Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

CS:GO is the third installment of the FPS Counterstrike series by developer Valve.

The first-person shooter Counterstrike: Global Offensive was released to an already huge fan base in 2012. With the original Counterstrike having been released as a Half-Life mod in 1999 and then Counterstrike: Source in 2004 and both having a huge impact on esports, it was only natural that CS:GO was adopted by most major teams (formerly known as clans) to replace the older games. CS:GO is only available on Valve's Steam platform.

The game itself was designed with esports in mind, with in-game streaming, tournament events, community esports funding via in-game purchases and more being a part of a driving force behind the movement.

Regarding gameplay, the game kept its predecessors' fundamentals. When entering a game, either online or offline, the player has to decide which side to join: Counter Terrorists (CT) or Terrorists (T). Depending on the chosen map, many of which are updated classics, the objectives could differ. So-called 'de' (defuse) maps, such as the extremely popular Dust 2 or the more recent Cache, has the Terrorists try and place the bomb at one of two bombsites (A or B). The CTs are of course to prevent this from happening or, when unsuccessful at that, at least attempt to retake the site and defuse the ordinance. "cs" maps, which are not played in professional tournaments, do without bombsites, but see the terrorists holding two hostages, each in a separate location on the map (again A or B). The Counter Terrorists are to retrieve at least one hostage and carry them to the rescue point or kill all Terrorists, while the latter will try everything to resist this.

Each player starts off with $1000 in ,casual' or $800 in 'competitive' in the first round of each map, which can be spent on body armour (already equipped in 'casual'), better pistols, grenades, defuse or rescue kit (CT only) or a combination of these. With more money, players can purchase better weapons and gear. Kills, or 'frags', are rewarded with cash, and winning the round will see a big boost in a player's 'economy'. Losing a round will also give a cash injection, but much less than winning. Successive lost rounds will give more cash each time, thus giving the losing side more of a chance to fight back. The primary rifles of the CTs are the M4A1-S and the M4A4, while the terrorists have their classic AK47. The primary sniper rifle on both sides is the AWP. New grenades in the game are Molotov cocktails/incendiary grenades (T and CT) and decoys, which together with high-explosives, flashbangs and smokes bring the total to five that each side has available to them. This has given teams more tactical options than in previous games, as the choice of grenades can make a difference in the outcome of the round. With an arsenal of pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles, SMGs, heavy machine guns, shotguns and grenades, players have a wide choice, subject to their available amount of cash at the start of a round.

A big feature of CS:GO is the introduction of official 'skins', i.e. modified weapon models. Valve approves skins made by the community and introduces them into the game with content updates. Skins can 'drop' at the end of a game or can be found in cases, which require a key to open that can be purchased in the in-game shop. The cases can also be won at the end of a round, giving players a lot to hope for. Furthermore, players can sell or buy skins through Steam's marketplace, where Valve takes a cut on each transaction.

Other new features include new game modes, such as Arms Race and Demolition. Competitive matches have a ranking system which places players in a team of similarly skilled mates to face equal opponents. A few times a year Valve releases new 'Operations', which need to be purchased and unlock special missions for players to take on.

Overall, the game offers new and old players of the series a lot of game time and fun.