CS:GO has always seemed, to me, like the standard modern shooter. Games like Call of Duty came along and popularized certain aspects of the genre with player-friendly additions like ADS, sprinting, and reflexive control schemes, but CS:GO continued in the traditions of old-school shooters. That was, in my mind, what CS:GO was.
After having played the game, I’m not sure whether I was right or wrong.
The game certainly holds players to a standard of skill. In each match, my team was either dominating or being dominated, with no in-between. No grenade launchers or rapid-fire shotguns here, no wallrunning or crazy strategies, just distilled shooting.
And bomb planting, of course, which is a genius addition to a team deathmatch mode. Its addition prompts strategy about when to place the bomb, as well as forcing teams to fight together at a certain point. There’s a reason CS:GO uses only bomb defusal in its competitive scene. It’s a well-made mode.
The question is, do I like the pure, undistilled shooting of CS:GO? Not really. I can appreciate the simplicity and balance of the system, but I’m not looking to better myself in a competitive scene, nor do I have friends to play with. For a filthy casual like me, there are many other shooters on the market for me to play, where I can maybe play a balanced match.
Verdict: Four matches played.
Kyle Adams 