This isn't going to be a "screw this game" review or some stupid joke, I'm actually going to give you my honest opinion.

I've played about an hour of Counter Strike games in my entire life prior to Global Offensive, so I was very new to the concept. But I've played dozens of other FPS games so I'd consider myself experienced in the genre. After 14 years of development, you'd think Valve would deliver a perfect multiplayer FPS... and they have. Why else would Global Offensive be THE MOST POPULAR FPS GAME ON STEAM. They have to be doing something to get that, right?

Firstly, the maps are perfectly crafted. There are a good variety of them and they're great. Heck, they're good enough to be used in eSports championships with milion dollar prize pools! You can't complain there. The weapons? They're rather well balanced. There's no extra ♥♥♥♥ DLC or guns you can only get if you open 600 random boxes. You have easy and fair access to every weapon, every time. The gunplay, as you would think, is great.

This game probably requires more skill than any other FPS. There is plenty of recoil, spread and every gun is different in that regard. You have a lot to learn if you wish to be a good player in this game when it comes to this aspect. Its not a run-and-gun type of thing. You won't be doing any of that, especially since you have to wait until the next round to respawn. Its nice that you can also pick up other people's guns when they die.

With regards to the skin insanity, its pretty much a cash cow for Valve, yes, but you have to understand that they are a business and what is the main objective of a business? Profit. I've personally spent about $5 so far on some stuff for the game and I don't really regret it. Most items are easily accessible and cheap. You have no obligation to spend thousands of dollars on the items you fancy. Because you don't need to. Skins provide ZERO advantage to you. You're literally paying for a .PNG image to show up on your display. But hey, you do get these skins for free every now and then and you can always sell them on the community market. You can't hate this feature.

I'm not a huge fan of the bots as even in expert mode, they are extremely easy to beat, that's something coming from a beginner to Counter Strike. They are stupid and rather useless afer you die. But at the same time, they can be funny and I think their main obejctive is to act as a training course for your multiplayer experience.

Speaking of multiplayer, its very competitive and rewarding if you win. I found myself on the verge of a heart attack on multiple occasions because I was the last one alive, with the bomb in my hand and an enemy team to face. Being me, I fail every time, but the thrill is fun. Yes, the community is regarded as cancerous, but I happen to be lucky enough to live in South Africa, where this is not so much the case. Sure, the occasional 12 year old comes online and plays Whip Nae Nae Oh my god the cringe but then your team kicks them in seconds.


The eSports aspect is cool. Although I only briefly browsed that menu, I found it pretty interesting that you could create your fantasy team and all that. Its also nice that you can get rare, valuable weapon skins while watching the games. I learned a lot watching the best of the best play and hey, wouldn't it be cool getting so good at the game that you could join a team and make millions of dollars doing what you love?!

I probably missed out a lot, but I recommend this game to anyone who is interested in a skill-based FPS that won't be shutting its servers down any time soon.

[h1]Here's something different, a review from a BEGINNERS perspective[/h1] [b]This isn't going to be a "screw this game" review or some stupid joke, I'm actually going to give you my honest opinion.[/b] I've played about an hour of Counter Strike games in my entire life prior to Global Offensive, so I was very new to the concept. But I've played dozens of other FPS games so I'd consider myself experienced in the genre. After 14 years of development, you'd think Valve would deliver a perfect multiplayer FPS... and they have. Why else would Global Offensive be THE MOST POPULAR FPS GAME ON STEAM. They have to be doing something to get that, right? Firstly, the maps are perfectly crafted. There are a good variety of them and they're great. Heck, they're good enough to be used in eSports championships with milion dollar prize pools! You can't complain there. The weapons? They're rather well balanced. There's no extra shit DLC or guns you can only get if you open 600 random boxes. You have easy and fair access to every weapon, every time. The gunplay, as you would think, is great. This game probably requires more skill than any other FPS. There is plenty of recoil, spread and every gun is different in that regard. You have a lot to learn if you wish to be a good player in this game when it comes to this aspect. Its not a run-and-gun type of thing. You won't be doing any of that, especially since you have to wait until the next round to respawn. Its nice that you can also pick up other people's guns when they die. With regards to the skin insanity, its pretty much a cash cow for Valve, yes, but you have to understand that they are a business and what is the main objective of a business? [b]Profit.[/b] I've personally spent about $5 so far on some stuff for the game and I don't really regret it. Most items are easily accessible and cheap. You have no obligation to spend thousands of dollars on the items you fancy. [b]Because you don't need to.[/b] Skins provide ZERO advantage to you. You're literally paying for a .PNG image to show up on your display. But hey, you do get these skins for free every now and then and you can always sell them on the community market. You can't hate this feature. I'm not a huge fan of the bots as even in expert mode, they are extremely easy to beat, that's something coming from a beginner to Counter Strike. They are stupid and rather useless afer you die. But at the same time, they can be funny and I think their main obejctive is to act as a training course for your multiplayer experience. Speaking of multiplayer, its very competitive and rewarding if you win. I found myself on the verge of a heart attack on multiple occasions because I was the last one alive, with the bomb in my hand and an enemy team to face. Being me, I fail every time, but the thrill is fun. Yes, the community is regarded as cancerous, but I happen to be lucky enough to live in South Africa, where this is not so much the case. Sure, the occasional 12 year old comes online and plays Whip Nae Nae [b][i]Oh my god the cringe[/i][/b] but then your team kicks them in seconds. [h1]I am yet to come across a hacker[/h1] The eSports aspect is cool. Although I only briefly browsed that menu, I found it pretty interesting that you could create your fantasy team and all that. Its also nice that you can get rare, valuable weapon skins while watching the games. I learned a lot watching the best of the best play and hey, wouldn't it be cool getting so good at the game that you could join a team and make millions of dollars doing what you love?! I probably missed out a lot, but I recommend this game to anyone who is interested in a skill-based FPS that won't be shutting its servers down any time soon.