Counter-strike: Global Offensive details emerge from tester accounts

Play testers who went hands-on with Counter-strike: Global Offensive have shared gameplay details ahead of the game's formal debut at gamescom.

Writing in a post on ESEA News, Craig "Torbull" Levine said the game is very definitely not Counter-Strike 2, but a purpose-built eSports contender.

According to Levine's detailed run down, the game will not at this stage feature new game modes but will cater to both casual and competitive players, supporting matchmaking and dedicated servers.

Levine and his fellow testers played through a handful of classic maps - dust, dust2, inferno and nuke - and were told that more would return in Global offensive, having been overhauled for competitive play.

"The maps look beautiful, the player skins and animations are smooth, and the gun models are cool!" Levine enthused.

"Any new version of CS is going to have to look aesthetically beautiful for e-sports fans and spectators. It didn't feel like 1.6 and despite being built on the Source engine, it didn't feel like CSS."

Classic weapon sets also make a return, but new weapons listed by Levine include a heavy machine gun rifle, pistols, and a shotgun. The most significant new equipment seems to be consumables - molotov cocktails and decoy grenades. Levine also commented favourably on flash and smoke grenades, but wasn't so keen on HE grenades.

As the game is in pre-beta, the visitors were privy to ideas Valve is still playing with, including providing one team member with a defuse kit on bomb site maps, and giving players fresh kevlar in each round.

Thanks, CVG.