Counter Strike Was The King Of Shooters To Many Back In The Day, But How Does It Fair With Other Shooters Now?
I always enjoyed Counter Strike on PC what seemed like nearly a decade ago (oh wait) the same way I enjoyed any other game released by Valve (especially Half-Life).
So I was actually pretty interested in the new release of one of Valve's older titles, it seemed like it had the potential to be the tactical shooter I was looking for, and had missed for so long now.
I'm not going to lie, I was addicted in the first five minutes of playing the game, and I was having a good time since it seemed like a lot of the people who were playing CS:GO on PS3 had probably never played Counter Strike in their lives, so you could say I thoroughly enjoyed laying waste to the newbies to the game, and with Counter Strike being such a well made series people didn't rage quit, or get too upset when getting severely punished, instead they kept playing and slowly getting better and better over time.
I won, I lost, (I mostly won), and it was an enjoyable game, I still turn it on for a couple games here and there, making the game more than my money's worth.
POSITIVE
The game's visuals have greatly increased, movement is a lot more crisp, weapons are nice, they deliver a nice punch (depending on the weapon), and all the teamwork that is nearly required to be successful when playing the game was something I almost forgot about when it came to shooters.
I am used to shooters like Call of Duty, or Battlefield, games that have nearly no teamwork involved, at least not most of the time, and of course tons of raging trolls, profane bad-sports, and glitchers at every turn, now I'm not questioning the legitimacy of the average gamer when it comes to FPS games, but at least on the PlayStationNetwork, and in First-Person Shooters I tend to find a lot of that.
Counter-Strike's Classic Modes have that same "one life to live" rule, meaning when you're dead, you're going to have to wait a while, and spectate the rest of the match if there are no "bots" running loose anywhere, which depending on the type of match and skill of the remaining players could take as long as thirty minutes.
With that, you will not have people often charging you carelessly because they know they will simply respawn in five seconds or so, instead people are very timid, and tend to shy away from combat, which is either because they are afraid, or worse, they are strategizing.
For those of you that like strategy, this might be the shooter you've been looking for, if you have played any of the last Counter Strike games, you may already be familiar with how much strategy goes into the game every match.
I count it as a plus that the game requires the player to think, and stay on their toes, challenging them to use their head, instead of the trigger, it is something you will not find in most FPS games now adays, and it shouldn't be forgotten.
The game is a ton of fun overall, and the various modes challenge you to think in different ways, and try different methods if you want to defeat your enemies, if you do not use your head to think, and you use it to charge, everyone WILL make an example of you, reminding your fellow teammates that strategizing is the key to success.
NEGATIVE
There are not many things wrong with this game in any way, but for newbies, this game could be living hell.
If you have never played Counter Strike before, the solution is simple, you await your imminent death... of course you are welcome to try and win, but you will most likely be punished to the worst degree possible in front of all your friends, and it may call for quite a bit of embarrassment on your part.
Sometimes you will probably shout "OH MY GOD, THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, YOU DID NOT JUST LIVE FROM THAT!"
That is what I heard one person scream on their Microphone when they tried to gun down an enemy, but got shot down... At times you may actually be behind an enemy, and unload your clip at them, but either because of inaccuracy or just pure luck on their part, your enemy will live and somehow they will slay you with the most effortless flick of their wrist, call them sorcerers, call them hackers, in the end it is just part of the game mechanic, sometimes if you open fire, and hold it down, or you don't crouch to increase your accuracy, if you hit them or not, you will not kill them, and this could become rather frustrating.
OVERALL
No CS:GO does not have the best graphics, and they do not compare to any other new releases, it may not have zombies, or vehicles, or customization of your character.
But it is still a fantastic shooter, I enjoyed it more than I did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3... Possibly even Battlefield 3 which I enjoy as well, it goes to show that a game doesn't need the best graphics, or the greatest mechanics to be quite an admirable experience.
I suggest it to all hardcore shooter fans, any newbs that may be brave enough to face it and master it, or just anyone looking for a fun game.
PARENTAL ADVISORY
For all the parents reading this review, I will be completely honest with you as I am in my other reviews.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is Rated M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence.
Counter-Strike is a very simple game, the objective is to ultimately eliminate/kill the other team, in the mean time some modes may distract you with things such as "hostages, bombs, etc" to make your battle with the other team that much more interesting and/or difficult.
This is quite honestly the least inappropriate Mature game I've ever played, although the violence is both constant and quite stressful, it does not carry the intensity of a shooter such as Battlefield, or the well known Black Ops in any way shape or form, it is a simple point and shoot type of game, nothing more.
There is bloodshed however, but it is nothing too realistic, never has been, when an enemy is shot there is a small "puff" of blood, and then if an enemy happens to be near a wall or you shoot them from a certain angle, a blood smear will instantly appear on the wall, not a small one, but not a bloodbath either, and you will see more intense violence in games such as "Uncharted" than Counter-Strike.
There is no language that I have heard, that comes directly from the game, the language you will hear is going and I mean GOING to come from other players headsets, although most of the people playing Counter-Strike are pros and they do not troll or rage anyone, there is the occasional flamer, and you are bound to hear an F-word or two, or seventy, depending on who you end up with each match, if you play with friends that you know, you can avoid this altogether, but if you choose to play with other players, you are bound to hear anything.
Another review that I hope you enjoyed, and I hope I helped in some way, keep on gaming people.
-ARBALON