Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Announced

It’s been almost seven full years since Counter-Strike: Source was released, and given that it came out a mere four years after the original, no one would blame you if you thought that a third game in the series would never see the light of day. But, at the Eurogamer Expo 2011, Valve has shown that the series isn’t to remain stagnant, with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive set to launch in 2012.

Given the time that has passed between Source and Global Offensive, we can assume that the latest game will show off the latest and greatest Source engine technologies, which according to the press release will include updated versions of popular maps, such as de_dust, but also cs_office, cs_italy and perhaps every other map found in Source.

In addition, brand-new maps will be introduced, along with new characters and weapons. Since Source carried over most of its likeness from the original, not really offering anything new except improved graphics and gameplay behaviors, Global Offensive is going to be a very interesting beast, requiring even veteran players to re-learn much of the game.

For the first time, consoles will also be able to experience Counter-Strike in its purest form, as the game is set to launch on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. While CS has been done on consoles in the past, the result was nothing like the PC variant.

Global Offensive, to me, is going to be one of the more interesting games to watch in 2012. The reason simply boils down to the fact that CS players tend to be some of the most content out there, with it not unusual to see 50,000 players at any given time playing either the original or Source. That’s 100,000 gamers in CS every single day. It can be assumed that anyone still playing those games on a daily or weekly basis are not likely quite as amped up as lighter players are for GO, as they’ve already “mastered” their version of choice. Plus, there’s always the worry that Valve could produce a Counter-Strike game that does things veteran players don’t like.

Valve has a very, very tough task at hand, and it’ll be quite a feat to tear away either CS or CS: Source gamers from their preferred title. Me on the other hand, I haven’t played the game for quite a while, so I am very amped up for Global Offensive. All I hope is that Valve employs the help of actual CS vets to make sure that the direction of the game is as on par with the previous games as possible.