I was able to get a lot of quality time today with Valve’s upcoming shooter “Counter Strike: Global Offensive,” and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it. The controls are tight, movement is fast, and death comes swiftly. Although this isn’t the first time CS has been on consoles, this is definitely its most organic appearance. It feels truly built for the console, and plays well. Aiming in particular is well-handled: if there was an auto-aim active, I couldn’t feel it, and yet getting onto my target was never a struggle.
“Counter Strike” predates the glut of modern shooters we’re seeing now, and one stubborn relic of the franchise’s age stood out to me: no iron sighting. I actually asked a Valve guy how to aim down my barrel, and he just smiled at me and said, “This is ‘Counter Strike.'” Good point. Scoped weapons aside, your only option is to shoot from the hip or crouch for a little extra accuracy. At first this bothered me, but within seconds I was totally comfortable with it, and then I couldn’t help but love how CS has stuck to its guns. You will never mistake this thing for “Call of Duty,” and that’s for the best.
Bots are here, but they can only be used in a designated “Casual” match. Two things impressed me about the bots: first, if a bot on your team is still alive after you bite the dust, you can commandeer them. This is a great way to soften the blow of CS’ brutal respawn policies, and ease newcomers into the experience. Second, the Valve guy I spoke to was adamant that a ton of work went into making the bots absolute killing machines. The ones I faced were kinda pushovers, but a sliding scale can be used to modify their effectiveness, and I was assured that when it’s turned all the way up, they’re serious opponents. We’ll see, but I’ve never known Valve to be full of hot air.
Oh, by the way, Gun Game will be back in CS:GO, as well as a new mode they were kind of vague about that was described as a “mix of Gun Game and Casual.” Hm, interesting.
If there’s a criticism of CS:GO, it’s that it’s very familiar. The graphics are certainly better, but the experience is pure CS all the way. If you love the franchise (as I do), that’s exciting news, but if it’s never been your thing, this won’t change your mind. Personally, though, I can’t wait for October.
_AA
VL AL 5
3 Comments
I’m excited. 🙂 I like that the criticism is that its not like everything else out there.
“I’ve never known Valve to be full of hot air.”
Well, when it comes to Half-Life and the number 3… 🙂
As I was writing that sentence, I thought, “Brendan’s gonna mention Episode 3.”