A New Era For Competitive FPS?

Since an early age I was neglected by my parents, and left at internet cafés with friends to blow peoples heads off in CS 1.6. On the release of Counter-Strike: Source I lost countless weekends and evenings to competing in ladders and scrimming for the glory of being labbled the #1 Counter Strike team, but with no luck . It wasn't until I couldn't afford to fix a broken computer that I gained my life back and on return found that the popularity of the fps competitive scene had declined. But with the release of Counter Strike Global Offensive, the FPS players have begun to get excited again at the prospect that it could in fact breath a new life into the Counter-Strike franchise.

So what does it have to offer? In principal the game is the same, the maps are the same and the guns are mostly the same. A few more game modes which existed through server mods have also been added . If you didn't play the original Counter Strikes (shame on you), then this will sound like the kind of trickery infinity ward are pulling with the modern warfare series. However, contrary to that, from announcement I was fearing big changes spoiling the game. Having had access to the beta for a couple of months now, and now the full game for a short while, I am more than pleased with the outcome. The new weapons seem to fit right in as do the new grenades introduced. The maps look far crisper and play better than any of the previous games. You can really tell that thought has been put into bettering the strength of the maps in competitive play.

The real reason I believe that the game could pick up a large fan base is due to the fact that it should attract both the 1.6 following and the source community. This is due to the hitboxes actually working as they should, and not leaving you screaming obscenity. The grenades have also had a nice rework, though the flash bang’s act in a similar way to the early days of source, by being far to sensitive, subsequently leaving many fairly upset when caught out by one.

The game isn't without its sceptics and there are mixed feeling among the professional players whether to switch or not, which will dictate whether GO is successful. Gux, an ex-fnatic 1.6 player, when questioned about if the game would be a success, was doubtful. Even he himself has been enticed by the moba scene, and rumours circling that he could be entering the fnatic's LoL team in future.

Only time will tell if we will be seeing the guys with the money invest in bringing the FPS back into its former glory, but the foundations are there for Counter-Strike to make a triumphant return.

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As a small footnote anyone interested in competitive CS:GO check out the following websites for leagues which have already kicked off;

http://www.enemydown.co.uk/
http://www.thewgl.co.uk/
http://www.esl.co.uk/

And don't forget to check out all of ATK's dedicated servers!