Counter Strike: GO Goes Free This Weekend

[Earnest Cavalli]

Counter Strike: GO Goes Free This Weekend

Valve Software invites you to shoot terrorists all weekend long, for the very attractive price of "absolutely free."

Can I just take a moment to publicly praise Valve Software for everything it's done with the Steam digital distribution system? It would have been perfectly acceptable for the company to simply create a solid, stable platform upon which users can find almost any game they could possibly desire, but then Valve has to go and sweeten the pot by periodically offering players the chance to test drive major releases for days at a time. This is obviously a lucrative move for the company, but it's also generous. Proper to Valve for that.

I kicked things off with that premise as this weekend sees Counter Strike: Global Offensive momentarily joining the ranks of games you can play for no money down. From now until Monday at 10AM Pacific Time, you need only download the Counter Strike: Global Offensive client, then log onto a server to enjoy as much wanton gunplay as you can stomach.

Ah, but that's not all. If, during the course of the weekend's bloodshed, you decide that maybe you'd like to keep playing Counter Strike: Global Offensive beyond Monday morning, you're presented an opportune chance to make that a reality. Not only is Valve launch a weekend-long free trial for the game, it's also slashed the title's price by 50 percent. If you act fast, you can own the game outright for a mere $7.50. This promotion also ends on Monday morning.

Oh, and if you happen to be one of the three people on the planet unaware of Counter Strike, I'll simply say that it's a team-based multiplayer shooter which pits two sides (terrorists and counter terrorists) against one another in a battle to see who can kill the most dudes, rescue the most hostages, or prevent a bomb from being detonated. Global Offensive is the latest reworking of the original Counter Strike (one of the most popular fan-created mods of all time), and aside from various gripes about the series' balance changes, it's a pretty solid shooter. I'd convince you of its positive qualities more, but since the game is now available to play totally gratis, that seems unnecessary.

All the info you'll need to get started with Counter Strike: Global Offensive can be found on the game's official Steam page, linked below.

Source: Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/730/]

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[NWJ94]

I should play this weekend, maybe with all the newbies I'll actually walk more than 10 feet without being immediately gunned down by 6 different people on over watch.

Man, I'm terrible at CS:GO

 

[Longstreet]

I am not only part of the people that never heard of the game (Well, the GO part, have heard of CS:source) But also never played it.

Guess i wasn't really around when CS was at its peak.

 

[greyfox115]

Never played it may give it a go and 50% off is not a bad deal if you end up liking it.

 

[Parakeettheprawn]

I should play this weekend, maybe with all the newbies I'll actually walk more than 10 feet without being immediately gunned down by 6 different people on over watch.

Man, I'm terrible at CS:GO

You see, I'd say that about normal CS, but in this one, especially Arms Race, I can actually do quite well. In fact, I sometimes lead the team, whilst other times sucking -- it all seems to vary round to round, and even a losing streak is gone in a flash. I really want to get the full game -- it's on my list of games I want to get at some point right up there with Dark Souls and Injustice -- it seems somehow more approachable than the original game, which is bloody murder.

 

[Parakeettheprawn]

I am not only part of the people that never heard of the game (Well, the GO part, have heard of CS:source) But also never played it.

Guess i wasn't really around when CS was at its peak.

I only found out about it after I really started getting into PC gaming -- it did have an Xbox game but that's about it. This one is multiplatform and I think the PS3 and Mac/PC are all tied together *awkward glance at Microsoft still refusing cross platform play that doesn't involve GWFL*.

I advise giving it a shot, as someone who hated CS:S but loves CS:GO. It's the better one, if you aren't a "purist". Arms Race is a great way to get used to the controls, like crouching to steady aim and the fact shift is actually to slow down since you're always sprinting and that only like two guns involve iron sights/scopes.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I am not only part of the people that never heard of the game (Well, the GO part, have heard of CS:source) But also never played it.

Guess i wasn't really around when CS was at its peak.

Well get to it!

As for it's peak, right now there are fewer players on Black Ops 2 than on any of the versions of Counter Strike, in fact all of the PC versions of CoD combined still come to less than half the number of CS players. Whilst it's not quite generating more traffic than all of Italy these days it's not exactly unpopular.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Why again is EA the bad guy for releasing paid updates and Valve the best company ever?

Well, Valve have only re-released Counter Strike twice so far (three times counting Condition Zero?), versus how many Battlefields and Medal of Honors?

Free updates, content and SDKs to all haven't hurt either! Remind me how much EA (and Activision) charge for four maps these days...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

If only I had a more powerful computer.

Or an internet speed above 860kbps.

 

[Longstreet]

I am not only part of the people that never heard of the game (Well, the GO part, have heard of CS:source) But also never played it.

Guess i wasn't really around when CS was at its peak.

Well get to it!

As for it's peak, right now there are fewer players on Black Ops 2 than on any of the versions of Counter Strike, in fact all of the PC versions of CoD combined still come to less than half the number of CS players. Whilst it's not quite generating more traffic than all of Italy these days it's not exactly unpopular.

Not hard to achieve that, i actually got BlopsII on PC and the connection flatout sucks. Last good cod (you know, where actual skill counted for something) was MW1/Cod4. After that, since the lobby BS, its whoever is lucky enough to pull host.

But guess ill be getting it then. Long over due, since its been out a few years.

Since i am a cheap bastard, anyone got like a 50% off coupon for it willing to trade for a 50% off Duke Nukem 3D?

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Yay more newbs to pwn... I mean yay! more people to play with. ...and pwn.

Captcha: one hit wonder
Yes Lord Inglip, I'm a one hit wonder with the snipes.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Not hard to achieve that, i actually got BlopsII on PC and the connection flatout sucks. Last good cod (you know, where actual skill counted for something) was MW1/Cod4. After that, since the lobby BS, its whoever is lucky enough to pull host.

Well there is that, a few years ago when MW2 came out people (server hosting people) were constantly telling me that Call of Duty was the new Counter Strike and that soon CS would be an empty game. It even became a thing on the Escapist, I was of the opinion that we should wait and see as I didn't expect Modern Warfare 2 to hold players' attention the way CS did.

Three and a bit years later I can never resist an opportunity to rub it in.

Completely agree with you on CoD 4, that was a nicely balanced piece of game.

 

[M4rsch]

Friendly piece of advice to all those who plan to try it out this weekend.

Don't.

The last 5 matches I played were crowded with cheaters. Since creating steam accounts gives you free access to cs:go, bans hold no fear for the likes of them. The response time of a report is a day or two, so you'll be seeing a lot of bitching, moaning and hacking.
Alltogether not really a great experience.