“Counter Strike: Global Offensive” is a competitive first-person shooter mainly played on the PC. After its release in 2012, millions fell in love with this game due to its intensely competitive play style.

The first thing that begs to be mentioned about this game is its most popular game mode: Competitive. In this mode, there are two teams of five players. First is a Terrorist team, whose objective is to plant a bomb at one of two designated sites and defend it until it explodes. Then there is the Counter-Terrorist team, whose objective is to guard both bomb sites and eliminate all of the terrorists. If a bomb is planted, the Counter-Terrorists have 45 seconds to defuse it. Each team of five players has 15 rounds on each side of the bomb. The key to success is teamwork, communication, and collaboration. Without these, you will never even come close to winning.

The reason that this game is so blood-pumping and rigorous is the simple fact that each round lasts only 120 seconds. Once you get the feel for the game, you will be hitting amazing shots in no time. Nothing beats the feeling of getting that perfect shot and winning the round, or being alone and taking out three enemies and defusing the bomb for the clutch victory. Even if it’s not real, the amazing feeling of being immersed in a virtual environment makes every whiz of a passing bullet seem so real. After a round you will find yourself sweating with a thumping heart, craving more.

“CS:GO” has graphics that look fairly decent considering that almost anybody can run it, but when cranked up all the way with a rig that allows for it, the game looks quite nice. The sounds you hear are very important to your strategy, and the audio is crystal clear. Many players new to a game have some trouble picking up the controls, but with “CS:GO” you will be sprinting around like a pro after just a few games.

Of course, as with anything, there are always negatives, and unfortunately “CS:GO”s community is its biggest downfall. In this game, you will occasionally find yourself playing against someone who has hacked the game to attain the ability to see you through walls, automatically snapping their aim to your head. Playing against a hacker will ruin your fun. “Smurfs” – people who are ranked very high but who only play with low-ranked players – will also stomp on any bit of enjoyment. This frustrates much of the “CS:GO” community and is a problem that the Steam Admins are currently looking to fix. However, hackers are a problem in any gaming community, and there is no surefire way to eliminate them.

Overall, whether you are a hardcore strategist or an adrenaline junkie, you will love this game. If you can look past the occasional hacker and smurf, you will find yourself having an amazing time playing and strategizing with fellow gamers to win. As long as you communicate and use teamwork, you will eventually have a deep love for “CS:GO.”