Counter Strike creates terrorist contests

By: Cody Hood

“The bomb has been planted,” calls the announcer, the FBI agents perking up. They take their rifles and begin running over to Bombsite B. One agent peaks the corner, only to get sent back from the force of a large bullet impacting him, killing him instantly. The others look at each other, the one in back pulling out his flashbang.

“Flashbang out!” the agent calls, hearing the bang of the grenade going off.

They charge in, bullets firing as the terrorists in sight go down. They run to the bombsite and check around for the bomb.

“Defusing,” an agent calls out, the wires of his defusal kit being attached in an attempt to end the round. The last terrorist comes out of his hiding spot, hearing the callout. The loud bang of the shotgun leaves the Counter-Terrorist sprawling on the floor, defusal stopped cold. A grenade is sent over by the remainder of the defusing team, leaving the final terrorist gone.

“Defusing,” is called again, and after a few intense, stressing moments, the bomb stops ticking. “The bomb has been defused. Counter-Terrorists win,” the announcer says, the round ending.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released on Aug. 21. It’s a game by Valve Corporations, priced at $14.99. It’s one of Valve’s most successful games, rivaling DOTA 2. It’s a tactical first-person shooter, relying on many factors with little to no random factors to ensure that game is as skill-based as it can be.

The game is centered around two teams: Terrorists (commonly referred to as T’s or T Side) and Counter-Terrorists (commonly referred to as CTs or CT Side). The Terrorists’ job is to bring a C4 charge to either Bombsite A or Bombsite B, plant it and defend it until it explodes. The Counter-Terrorists’ mission is to prevent the bomb from being planted, or defuse it when it has been planted. Another way to win is to eliminate the entire enemy team, as players do not respawn after they have been killed.

The game is very skill-based, one of the only random factors being the very slight damage spread. Even the recoil in the game is predictable and controlled based on movement and a certain pattern that the gun will follow. Each team has to work together to complete its objectives, as one man can’t lone wolf every round the entire game.

One of the most interesting mechanics in the game is purchasing guns. Players start out in matches with a certain amount of money and the team’s base-starting pistol (Glock-18 for the T’s, P2000 for the CTs.) Things that occur get each player money, such as killing other players, planting the C4 charge and winning or losing the round. The money earned can be used to purchase guns, grenades, bulletproof vests and defusal kits, the kit depending on if a player is a CT or not.

The player economy definitely shines in CS:GO. There are weapon skins that can be purchased on the Steam Community Market, along with opening cases and finding drops that allow people to have fancy textures on their weapons, allowing for quite a bit of eye candy. The market is rather expensive, though. Even the most basic of knife skins list around $50 to start with, some of the most expensive on the market being $400 and some being thousands of dollars. Most skins are overpriced, but most people should be able to find their favorite skins at a rather low price.

This game has the same problem as League of Legends, having quite the rude community. Many players will kick others for not being perfect, or will just yell at them with various colorful language. Some players don’t even speak English, many speaking Russian or Spanish, so for a unilingual person, it can be difficult to communicate with these people effectively, since there is, for the most part, no effective system for calling out objectives and commands in the game itself.

The Counter-Terrorists wait patiently for each assault, while the Terrorists charge into battle with flashbangs exploding, guns blazing and people falling. Whoever wins the round comes down to who can communicate better, and, of course, who can play better.