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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Review (XBLA)

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Review (XBLA) Valve
Counter-Strike has been the king of competitive FPS multiplayer on PC for more than a decade despite newer and flashier games coming along over the years. While everyone else was adding XP ranks and perks and overcomplicating things, Counter-Strike kept trucking along with pure oldschool skill-based gameplay and straightforward objectives. That was a recipe for success on the PC, but what about on consoles where this formula is pretty darn bare bones by today's standards? Valve and developer Hidden Path Entertainment test those waters with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for XBLA and PSN. Our full Counter-Strike: GO review has everything you need to know.
Game Details

  • Publisher: Valve
  • Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
  • ESRB Rating: “M" for Mature
  • Genre: FPS
  • Pros: Classic oldschool gameplay; very addictive; bots!;
  • Cons: Floaty feeling movement; so-so visuals; maybe a bit simple for modern shooter fans

Gameplay

The first thing you need to know about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is that it isn't anything like the other shooters on Xbox 360. There is no generous aim assist. The hit boxes are precise. The weapons have serious recoil that can spray a whole clip of bullets off target if you aren't careful. You actually have to stop moving when you shoot if you want to be accurate. And when you die you don't respawn until the next round. It is basically the complete opposite of Halo or Call of Duty. You won't find XP ranks or perks or killstreaks or any of that stuff here, either.

Counter-Strike is pure skill-based shooting. Learning the layout of the maps, how the various weapons behave, and how to do everything as efficiently as possible is the key to the game. Everyone starts out with the same selection of weapons and identical abilities and it is up to plain ol' player skill to determine who wins or loses, not which player has the right combination of perks or weapons unlocked. It might sound simplistic compared to popular shooters on the Xbox 360 today, but when you get into it you'll find one of the most addictive and satisfying shooters around, which certainly has contributed to The Longevity of Counter-Strike on PC.

Valve
The game is incredibly balanced where each of the available weapons - that you buy at the start of each round with money you earned the round before - is actually usable and effective. Check out Counter-Strike gameplay tips here. As we mentioned above, running around like a madman and firing while moving isn't going to work. While you're moving down a hallway spraying and praying with an assault rifle, an opponent standing still right in front of you will easily kill you with a pistol. There is no aim assist here, which means you have to be precise and careful with your shots. There is a bit of a learning curve to Counter-Strike, but the more you play the better you get and the more fun you have. It is very addictive in that way. It is also noteworthy to mention that despite the actual movement pace being rather slow, the game still feels fast paced because the rounds can actually end very quickly - either when the opposing team is all dead or an objective is completed - in anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. It is quick bursts of gameplay, then you start a new round, buy new weapons and gear, and do it all over again. You'll keep saying "Just one more round" for hours. Our only real complaint with the gameplay is that movement is sort of floaty and slow feeling - to the point that even walking through doorways can be tough at first - but you get used to it (just like we did with The Orange Box and Portal 2's similar feeling movement).

Modes

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a few interesting modes to play around with. Each mode is played with teams up to 5 with terrorists vs. counter-terrorists. In Classic mode your objective is to simply kill the other team or complete an objective - either placing and protecting a bomb or disarming it, or rescuing a group of hostages if you're a counter-terrorist. You earn money in each round that lets you buy new weapons to use in the next round. When you are killed, you stay down until the next round.

Arms Race and Demolition modes mix up the gameplay a bit by changing the weapon loadouts a bit based on your performance. In Arms Race you get a new, but worse, gun after every kill and there are instant respawns. The first person to get all the way down to just the knife and make a kill wins. Demolition mode adds that weapon downgrade feature to the objectives from classic mode so after each round that you make a kill you have a worse weapon for the next round. Each mode also has a different selection of maps, which keeps things interesting. There aren't a ton of maps, though, but we assume more will be added eventually.

Counter-Strike is a multiplayer game through and through, but a great feature in Global Offensive is that you can play against bots offline as well. Playing against bots is a great way to learn the maps and figure things out before jumping online against real players. There are multiple difficulty levels for the bots as well, which will offer great practice as your skills improve. Online play on Xbox Live works well, though some users are experiencing lag and other bugs currently (they don't seem to affect everyone, however, so it is inconsistent) but that will surely be patched eventually.

Valve
Graphics & Sound

Visually, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is far from a pretty game, but the graphics are nice and clean and the interface is easy to understand, so you can't really complain too much. It runs fast and smooth, which is good enough for us.

The sound is decent as well. The weapon effects are nice and loud and very good overall.

Bottom Line

All in all, for just 1200 MSP ($15), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a pretty darn solid game that is worth a look for multiplayer shooter fans on Xbox 360. It isn't quite as feature-rich as some other shooters, but it makes up for it with some of the most pure and perfect gameplay you'll find anywhere. There is a bit of a learning curve, so just be aware that you can't jump in and play it like Halo or CoD and you'll do fine. For shooter fans, we highly recommend Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for a purchase.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

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