A Counter Strike: Global Offensive Review

Since Counter Strike: Global Offensive is free to play because of the newest Battle Royale game mode, I think it is very important that we go over what the game has to offer, and whether or not it is worth playing. I will be talking about the different updates that CS:GO has introduced, and what kind of potential it will have in the future. Please keep in mind that this is my own opinion, and I will clearly say my opinion in a way that people can understand. With that being said, let's get started.

The Game In General
The game CS:GO came out back in 2012, and it has been a game that many people know about, and most of those people have actually tried to play the game. In terms of comparing it to another game, I could not compare it to a game that I know of, or I think would make a good comparison. The game has been around for a while, and there is still a large community surrounding the game. Since the new game mode has been released, and the game has become free to play, the community should be starting to grow even more because people that could not get it before can get the game for free now. The game has a bunch of different modes when it comes to what you can play while in the game. The different game modes are Competitive, Wingman, Arms Race, Deathmatch, Demolition, and of course, the Danger Zone game mode.


Counter-Terrorists and Terrorists
So, before we even get started with anything, it's important to understand the difference between a terrorist and a counter-terrorist. The terrorists, in most game modes, are the ones that are trying to attack a bomb site, plant the bomb, and to make sure the bomb explodes to win the round. The counter terrorists, in most game modes, are the ones that are defending these bomb sites, and trying to prevent the terrorists from taking over the bomb site, and causing them to lose the round.

The Ranking System
I think it is very important that I talk about the ranking system first, since there are two game modes that rely on the ranking system in which CS:GO uses. The two game modes that use a ranking system are Competitive and Wingman. These two game modes use the ranking system because it wants to match you against people that are around your skill level, and these ranks help make sure of that. While there are exceptions to these ranks, most people have a rank that they belong to. Below is a list of the ranks, courtesy of Steam's official website:


As you can see, there are a lot of different ranks. Now don't get too confused, because these ranks are easy to understand once you start to get the hang of it. In this section, I will give a quick overview of what the rank looks like in terms of players, and how most people in the CS:GO community would consider to be someone's skill level when it comes to knowing the game. Now keep in mind; this is what the majority of the people in the CS:GO community think.

Silver: So, to start, the first 6 ranks are considered in the "Silver" category. When you have a silver rank, most people consider that you are on the lower end of a spectrum, or that "you are not as good as everyone else". I disagree with this stereotype, but that is how most people look at the ranks of "Silver".

Gold Nova: These ranks are after Silver, and this usually means that you have a good grasp of the game itself, but most people would say that you need to work on your aim and your movement. Most people in the community would say that you are starting to understand the grasp of the game, but that you would need to work on your game even more than what you are giving. Now, let's talk about the ranks afterwards.

Master Guardian: Now, after the Gold Nova ranks, you will be greeted with the ranks of Master Guardian. At this point, most people would consider that you have a very good grasp of the game, it's mechanics, that would consider you a very good player. People in this level usually stream on Twitch, and you see that they seem to have a very good grasp of the game itself. The majority of people who are in this rank strive for the higher ranks, but some of them usually stay in this rank.

Beyond: Now, you are considered to very amazingly good at the game. Most people strive for these ranks, but very few are actually able to get to these ranks. In order to reach these, you have to be very good in the sense that most people think you're actually cheating. In these ranks, these are the ranks that the vast majority of CS:GO professional players are in, and that is because they are really good at the game. People that reach this rank usually have a team of people to play with, so they are able to work together and start to the understand the game together.

There are still lots more to talk about when it comes to the ranking system, but that is a very brief overview of the ranking system in general. With that being said, let's start talking about the different game modes that CS:GO has to offer. Like I said previously, the different game modes are Competitive, Wingman, Arms Race, Deathmatch, Demolition, and the most recent game mode added: The Danger Zone.


Competitive
Like the title says, this game mode is very competitive. People who play in this game mode are trying to either get a rank or are trying to level up their rank; I will explain these ranks now. This game mode also uses the ranking system, which I explained earlier. It is important to note that if you are going to play this game mode, it is important that you try your hardest. People in this game mode are trying to get a better rank, so it's very important to understand the game to an extent, and to try your best. No one can ask for more than your best, so make sure you give it your all. In order to win a game of competitive, you have to achieve 16 round points to win, or you can tie with your opponent at 15. Each game of competitive has a maximum of 30 rounds.

Wingman
So, the next game mode is Wingman. Now, Wingman is basically like Competitive, but each team only has two members. In addition to only having two members, the maps that are in this game mode are made smaller, and only use one site. This makes sure that the Counter Terrorists have some sort of chance to win instead of having one person on one site. In addition, the amount of rounds that you need to win has been decreased to 8, so you are not sitting and playing this game mode for longer.

Arms Race
Next up is Arms Race. In a game of Arms Race, you are given a weapon that you are required to get kills with in order to upgrade to a new weapon. It is a combination of Demolition and Deathmatch, which I will explain later. You are given unlimited respawns, but you are not allowed to progress with the next weapon until you get two kills with your current weapon. There are a random set of guns that you must get kills with. After around 15 guns that you have progressed through, you are given the "Golden Knife". This is how you win the game; you have to get a kill with the Golden Knife. The first person who gets kills with all of the weapons and a knife kill wins the round.


Demolition
Next up is Demolition. In a game of Demolition, you are given a weapon that you are supposed to get kills with for a round. When you get a kill, you upgrade to another weapon that you can use in the next round. This is similar to Arms Race, but it operates in a round based style. When you kill multiple enemies in one round, you are awarded with grenades and other things as a result. The person team to score 8 points on the scoreboard wins.


The Danger Zone
This is the newest game mode added to CS:GO. This newest update is a Battle Royale mode. 16 people queue up in the game, and they select what zone they want to spawn in. Once spawned in, the person must find or purchase weapons from a tablet that they are given. As the game continues, bombs and "the zone" are approaching them. They are greeted with their opponents. The last person that is standing at the end of the game wins.

My Opinion
Alright. So, I am all done with describing how the game works; it's time for me to tell you what I think. Overall, I would say that this game is very good, although it does have some issues. I really like that they are constantly trying to update the game and trying to make the game better. I have seen a bunch of different things that they have added, like operations, which I might talk about in another article, and always making sure weapons are not overpowered in the way that people overuse them, and under use some weapons. I do think that it does have some problems though; there are quite a bit of cheaters when you start to go up to the higher ranks. In addition, since the game is now free to play, there will be a large influx of hackers; the game is free, so all you would need to do is create a new Steam account, download the game, get cheats, and you are off. I do know that Valve is trying to introduce a new way of catching hackers, in addition to Overwatch, which is another thing that I might talk about in another article. Hopefully Valve is able to keep the hackers back and allow for new players to join the game.

My Summary
Overall, I would say that if you have not already, check the game out. Make sure you try you're best, learn the game, and I'm sure you will have a great time.

Thank you very much for reading this article. I am completely open for feedback. If you think I missed anything important, please let me know. I am very new to this whole article thing, so please let me know if I can improve anything. Thanks again for reading, and have a good one.