with a 'loser' or 'h4x0r!' comment. The most gratifying way to kill this guy is to find the wall he's hiding under, jump over it, land on his thick cranium and dig that six inch piece of metal down his throat. You will then receive many cheers from the other dead players when the new round starts. Make sure to be a jerk though and hit the victim with some CS trash talk. "How'd that knife taste, bud?" is received fairly well these days. Avoid the clichés though, such as, "n00bed" or I "rox0red your boxers," which never ceases to confuse me. Last time I checked, it's a good thing to have your boxers rocked!

The suicide tactic seems to be used by quite a few people on Iceworld. Create a bind to buy an HE Grenade and pick one up towards the end of a round. Being as most players have no Kevlar, they will be susceptible to heavy grenade damage. Take out your Grenade, pull the pin, and just run around with it. When the opposing team finds you and kills you they have a little explosion to greet them, usually killing them. If you get too tired of running just stop in a corner, duck, drop and blow up! Cheers will reign from the rafters of Iceworld as your carcass is seen flying through the air.

Iceworld manages to combine the weapons of CS with the thrill of redundant deathmatch. Take a break from the four billion Dust servers that exist and just shoot stuff. Throw your 'realistic' tactics out the window and have some fun.