"Let's say that I've logged 1,000 hours playing Counter-Strike in all its many forms all the back to when it wasn't even barely known about. I learned the AWP & the DEAGLE first like any other noob. THen I learned the other, more challenging guns."
Uhh, back then my favorite weapon was the knife since you could run so fast. The burst weapons were also really good because you could mow down 3-4 people with head shots on one clip coming around a corner (when the weapons were actually accurate). Remember bunny hopping? But then you could also run while sniping
For me the fun in that game started going downhill around beta 5 when they made movement really slow, and then 6 or 7 when they made weapon recoil really lame. It just wasn't that fun anymore to me.