Battle Carnival vs Counter-Strike
Battle Carnival
Battle Carnival is a unique MMO shooter game that attempts to combine the strategy that goes into character-switching in character-based shooters like Overwatch with the somewhat arcade-like gameplay that the fans of the age-old yet iconic franchise, Counter Strike, might be very familiar with. Featuring 7 early access characters that you can access right from the start, the game puts a lot of emphasis on the roles these characters can play and how by switching some of them up, your team may be able to counter the enemy's lineup. Of course, knowing how to aim is still a crucial skill needed in any MMO shooter.The game provides 2 game modes at the moment - Demolition and Domination. Demolition is the clear favorite since the 5-vs-5 matches there are usually pretty fast-paced - 3 mins per round and the game can be won simply by winning 5 rounds. Domination, however, is slower-paced and features the "capture and hold the area" gameplay. It's a 6-vs-6 match that can last up to 12 minutes or so. The maps are all very well-designed with multiple flanking and outflanking routes, though some may complain that the maps are confusing and "maze-like".
Battle Carnival is currently in early access and as such, the game does have plenty of problems that need to be fixed, areas that need improving and of course, more features and content that need to be released. The player population is a bit on the low end as well. Regardless, the game does seem to have a potential to fill a niche that buy-to-play shooters have hogged and with changes, it can be better. In the meantime though, you might still want to give the game a try, just so you can let the developers know about your feedback and help them turn the game into a game you'd want to stick around in.
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is one of the the pioneers of the team-based multiplayer, action-shooter game genre and it is thanks to these games that we now have games like Combat Arms or even Blacklight. That said, you probably have heard of Counter-Strike so I'll keep this simple. The game places you into a team - either as Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists - before the match and your team will be given an objective to do, be it taking out enemy sites, rescue hostages or simply taking out the other team. For the "vanilla" version of Counter-Strike, the multiplayer community is pretty nice overall and definitely not as toxic as in the latest installment.However, the graphics can be rather painfully outdated in this game. So, unless you are feeling nostalgic or if you don't really mind old graphics, then Counter-Strike might just be the game for you.