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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is an objective-based MMO tactical shooter and the fourth game in the main Counter-Strike Franchise. Players compete in numerous game modes and across a wide variety of maps to complete objectives and eliminate enemy players.
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Publisher: Valve Corporation Playerbase: High Type: MMO Shooter Release Date: August 21, 2010 Pros:+Large number of maps. +Replayable. +Numerous weapons. Cons:-Steep learning curve. -No single-player campaign. |
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Overview
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a lobby-based tactical shooter developed by Valve Corporation. Players join either the Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist team and complete objectives to win the match. CS:GO’s most well-known game mode sees Counter-Terrorists fighting to stop Terrorists from planting a bomb at a designated sight by eliminating them or defusing the explosive. At the start of each round, players purchase weapons using money earned from previous rounds. CS:GO’s community has developed an abundance of custom maps and game modes that expand or reinvent default gameplay. A huge assortment of in-game weapon cosmetics can be acquired by playing the game to distinguish yourself from other players.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Key Features:
- Highly Competitive Matchmaking System – two teams work together to complete objectives.
- Large Assortment of Weapons and Guns – from Molotov cocktail's to the M249 machine gun.
- Innumerable Custom Maps and Game modes for Replay – such as the Simpsons and Surf maps.
- Skins Variety – earn new finishes for weapons to change your weapons cosmetic look.
- Custom Weapon Skins – distinguish your guns from other players.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Screenshots
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Featured Video
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Review
By Sean Sullivan
Years ago I rushed home from school to get kills on my own Counter-Strike 1.6 server. Hearing an audacious voice say “headshot” after pulling the trigger on my scout was endlessly rewarding. During school hours, my trigger-finger itched like FPS Doug who neglected his ritalin. I found the same high-octane gameplay in the new iteration of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Its foundation hasn’t changed but a fresh coat of paint and a few touch-ups have given the epitome of tactical shooters a fine polish.
Tactical Shooter Upgraded
Valve rebuilt their pivotal shooter from the ground up with CS: GO but it has not strayed far from its roots. Death is still permanent. Poor planning sees players staring at a killcam watching gloating players free to kill your teammates. Finally, cash is still allotted after each map to purchase new weapons and gear. Maps will look familiar—Aztec, Dust, Office—with some slight tweaks and improvements. Veterans will notice a new escape route in “de_dust” and a few other additions in other maps. The graphics have received a serious upgrade but they don’t contend with Crytek. While not revolutionary, character and weapon models and effects are polished and smooth.
Every guns spread, recoil, and firepower has been rebalanced for GO and new items have been added to the arsenal. The taser is largely useless but serves as an insulting way to eliminate a player while Molotovs and incendiary grenades add a new dimension to competitive gameplay. Used properly, players can control enemies movements in tight corridors by erecting a wall of flame, cornering players before mowing them down.
Rounds are still short, intense, and brutal. One mistake and you're eating a bullet. There is little room for error and knowing the games maps and mechanics is a sure way to survive the round. Few games are as successful as brutal shooters besides SmileGate's CrossFire. You cannot Rambo your way to victory. Using the environment for cover while lining up shots with precision and an understanding of bullet recoil is the only way to splatter heads against the walls of CS:GO.
Incorporating Classic Game Modes
Rather than dumping new players into the frenzy of combat, Valve made sure to ease new players into the games mechanics by adding two new game modes: Demolition and Arms Race. They are essentially Valve-sanctioned Gun Games that have been popular as mods for years; and one of my favorite game modes. Starting off with a basic weapon, you unlock new guns by killing enemy players. Arms Race functions like a team deathmatch, where players respawn and the first one to cycle through every gun wins the round. Demolition is like a classic Disarm map but players can only earn new guns through kills and death is round-permanent. It forces you to cycle through various guns in the game and serves as an excellent introduction to their mechanics.
Scrims
Matchmaking is a needed addition that helps new players, eager and reluctant alike, to enter the competitive scene. CS has always been experienced at its finest in scrim matches, where two teams coordinate heavily to complete the objective. In 1.6, we had to find friends willing to play and use IRC to set up matches. Oftentimes we ended up playing against some CAL-I dream team lead and getting killed from across the map. It could be demoralizing. The new matchmaking feature stacks up players in more or less the same skill brackets, balancing out matches to an extent and easing newbies into CS’s intense tactical gameplay. Throwing a flash at double doors and blinding your own team doesn’t carry the same weight when “CoolGuy69” molotov’d spawn and killed half your team.
