<< hmm...never played CS, only RTCW MP (extensively) and a bit of the QIII demo. Is CS *that* much better to warrant getting it? >>
As someone who has played a ton of CS, I'd say no. It's fun and all, but I don't like how it's a weird middle ground between teamplay and run-n-gun (a la Q3)...it's all "haul ass to the choke points and then deathmatch til it's over". If I just want to run around killing stuff, I play UT or Q3...if I want real team play with emphasis on stealth and tactics, I play Ghost Recon (pretty hooked on it at this point). The maps are so big and open on GR that you are really forced to employ small squad tactics if you want to stay alive for more than 10 sec...try to run across an open area with no covering fire and you are a dead duck for sure.
Of course, CS is really cheap (free if you already have Half-Life) so there's not really any reason not to give it a try.
Fausto