Counter-Strike: Global Offensive review round-up

Can Global Offensive return Counter-Strike to the forefront of online gaming?

Nic SimmondsAugust 27, 2012

CS GO Counter Strike Global Offensive header

Valve has released the sequel to one of online FPS gaming’s most important franchises. The announcement of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive almost exactly a year ago came as a bit of a surprise because we sort of got used the idea that Counter-Strike was a game that belonged to an older generation of gamers.

While we knew we could expect annual Call of Duty releases for the next 10 years, it seemed almost as if this squad-based tactical shooter franchise had been left behind.

But here, as I live and breathe, is a modern reboot of the online shooter that for many started it all. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is now available on Steam for $14.99 (R125). The good news is that reviews so far have been extremely positive. The game is sitting on an early Metacritic average of 85/100, and a Gamerankings.com score of 83%.

The general consensus amongst reviewers is that Global Offensive does a perfect job of bringing Counter-Strike into the modern gaming era. New graphics, some new features, and apparently a more action combined with the classic Counter-Strike gameplay may be just what this ageing franchise needs to reinvigorate its massive player base.

GamesTM 9 /10

CS: GO stands as a glowing reminder that quality game design is rewarded in longevity and variety. Valve has not only updated the shooter but has completely outclassed its contemporaries. This is Counter-Strike, whatever the format you choose to play it on, and there isn’t a higher recommendation than that. Read the full review

Videogamer 9/10

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cannot be to me what Counter-Strike 1.0 ever was. I’m too old now, my life has changed too much and my gaming habits are different. But Global Offensive is a fine instalment of one of the best games ever made, and someone out there will shortly be discovering what will become the definitive moments of their gaming lives. Read the full review

Eurogamer 9/10

Modern military shooters have become a disposable cliché, full of ideas and maps that we will forget in less than a year, whether it’s in the bouncy, power-up-heavy arcade instakill frenzies of Call of Duty or Battlefield’s Black Hawk Down-infused cross-country running. The core of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a reminder that quality can be permanent rather than fleeting, and the new additions give us new reasons to take interest and – hopefully – another way in for people who are ready for something different. Read the full review

GameSpy 4/5

Playing CS:GO reminded me just how much many of the new shooter features out there — the Air Strikes, the perks, the tanks — can help make up for a lack of core FPS skills. There’s no faking it here, and if you really want to get right down to it and find out just how good of an online gunslinger you are, the crucible of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a great place to do it. Read the full review