Failure Is Your Teacher
CS:GO is a game that has simple mechanics and a steep learning curve. Failure is your teacher, and death cams will reiterate how you should have cut right instead of left, peaked double doors, or crouched instead of sprinting. It’s a skill-based game where every gun functions differently and knowing bullet sprays dictates where you point your crosshairs. GO does little in the way of introducing new players to its mechanics. You will learn by being a bullet-sponge. If you can fight through the frustration, you will finally start to see a positive K/D ratio. There are plenty of videos on YouTube and guides written by veterans to soak up. CS:GO isn’t a game that you can just pick up and dominate. You will have to absorb yourself into a robust community that loves their game.
Custom Maps and Games
CS:GO is full of customized maps and game modes with a community continuously dreaming up new ways to play. The first map I jumped into was a an “mg_” map, a speedrun map filled with deathtraps to be avoided. I died instantly. Growing tired of looking at the killcam I jumped back to the server list to join a “surf” map. Surf_aztec was my home turf in 1.6 and I trolled people by standing on the ramp to block them and watch the game’s physics pull them to their death. Physics in GO are slightly different and I never managed to make it too far.
After eating bullets with my no longer Orthodontia-approved teeth in Scoutzknivez, I jumped into a jailbreak map to relax—kind of. For the uninitiated, jailbreak requires a level of roleplay that is essentially a life or death Simon Says. It’s games like jailbreak that give CS:GO a nearly infinite amount of replayability. My favorite mode ended up being "Zombie Escape," where zombie players chase humans through a sprawling map. Custom maps and game modes keep the game fresh and interesting as modders play with mechanics to approach gameplay in new ways or create new maps to play classic modes like Bomb Defusal. I’m still waiting for someone to port 1.6’s “de_wallmart,” one of my favorite maps due to some game-breaking glitches.
Custom Skins
CS:GO has a huge assortment of weapon skins that can be earned in game or acquired with cash. They add no advantage to gameplay except to make you look cooler than fellow players. Considering that flexing your ego is an intricate part of the game, they become collectible like Pokemon cards. You can pick them up simply by playing on official and community servers—obtained from play time over the course of a week. The more you play the more likely you are to earn a drop. You can also head to the Steam Market and trade with other players for their skins.
Final Verdict - Excellent
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the ultimate tactical shooter, combining intense combat and an arsenal of weapons to choose from. It has not introduced anything fundamentally new but updated the franchise’s core mechanics for a contemporary audience. The competitive scene is fierce and at times intimidating. But a huge variety of game modes appeal to players with interests beyond tactical shooting.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Screenshots
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Videos
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Links
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Official Site
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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Wikipedia
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Wikia [Database/Guides]
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Reddit
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz
RAM: 1 GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce GT 420 or Radeon HD 6450
Hard Disk Space: 7.6 GB GB Free Space
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5700 3GHz
RAM: 2 GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce GT 630 or Radeon HD 6670
Hard Disk Space: 7.6 GB GB Free Space
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is Linux and Mac OS X compatible.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Music
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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Additional Information
Developer(s): Valve Entertainment, Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher(s): Valve Entertainment
Composer(s): Mike Morasky
Game Engine: Source
Announcement Date: August 12, 2011
Closed Beta: November 30, 2011
Linux Release Date: September 2014
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Other Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, Linux, Mac OS X
Development History / Background:
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was published by Valve Entertainment on August 21, 2012. It began as a port of Counter-Strike Source to the Xbox Live Arcade, published by Hidden Path Entertainment. During the port Valve Entertainment decided to turn the port into a full game and began developing CS:GO in March 2010, revealing details of the project on August 12, 2011. Originally cross-platform play between PSN, OS X, PC, and Linux was planned but consoles were later dropped due to update-frequency between systems. CS:GO was officially released on August 21, 2012 across all platforms. Since March 18, 2015, CS:GO tournaments have allotted over $3.8 million in prize money.
