Counter Strike: Global Offensive – Beta Impressions

Counter Strike fans rejoice! A new addition to the series is coming and it seems Valve has left a lot of the original game in tact while adding some new features.
The series has always been highly competitive. To this day you can still logon to Counter Strike: Source and find full servers. So dedicated fans (and there are a lot of you.) should be pleased.

As a start, Valve has updated some of the old maps. A fan favorite, Dust as seen a remake as well as a complete makeover called Dust 2 with new crevasses to snipe through and new places to camp.

Both competitive and casual game types are available and you still have your standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and demolition.

During the basic matches both teams will start out with only pistols and collect money to buy new weapons and items as the match progresses.

In a new addition, some of the popular mods from the original game have made their way into becoming official gametypes. Arms Race, for example is a carry over from gungame where each player is rewarded for each kill with a new weapon. The first player to get a kill with every weapon wins.

The signature Counter-Strike style gameplay is present and accounted for as it should be. Nothing is more satisfying than getting the drop on your opponent with a quick head shot or – if you’re lucky enough – a knife kill. Many of your favorite weapons are also back. Such as the Desert Eagle and the reliable AUG. But there are some new toys in the arsenal to play with. The Zeus is a new one-shot one-kill weapon. It’s a taser you can purchase after you’ve earned enough money. But you have to use it strategically as you only get one shot. After you use it it’s an automatic drop. But it’s oh-so-satisfying if you can hit someone with it!You also have the option to burn you opponents to death with the new molotov cocktail which is another fun item to use.

My only real pick with the game is the visuals. Valve loves it’s source engine. But it’s been showing it’s age for a while now. In comparison to its predecessors it does look better. Textures are one of the first things you’ll notice. Weapons are more detailed as are character models. However, when it comes to animations, I was disappointed. Watching opponents go up and down ladders was laughable. These days, some shooters allow you to use your gun while climbing up or down a ladder. Others don’t. Either is fine. But most of them still show the animation of a player’s avatar going through the motions of climbing a ladder with their hands and fees. In CS: GO characters simply slid up and down as if they were on some magical elevator. This made the game feel less authentic and I’m sure the Source engine is capable of handling such simple animations. This is only the beta, though. So hopefully some of these issues will get hammered out in the future.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive would be released on August 21st on all platforms.

But keep an eye out there might be a few beta keys floating around here somewhere that you might be able to nab.