One of the newer source maps, compound is an industrial setting, with a small open warehouse behind which a shed holds three hostages. A large chimney dominates the skyline, and an upper walkway leads into a smaller building. From the vantage point above, windows can be utilised to snipe on the enemy CT below. CT's spawn in a larger warehouse at the other end of the map and can employ at least three routes to gain access to the compound and the prisoners.

I spawn as Terrorist. With my opening 800 dollars, I buy a p228 pistol (nice sharp sound and quick fire-rate.) I forego the comfort zone of a Kevlar body shield for two flashbangs and a couple of clips of ammo. It’s a pistol round, so lots of bullets is good.

The CT's can scale a wall directly from their spawn, by jumping onto a couple of scrap vehicles. A risky strategy but it can pay off if T's are not vigilant enough to cover it quickly, especially as it allows the rescuers to infiltrate the upper gantry, via an open back door.

I run to the corner of our spawn warehouse, and sure enough the first helmeted head pops up onto the wall. He's not even bobbing up and down for a recce, but leaps straight over into the main compound - a bit surprising, if not openly naïve. I squeeze off three rounds; two into his body and one in the head. Just as well I do, because his mate has followed him - obviously trying for a surprise rush. None of my teammates are aware of this yet. Some are camping in the upper walkway, and some on the roof of the shed holding the collateral. I hit the radio command "Taking fire, need assistance" but it will take time for reinforcements, if they come at all.

I have to decide whether to throw a flashbang, giving me time to reload while he is disoriented, or use the remaining eight bullets in my clip to bring him down. I figure it is worth the risk, even though I am less than the ideal distance from my target. I spray while advancing, clicking away furiously and finally the eighth bullet caps him. He must have bought armour and gone light on ammo.

Elevated walkway with sniper window

Backtracking now, I am skirting the same low wall, which runs the length of the compound. I can hear movements behind the wall, so I guess the CT's are advancing low, using the masonry as cover. I inch through some low, weedy scrub, to where the passage flutes open into the main compound and lob a flashbang over the wall. I hear scurrying, a sure sign of panicky blindness.

If an enemy flashbang goes over your shoulder, it rarely blinds you fully, so you tend to remain in position, knowing that the enemy thinks you are blind and will come out of hiding. Hearing the sounds of retreat makes me confident. I pop around the corner and cap two more. One is facing the wall, clearly disoriented. He is easy meat. The other has managed to scuffle up the side of a shipping container, and is waiting for his senses to come back. No such luck, he is despatched cleanly as the headshot icon flashes up and the quake style "Headshot" voice booms out in affirmation.

I am killed by an alert third CT as he rounds another container into my path. His USP pistol cracks twice and I succumb, the lack of armour ultimately making me vulnerable. I collate damage fatally in short measure. However, the camping T's at the back of the warehouse do their job, and the CT charge is thwarted.

The next round, by virtue of the three kills and a terrorist win, I can afford an AK-47 and some Kevlar. I also pick up a HE grenade and a flashbang. I go around the opposite side of the warehouse and catch the same CT climbing over in the same spot, the only difference being I am now on his left, crouching at base of a chainlink fence. Although he is more wary this time, he is looking for me on the right and I have all the time in the world to steady my hand and line him up, a rare luxury. A two-shot burst from the AK topples him backwards, his skull holed. I assume he couldn't afford a helmet that time.

Vantage point for CT’s coming over wall.

Another bod pops up over the wall, but he is hampered by his colleague's lolling corpse. It is the same pair of jokers as before, I realise, and this one actually makes it to the ground before I wheel the Ak around, compensating for the recoil by aiming at his middle and squeezing off three rounds. The resultant burst rakes him from chest to head vertically, the muzzle still rising like a straining beast. I stay a moment, pausing to lob a HE gren over the wall in case there are any more. If there are, they are prudently staying with cover. I will go on to employ the same tactic, no fewer than five times, and kill the same person, shown on the scoreboard below as 'TheMaestro' on each occasion. I can't believe my luck, and, whilst admiring his tenacity, I cannot help but think, disparagingly : noob.

After eight or so rounds I am auto-switched by the server, which compensates for skill imbalance on the teams by moving stronger players to support the weaker squad. A good plugin, ensuring fair teams. Upon joining the CT team, I realise just how disorganised and reckless they are. Everybody is ignoring the main, partly-swung gate into the compound because it is too obvious, and a bloodbath for advancing CT's. However, the terrorists have become sloppy, and no-one is guarding it. They are all frag-hunting up the walled side of the compound.

