COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE

Counter-Strike is a multiplayer shooter video game, born from the idea of two university students who in 1998 handled the Half-Life code. Later becoming the property of Valve Software, its current success is due to the fact that it was published free of charge by Half-Life, and was designed and implemented online. For the latest version, release the periodic valve Valve team, such as new character skins, correct bugs, new maps, making it one of the strengths of the game that is continuously improving. Counter-Strike was released for Microsoft Windows, Mac and Xbox, while a beta version for Linux was released on Steam on January 25, 2013, as it was made stable a few weeks later.

Counter-Strike is a game like tactics is the main element. The gaming experience is therefore quite satisfying, since even the mind and the reflections are fully exploited. Behind all these characteristics, there is a whole world of skill, technique and passion. There are thousands of clans worldwide, and in some countries it is even practiced as an electronic sport.

Weapons can be bought (with money accumulated by killing opponents). They are classified differently from the other FPS: in fact there is no balance, and they are stronger and more "weak", but they have different costs. For example, the shotgun (M3 Super 90) fires much slower than the semi-automatic rifle (M4 Super 90) and is therefore "weaker", but it costs half.

Steam platform

Since the publication of Condition Zero, the game uses the Steam authentication platform, a commercial software that Valve has developed to allow the purchase and download of their games online, from any pc a registered user uses, provided that it has a login and a valid activation code. If two users log in simultaneously with the same account, the first one will be disconnected with a duplicate identifier (ID) message. Despite the huge amount of problems encountered with the distribution of this platform, currently the Steam system is fully accepted by all its users. [Without source] This system has in fact disappeared the annoying problem of updates, which are now automatic, and moreover Valve itself has a greater chance of spreading innovations and additional software.

Technical observations

One of the most discussed issues are the restrictions imposed by the Valve team: with the distribution of the Source version, users can either play online or play single (but only with the BOTs that have been implemented in a subsequent update), of course the game on -line turns out to be much more fun, as long as you have a fast internet connection, as slow line owners (such as a 56 kB or ISDN modem) may experience slowdowns due to too high latency. It is also impossible to play Counter-Strike Source on LANs with a class other than 192.168.x.x, a technical limitation that has always been introduced by the same Valve team, probably to contain / combat piracy. After attempting the connection, an "Invalid Steam Ticket ID" message appears. Another not very positive innovation, and little accepted by the various users, is that of Dynamic Weapon Pricing, introduced by Counter-Strike Source, which consists of a sort of law of supply and demand. In practice, the prices of weapons that can be bought in the game vary according to the request made by users. What has decisively distorted the essence of the game, based on tactics that largely concern the purchase of a weapon rather than another.

The weapons

Basic weapons

Knife: Assault knife, basic for all 2 teams. It is the basic weapon of the game and can not be abandoned.

C-4: This is the bomb that the Terrorists need in some maps. It can only be placed at certain predefined points on the map. His explosion is strong, he kills all the players in the neighborhood and participates in the winning of the current round.

Guns

Glock 18: Basic terrorist gun, has a 3-shot fire option. Cost: $ 400 - Energy in the sprint: 475 J - Caliber: 9 parabellum

USP.45: Basic gun for CT, equipped with silencer. Cost: 500 $ - Energy in the sprint: 553 J - Caliber: .45 ACP

SIG Sauer P226: Medium-caliber pistol, selectable by both teams. Cost: $ 600 - Energy at the muzzle: 600 J - Caliber: .357 MR

Desert Eagle: Large caliber pistol, 7-round magazine with high damage, selectable by both teams. Cost: 650 $ - Energy at the sprint: 1650 J - Caliber: .50 AE

FN Five-seven: Gun only available for CT, precise but does not have good stopping power. Cost: $ 750 - Energy in the sprint: 465 J - Caliber: 5.7 x 28 mm

Beretta 92: 2 semi-automatic pistols firing alternately, high level of fire. Cost: $ 800 - Energy in the sprint: 606 J - Caliber: 9 parabellum

Rifles and machine guns

Benelli M3 Super 90: Shotgun, deadly short barrel at close range, selectable by all 2 teams. Cost: $ 1700 - Energy in the sprint: 2429 J - Caliber: 12 gauge

Benelli M4 Super 90: Semi-automatic rifle. The increased firing range makes it more versatile than the pump-powered M3 rifle, but costs almost twice as much. Cost: $ 3000 - Energy in the sprint: 2429 J - Caliber: 12 gauge

Heckler & Koch MP5: miter and lethal, 30-shot magazine, miter for both teams. Cost: $ 1500 - Energy in the sprint: 637 J - Caliber: 9 parabellum

Steyr TMP: Silenced machine gun with high volume of fire, low precision, only for CT. Cost: 1250 $ - Energy at the sprint: 606 J - Caliber: 9 parabellum

FN P90: machine gun effective at various distances, 50 shots in loader, for all 2 teams. Cost: $ 2350 - Energy in the sprint: 465 J - Caliber: 5.7x28 mm

Ingram MAC-10: Machine gun for soloists Terrorists, American counterpart of IMI Uzi, contralto volume of fire. Cost: $ 1400 - Energy at the sprint: 584 J - Caliber: 45 acp

UMP: This machine gun is slow but very powerful. Cost: $ 1700 - Energy at the sprint: 625 J - Caliber: .45 ACP

