There was a time when Counter Strike ruled the multiplayer shooter scene — when every gamer worth his salt knew that de_dust was a high noon showdown, and that anybody who didn’t run with the knife must be new in town.
The game had humble origins, first created as a mod in Half-Life by a player called Gooseman (real name Minh Le), but the way that it felt to play was so rewarding that it soon exploded into popularity, and before long, it was pretty much the game that every shooter fan was playing online. Sure, Quake III and Unreal Tournament were great games for straight-up deathmatches, but two organised clans going head-to-head in CS was something else.
However, all dynasties must come to an end, and eventually all but the most ardent fans wandered off to newer pastures like Battlefield and Call of Duty. Time passed, and there were sequels like Condition Zero and CS: Source, but none seemed to capture the hearts of gamers as much as the original, and Counter Strike seemed destined to be remembered as a game that used to be the reigning champion.
But now, with the launch of Counter Strike: Global Offensive, we seem to have started a new chapter in this book. Judging from some of the reports coming in, the opinions have been fairly positive, so could be there yet be life in this old warhorse?
Okay, first I need to make this disclaimer — CS GO (which is an abbreviation that rolls off the tongue quite nicely) was designed with consoles in mind. Most purists might use that as justification to dismiss the title out of hand, since the original was a PC game to its core. I mean, it was originally a game mod, which is not really something that the console environment even allows. However, with the pedigree of a developer like Valve behind the project, convicting it of suckiness without a fair trial may be an ill-advised course of action.
Let’s take a look at the new features. The big additions are obviously the two new gametypes, Arms Race and Demolition, which turn out to have a faster, action-packed streak to them. For example, Arms Race changes your weapon on each respawn, and the first player to register a kill with every weapon wins the match, which ought to lead to some frantic moments towards the end of the round. Demolition has a twist on that theme, wherein you start off with powerful weapon, but with each respawn, you are given a weaker one. So by the end of the round, you’re left trying to manage with a pistol. Great fun, and also a good gateway to get new blood into a franchise that has a reputation for being intimidating to newcomers.
All you old-timers, don’t worry — the Bomb Defusal and Hostage Rescue gametypes are still in there. However, these can be played in two modes — Casual, which gives you a much more laidback approach to gameplay, and Competitive, which is more reminiscent of the original game.
Being someone who’s often abused by my teammates for being incompetent, I can see myself enjoying the former a good deal, but Competitive mode is definitely where the seasoned pros will want to spend most of their time.
In short, the combination of fidelity to the spirit of the original and the interesting new additions make a compelling case for one to get back into the Kevlar suit and go terrorist hunting like it’s the year 2000.