I call two CT's and take them to the entrance with me. As I inch between the double wide gates into open ground, I see a solitary T camping sixty feet away, near the hostages shed. I crouch, and take him with a two-shot burst from the silenced M1 Colt assault rifle, the CT signature weapon. The two covering teammates do a good job too, taking out snipers, one in the upper gantry window, and another in a tall glass window facing a mezzanine floor to the side. He jerks spasmodically as he is peppered with Steyr Aug bullpup fire. He flumps dramatically to the ground, twenty feet below, accompanied by a shower of falling glass.

We continue on, skirting the side of the Terrorist warehouse to our target, a small ramshackle shed with a wooden outbuilding. We can hear gunfire, but it is distant. The exchanges are probably coming from pinned-down CT's as the T's try to storm their spawn, and the hostage rescue area.

Main double gate into Terrorist spawn compound

There is a small possibility that a T is hiding in the shed, using the Hossies as human shields. This is a tactic I favour if the Terrorist cause is not going well. You can crouch directly behind a hostage on the back wall of the shack, and watch for the door opposite opening to signal a CT incursion. Keep an eye out above too, where - courtesy of some missing roof timbers - you can spot if they are clambering on the roof. It is a nice tight position, and difficult to attack without incurring damage. I can usually bank on two or three kills before being overwhelmed. Occasionally there's a glorious one-man rout of the CT squad, which brings whiny taunts of "camper" to which the retort is : "You're right, I should just stand at the door like a fucking concierge, so you can saunter in and get the hossies, you muppets."

Shed roof with view of hostages below

In truth the Terrorists should camp, or at least confine themselves to their immediate surroundings. But if the CT's are not aggressive enough in rushing, it will become a bloodbath. Terrorists can pile in towards CT spawn from either side of the compound and over the wall. They can also boss the show from above, stalking the connecting upper walkway, opening up the map and stifling CT assault attempts. This is more or less the scenario we are facing now, with the advantage that our sneak attack offers up a ripely unprotected base.

I use the radio command "hold this position" just outside the door of the shack. Clambering onto an oil reservoir at the back, and up onto the shed roof, using my "walk" sidebutton on the mouse to maximise stealth. I can see nothing, but toss in an FB just in case. A shrill cry of "Owww my eyes" floats up from below, but it’s only the hostages who are temporarily inconvenienced. All for the greater good, of course.

Tapping X and 1, my radio bleats "Go, go, go!" and my companions storm the shed. "Get me out of here" and "OK I'll go with you.." report back. The hossies are following us now, and luckily no T's are in earshot to be alerted by their squawking.

Shack containing the hostages.

A teammate leads, the three hostages follow, and myself and another cover behind. We go directly toward the same gate we entered. Thirty feet from there, the hostage rescue point beckons, but we know there are Tango's milling around in the CT spawn area. By this time we are the only remaining CT’s. We can hear raking gunfire inside our small warehouse, in the dark corners where they believe we may be spawn camping. Tellingly, this unnerves the leading CT, and he hesitates fatally at the gate. Framed in the sunlight, he presents a big target for the emerging enemy. The camoe'd up Terrorist has a mac10 machine pistol and it barks hungrily at a fierce rate. The frozen CT is mown down, and there are more T's gravitating to the centre of the disturbance. He should at least have had the presence of mind to hit C and 2 - "Enemy spotted" to alert us.

We try to salvage the situation, by remaining behind the protective gate (X and 2 - "Team - fall back!") We corral the hossies again, doubling back to try and take the other route, up by the walled area. The clock is running down, though. It's doubtful whether we can detour and still arrive at the opposite rescue point in time. The matter is taken out of our hands as a flashbang turns my mind supernova white, and a rising clarion of dizzying reverb assails my ears. Simultaneously, T's spill into the main compound. My vision slowly clears, only to see gobbets of blood spurting out from holes in my combats. I don't need the benefit of returning sound to know I am doomed, riddled by the combined gunsong of four or five T weapons. We go down in a hail of lead. Hostages too are felled, indiscriminately slain in the crossfire. Terrorists win, but they will lose money for killing the hostages.

Final scorecard.

We salvage pride by winning the rest of the remaining three rounds. We become better organised, splitting up into groups. One party tries their luck over the wall. Another, the main gate and a third sidle in a crouching shuffle up the walled area itself. They cannot cover our pincer-like efforts, and we mop them up easily, forcing them on the defensive. We are finally able to pour over the wall en masse, and file through the back door, up a ladder and into their upper gantry corridor area, effectively sealing them inside their warehouse and the hossie shed, where some frantic gunplay secures a 10-4 final result in the Terrorist's favour. You can see from some of the individual CT scores they were under the cosh for much of the game, but we did manage to pull it back somewhat towards the end.

July 2006

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