SG 550: Assault rifle equipped with zoom, available only for terrorists, excellent on medium distances. Cost: $ 3500 - Energy in the sprint: 1570 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

AK-47: Assault rifle for only Terrorists, powerful and precise with short bursts, because the high recoil makes it not very compact. Cost: $ 2500 - Energy at the sprint: 1992 J - Caliber: 7.62x39

Galil: Assault rifle for only Terrorists, same power as the m4, but less precise in the burst shooting than the m4, and with 35 bullets in the magazine. Cost: $ 2000 - Energy at the sprint: 1712 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

FAMAS: Assault rifle for CT, good accuracy but low power, very high volume of fire but little capacious magazine, burst option by 3 shots. Cost: $ 2250 - Energy at the sprint: 1712 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

M4 (assault rifle): Assault rifle for CT only, equipped with silencer. Accurate from near and far. Cost: $ 3100 - Energy in the sprint: 1570 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

Steyr AUG: Assault rifle, same power of the m4, equipped with zoom, a little slower than the m4, available only for the CT. Cost: $ 3500 - Energy in the sprint: 1570 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

SIG-550: Semi-automatic precision rifle, available only for CT, not particularly high power but good precision. Cost: $ 4200 - Energy at the sprint: 1650 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

Heckler & Koch G3: the strongest weapon of terrorists, semi-automatic precision rifle with a volume of fire, 2 levels of zoom. Cost: $ 5,000 - Energy in the sprint: 2200 J - Caliber: 7.62 NATO

Steyr Scout: Small-caliber sniper rifle, equipped with two zoom levels, kills with a single hit if it hits the head, for both teams. Cost: $ 2750 - Energy at the sprint: 2200 J - Caliber: 7.62 NATO

M249: heavy assault submachine gun, 100-stroke magazine, high volume of fire but uncontrollable recoil, very inaccurate in medium and long-range burst shooting. Selectable for all 2 teams. Cost: $ 5750 - Energy in the sprint: 600 J - Caliber: 5.56 NATO

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare: Large-caliber precision rifle for long distances, almost always enough to be killed for both teams. Cost: $ 4750 - Energy in the sprint: 7000 J - Caliber: 308 Lapua Magnum

Grenades

Flashbang: This grenade causes a very strong glow, accompanied by a loud noise. Blind and assa the opponent for seconds or even themselves.

Available for both teams. Cost: 200 $

HE Grenade: Grenade, causes many damage to the opponent, but often does not guarantee killing. Available for both teams. Cost: 300 $

Smoke Grenade: This grenade causes a thick cloud of smoke, lasts a few seconds (about 20). Available for both teams. Cost: 300 $

Maps

OilRig, Tundra, 747 Hijack, Assault, Alleyway, Zaphod's, Italy, Militia, Office, Canyon, Siege, Aztec, Cobble, chateau, Dust I, Dust II, Hell, Nuke, Piranesi, Prodigy, Storm, Survivor, Torn, Trainyard , Vegas, Vertigo.

Counter-Strike: Source currently has 26 maps, the fewer of them are from rapid fire so small and short with scarce hot zones (Zones that favor the meeting of the Anti-Terrorist and Terrorist units ie the battle points) where they are used most of the time short distance guns; while almost all the maps are mainly extensive, complex and very intricate, where almost never use short-range weapons but rather medium and long distance sniper rifles, abundant the presence of hot areas and perfect hiding places where to camp (stay for long time in the same place waiting for the appearance of the opponent: Camping (video games)). With the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive new maps will be distributed and the classic ones of the previous versions will be remastered.

Cheating and VAC

Another well-known phenomenon that afflicts Counter-Strike in multiplayer, is the cheating, or the use of third-party software that greatly favors the player who uses it. The two best-known cheats are: Wallhack and Aimbot: the first consists in being able to see the opponent's movements through solid objects, so as to be able to contrast in time a sudden appearance, or even kill him through the same obstacle that hides him ( in many cases the projectiles of your weapons go beyond walls, doors etc.); the second instead manages to find automatically the target coordinates on the opponent (usually at the head) in such a short time that you can beat any enemy on time.

To counteract the cheating phenomenon, even if only partially, Valve first distributed the VSM (Valve Security Module) and then the VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat), currently abandoned by their developers in order to contribute to the exit of VAC2, a new, more stable and efficient anti-cheat system. Currently, however, even this system is placed at risk from the existence of increasingly efficient and invisible software. For the unofficial matches the VAC2 is generally considered sufficient, but in particular, for the online league matches carried out by ESL, the Aequitas system is used more often, which is nothing more than a simple but powerful application that allows you to monitor every activity occurred on the pc of every player during a game. Other leagues that organize tournaments, such as ClanBase, do not use any anticheat outside the game, and this often compromises the final result of the match.

Counter-Strike Tournaments

There are several LAN leagues including Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), Eletronic Sports World Cup (ESWC), World e-Sports Games (WEG) and World Cyber Games (WCG). These are the most prestigious tournaments ever. In some of these teams are played (also called clans); in others it is played with the national teams of each country.

Censorship

In Brazil from January 22, 2008, the video game was recognized as illegal because it was considered too realistic and violent. In reality this is a reaction of the local government to the cs_rio map set in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro precisely where the terrorists (Brazilians) are hostages of the UN members. The game has been withdrawn from the sale and Internet Points if found in possession of the game are fined up to $ 500,000.