The Counter Strike franchise is one of the most popular first person shooters in the history of gaming. And now, beloved game returns with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), an online first-person shooter currently in development by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment.
At E3, the developers revealed that the new Counter Strike would be multi-platform and not just cater to PC. The game will be available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation 3. As an extra bonus for players, the game will cost only 15 USD. This is around half the price for the other games released currently.
In an interview with Gamespot during E3 2012, Valve writer Chet Faliszek explained that the purposely low priced game was a "no-brainer", aimed at including players who could not afford current games. He stressed that the PC was at the centre of Counter Strike gaming, and there was no question of them abandoning the platform like others.
A lengthy public beta testing phase on the PC began in November 2011, preceding Global Offensives' retail release. It will last until Valve feels the community is satisfied with the state of the game. The game's retail release will occur when the beta testing phase has concluded.
The beta will initially be restricted to around ten thousand people who received a key at various events. After issues such as client and server stability are addressed, the beta will open up to progressively more and more people, until the beta becomes open for anybody to join and play.
Continuing on in the stead of previous successes such as Counter Strike 1.6, Source and Condition Zero, Global Offensive farther improves upon its predecessors and aims to expand on the success of earlier projects. Global Offensive, like previous instalments, operates in short rounds with a choice to be Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists. The game ends when all players on one side are dead or an objective is completed. It is said to feature previous fan-favourites such as Dust 2 and Aztec.
The new CS uses an updated Source engine and was originally set to be part of Counter Strike Source. However creators realized that the scope was big enough to make a whole new game. Global Offensive boasts of new maps, characters, and weapons, as well as delivers updated versions of the classic CS content in higher graphics. The gameplay trailers reveal a tweaked set of graphics without compromising on map layout.
Promoting Global Offensive, the website
www.gamersbook.com is giving away 20 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta keys and three Razer Deathadder mouses. This and many other promotional events are being held throughout the world. And with eager fans thronging to join the reboot of a game that forever redefined first person shooter gaming, Counter Strike Global offensive seems to be ready to launch by 21st August 2012.