Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Counter Strike is a game I've always been very interested in really sinking my teeth into.  It's a game that's long been held as the greatest competitive FPS of all time.  Right up there with the ranks of Quake 3 and Unreal 2004.

With a minimalistic approach in regards to map count, game modes, weapons and loadouts it puts all the emphasis on practice and patience.

I got Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS) for the PS3 this past Tuesday when it released.  I got it because, as stated, I've always wanted to get into CS, but also, on the PS3, you can play with a mouse and keyboard. Something else I've always wanted to do with a competitive shooter.

So I got the game and I'll admit it takes some getting used to.  What team does what objective and how the maps work as well as what weapons to purchase as well as what gear to focus on.  It's a bit of a steep learning curve at first and in my first 3 matches of playing online I was struggling.  I could tell that there's a really good game in here, but needed to work to get good at it.  It's obviously not a hop and and rock the shit out of it type game.  It's very old school.

I went to Target and bought the cheapest mouse and keyboard I could.  I plugged them into my 2 usb ports on my PS3 and was astounded at how instantly and well they worked.  I can manipulate all in game menus with the mouse and keyboard.  It literally feels just like a pc game.

I spent the next couple hours playing with bots to familiarize myself with the game modes and maps as well as get back into the mouse and keyboard groove.

TJ and I played for a good 2 hours online last night and I must say that the game is simply awesome.

It's 5v5 with only 5 or 6 maps and 4 game modes.  I can honestly say that out of all the maps there's not one I don't like.  It's pretty interesting and a testament to the games staying power with how well the maps work. They truly appear to be perfectly balanced.  How many shooters nowadays ship with 10-15 maps and you end up hating half of them?  I know I do.  In this game....they just....work.

In this game you earn money to purchase guns and equipment to use in the next rounds.  If you die in the following round you're dead until the following round.  If you live through the round you start the next round with all your equipment intact.  If you die....you have to purchase everything over if you have enough money. It's a really neat mechanic that makes your choices matter and really makes you want to play well because when you die you lose more than just a man.  Also, there's no auto aim or aim assist.  If you miss it's your fault.

My only real gripe with this game is that headshots are super king in it.  And I mean super king.  Many times you'll be unloading into a guy and your aim is spot on and then you'll get dropped in an instant.  Even when crouching and firing and small bursts it can still seem hit or miss.  I don't think it's a fault of the game, but just another way that it really makes you work for your kills.  There do seem to be "stand out" guys in most games so it's not like the game is broke.  It just truly rewards skill.

This hasn't really been a review, but more of an urging for you guys to consider getting this on PS3 and possibly get the mouse and keyboard.  The game plays really well with a dualshock, but it just feels in a whole other league with a mouse.

It's a game TJ and I area already putting a lot of time into.

P.S.  This was written very rushed so forgive if it's disjointed and not organized coherently.