(This review is for non-competitive new players)

For a long long time I've loved the counter-strike series its been a great contributor to the void of free time I seem to have and I really do enjoy the games quite a bit even 1.6 as outdated as it is now its still fun to play and I imagine Global offensive will be for years to come.

That said, this particular CS game is well "not AS good" as Source in my opinion it feels like it was made easier and the weaponry takes up more of your screen than you'd probably like, likely this was done in an attempt by valve to make it look and feel different but also add some semblance of realism to the game. Though it doesn't contribute to the fun.

So whats good about this game? (not in any particular order)

1) Community initiatives:
Gun skins, maps. - Both are made by valve and the community itself.

2) Match making; yeah I know there aren't some terribly good aspects to this, but its good for new players and people who want to start getting an idea what competitive is like on the low end of things or if you just want to have fun "competitively".

3) Modded servers

4) Tons of mode varieties for you to choose from.

5) Plenty of ways for you to practice should you need to.

6) No story, No Dramatic cut-scenes, no bad script (unless your scripting ;) ) just aiming, shooting & killing. Oh yes and winning.

7) The community is overall decent and contains all sorts of people :)

So whats bad about all this?

1) Gun skin prices can be extremely high and rather disgusting lol - I advise you wait if you want a skin that has just come out and you haven't won it from a crate otherwise your just helping those people who hike the prices of them on the market :P

2) Matchmaking is good but the insistence of using 64 tick servers is tiresome and rather frustrating. Not to mention the lerp is annoying.

3) Great fun but usually contain a lot of cheaters or end up being buggy as hell. (normally because VAC is crap)

4) While there are quite a few varieties and sub varieties (player owned servers) of modes you can try, It gets old, fast.

5) There's no real specific way for you to train, while this isn't necessarily a bad thing it doesn't help new players. Much like throwing money at rich people doesn't help the poor - Crap analogy but the principle of something not helping remains the same.

6) If you like your games to come with campaigns this is not for you - unless you want to Role play or something like that but I haven't seen anyone do it in a CS game haha.

7) The community is largely cool nice peeps here and there but be warned there are a lot of trolls a lot of flamers and a lot of angry teenagers on their periods but I assure you that a vast majority of us are much older and much more mature - I hope.

Verdict?

Recommended - This game is great fun and really enjoyable when you play with friends or teammates that you know, this can even be fun for a group of real life friends. the competitive scene is massive and honestly great to watch. there are always streams going on and matches of all types. From Low - High competitive and pro level this game is great. It has quite a few annoying things but nothings perfect and its cheap to. so try it!

(This review is for non-competitive new players) For a long long time I've loved the counter-strike series its been a great contributor to the void of free time I seem to have and I really do enjoy the games quite a bit even 1.6 as outdated as it is now its still fun to play and I imagine Global offensive will be for years to come. That said, this particular CS game is well "not AS good" as Source in my opinion it feels like it was made easier and the weaponry takes up more of your screen than you'd probably like, likely this was done in an attempt by valve to make it look and feel different but also add some semblance of realism to the game. Though it doesn't contribute to the fun. So whats good about this game? (not in any particular order) 1) Community initiatives: Gun skins, maps. - Both are made by valve and the community itself. 2) Match making; yeah I know there aren't some terribly good aspects to this, but its good for new players and people who want to start getting an idea what competitive is like on the low end of things or if you just want to have fun "competitively". 3) Modded servers 4) Tons of mode varieties for you to choose from. 5) Plenty of ways for you to practice should you need to. 6) No story, No Dramatic cut-scenes, no bad script (unless your scripting ;) ) just aiming, shooting & killing. Oh yes and winning. 7) The community is overall decent and contains all sorts of people :) So whats bad about all this? 1) Gun skin prices can be extremely high and rather disgusting lol - I advise you wait if you want a skin that has just come out and you haven't won it from a crate otherwise your just helping those people who hike the prices of them on the market :P 2) Matchmaking is good but the insistence of using 64 tick servers is tiresome and rather frustrating. Not to mention the lerp is annoying. 3) Great fun but usually contain a lot of cheaters or end up being buggy as hell. (normally because VAC is crap) 4) While there are quite a few varieties and sub varieties (player owned servers) of modes you can try, It gets old, fast. 5) There's no real specific way for you to train, while this isn't necessarily a bad thing it doesn't help new players. Much like throwing money at rich people doesn't help the poor - Crap analogy but the principle of something not helping remains the same. 6) If you like your games to come with campaigns this is not for you - unless you want to Role play or something like that but I haven't seen anyone do it in a CS game haha. 7) The community is largely cool nice peeps here and there but be warned there are a lot of trolls a lot of flamers and a lot of angry teenagers on their periods but I assure you that a vast majority of us are much older and much more mature - I hope. Verdict? Recommended - This game is great fun and really enjoyable when you play with friends or teammates that you know, this can even be fun for a group of real life friends. the competitive scene is massive and honestly great to watch. there are always streams going on and matches of all types. From Low - High competitive and pro level this game is great. It has quite a few annoying things but nothings perfect and its cheap to. so try it!