In the wake of the announcement of the showmatches at IEM6 Global Challenge New York, HLTV.org brings you a detailed look at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.



Counter-Strike: Global Offensive started as a Counter-Strike: Source PC to Xbox 360 port, but during its development Valve saw the potential of the port and decided to transform it into a whole new game. It has been in production since March 2010 and it will be a downloadable title only. It's almost ready for a closed beta, which will start this October.

For the past month Valve showcased the game in three distinct game expos, the Xbox 360 version in August at Pax Prime, the Playstation 3 version in September at the Eurogamer Expo and the PC version at Igromir this past weekend.

Gameplay changes

When looking back at the previous CS games, Valve noticed that the players would only use a few weapons, therefore in GO they decided to mix things up. The damage done by the pistols was reduced and increased on the SMG's (sub-machine guns). Valve also seems to be following the real-life weapon trends, as some old firearms were replaced by newer models (ex: USP and the MP5 have been removed from the game).

Here are the new additions to the weapons lists:

Pistols

-TEC-9 (terrorists only)

-P2000 (replaces the USP)

Sniper Rifles

-SSG 08 (replaces the scout)

-SCAR-20



Assault Rifles

-SG 556 (replaces the Krieg 552)



Sub Machine Guns

-PP-Bizon (replaces the terrorists MP5)

-MP7 (replaces the counter-terrorists TMP)

-MP9 (replaces the counter-terrorists MP5)

Shotguns

-Nova

-MAG-7

Machine Guns

-Negev



Equipment

-Zeus x27 (Taser-like weapon)

-Decoy Grenade (Creates sounds to delude that there is someone shooting a weapon)

-Molotov Grenade (Creates a curtain of fire which does little damage for a few seconds)



Some of the new weapons at work

Aside from the weapon-handling changes, another key mechanic of Counter-Strike has been changed, which was the removal of the defuse kit from the buy menu, as the old wire-plier is no longer purchasable. In the feedback session with the CS:S players in August, Valve gave the players a test version where the CT's would only have one defuse kit for the whole team, but after the negative feedback this has been changed, as now two random Counter-Terrorists will spawn with the kit and they will be easily identified with a plier icon on the scoreboard.

Other information:



Wall spamming is still possible in some locations flashes are similar to 1.6 the headshot animation is similar to 1.6 oil drums don't have physics, they are static, only smaller props have physics and they won't interfere with the players' movement there will be chickens on cs_italy(!) the game will run only on DirectX 9

The final game will ship with 7 classical maps, 5 of them being demolition maps (de) and the last 2 hostage maps (cs):

de_dust

de_dust2

de_aztec

de_nuke

de_inferno

cs_italy

cs_office

For the past two months all that was shown map-wise was dust2's older brother, de_dust. If you've been waiting anxiously for some dust2 gameplay, wait no more, in this interview by gamespot we get a sneak peek of the dusty lands 2 on Global Offensive.

Arsenal mode

With this title Valve not only wants to please the competitive community but the casual community as well, including some new game modes which will certainly delight the casual audience, one of which is the much known Gun Game mode. Arsenal mode (as it's called in CS:GO) is now part of the game and it will be divided in two modes:

Arms Race - consists of the typical Gun Game match where you start with the low damage pistols and for each kill you do, you’ll earn a better weapon until you reach the knife. Demolition mode - It is a mix of Arms Race but instead of being a deathmatch type of match, this mode is played on demolition maps.

The Arsenal mode will include 8 additional maps to the 7 classical maps, some of which are remakes from the original Gun Game maps. Valve is also talking with other CS and CS:S mod creators to add their mods to CS:GO.

Competitive and Casual mode

CS:GO will be divided into two main sections, Competitive mode and Casual mode. Casual mode will offer the players all the freedom and the perks the game can offer, free armor/helmet, unlimited money every round, so that the casual audience can enjoy the game without worrying too much about the game's mechanics.

On the other hand, competitive mode turns the game close to what we play today in tournaments, the rounds are shorter, your frags become your currency crucial to buy new weapons, you'll need to buy the armor/helmet and there is friendly fire.

Another interesting step in CS:GO is the inclusion of matchmaking, something that is new to the franchise. In the Competitive mode you'll be able to play against someone with the same level without the need to leave the game. When you're playing a matchmaking game it means your opponents have the same skill level you have, even if they are playing on the PS3 with a controller.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will feature crossplay play between PC, MAC and PS3. Valve will be hosting the servers for matchmaking and Arsenal mode, while the community can still host their private or public servers via the dedicated server tool provided.

Beta testing to start soon

The CS:GO beta will start this October, at first only the Pro-gaming community and those who got the keys at the expos will be able to play the beta, but Valve will be expanding the Beta from time to time and they expect that it'll be available to everyone until the year's end.

CS:GO doesn't have an exact launch date, only a time window (Q1 2012), as it will be the community giving the green light for when the game will be ready to hit the Steam store.

The developing team of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be present at the IEM6 GC New York, where they will be doing a feedback session with the professional 1.6 teams present there. ESL TV will be hosting 2 showmatches between the teams, and as always, HLTV.org will be on location bringing you all the news related to Valve's new baby.

