Counter-Strike is known by many as the mother of modern FPS games, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is another great addition to the franchise.

Pro's for Casual Players:

With that being said, CSGO addresses many concerns that more casual players, or fans of other FPS games had with previous titles in the genre such as CS:S. It has a matchmaking system for competitive games that also has a ranking system that allows for movement both up and down in the ranks. They allow you to easily play games with your friends as well as custom game modes and mods on community servers. CSGO, unlike other CS games, has skins and cases that are both available from drops ingame, or purchases on the steam market.

I've played a little over 2000 hours on CSGO, but I have over 10000 hours across 1.6, source, and CSGO combined and I've been playing at a competitive level for about 8 years (i've played for a total of 14 years). In CSGO, there is a competitve gamemode "Competitive Matchmaking" this will pair you up in a 5v5 bomb defusal setting (or hostage rescue) with players of similar skill rating. However, there are other gamemodes that are tailored to more casual players such as demolition or arms race.

For Competitive Players:

While matchmaking is well and good for a competitive player looking to play a tournament based gamemode, there are many alternatives in the CSGO community for players to improve and participate in tournaments for prizes and money.

ESEA (ESEA.net) is a service that costs approximately $7 a month to subscribe to. This will allow you to create scrim teams and play versus other teams for practice. The players and teams who play on ESEA are at a much MUCH higher skill level than matchmaking. Additionally, ESEA has the industry leading anti-cheat and you will experience far fewer cheaters than on matchmaking. ESEA also has tournaments and ladders that you can participate in if you want to take your esports experience to the next level.

CEVO.com is another service similar to ESEA. They've recenetly re-invented themselves and now have PUG and Scrim services similar to ESEA, but they offer them for free. The skill level is generally lower on CEVO than ESEA, but is still a higher level than you'll find on matchmaking. CEVO also offers tournaments you can participate in (pay to play, or free to play).

FaceIt.com is a tournament ladder website that allows you to participate in daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments and earn points or win prizes. I'm less experienced with FaceIt and personally have only used it two or three times. You'll find that with all three websites I mentioned (faceit, cevo and esea) many players intersect and are generally member of two or all three communities.

Skins and cases have amassed a large amount of money that Valve has pumped back into the community and is working to revive CS esports and frankly they are doing a damn good job. There are plenty of ways to play this game competitively.

My view may be bias because I've grown up my whole life playing Counter-Strike games, but I still believe it's the greatest multiplayer FPS ever made in a competitive standpoint and hopefully it will continue to be a leading PC eSport.

So yes, I recommend this game for anyone looking for a competitive or casual FPS experieince. For $15 you can't really go wrong.

Update: for steam badge :/

Counter-Strike is known by many as the mother of modern FPS games, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is another great addition to the franchise. Pro's for Casual Players: With that being said, CSGO addresses many concerns that more casual players, or fans of other FPS games had with previous titles in the genre such as CS:S. It has a matchmaking system for competitive games that also has a ranking system that allows for movement both up and down in the ranks. They allow you to easily play games with your friends as well as custom game modes and mods on community servers. CSGO, unlike other CS games, has skins and cases that are both available from drops ingame, or purchases on the steam market. I've played a little over 2000 hours on CSGO, but I have over 10000 hours across 1.6, source, and CSGO combined and I've been playing at a competitive level for about 8 years (i've played for a total of 14 years). In CSGO, there is a competitve gamemode "Competitive Matchmaking" this will pair you up in a 5v5 bomb defusal setting (or hostage rescue) with players of similar skill rating. However, there are other gamemodes that are tailored to more casual players such as demolition or arms race. For Competitive Players: While matchmaking is well and good for a competitive player looking to play a tournament based gamemode, there are many alternatives in the CSGO community for players to improve and participate in tournaments for prizes and money. ESEA (ESEA.net) is a service that costs approximately $7 a month to subscribe to. This will allow you to create scrim teams and play versus other teams for practice. The players and teams who play on ESEA are at a much MUCH higher skill level than matchmaking. Additionally, ESEA has the industry leading anti-cheat and you will experience far fewer cheaters than on matchmaking. ESEA also has tournaments and ladders that you can participate in if you want to take your esports experience to the next level. CEVO.com is another service similar to ESEA. They've recenetly re-invented themselves and now have PUG and Scrim services similar to ESEA, but they offer them for free. The skill level is generally lower on CEVO than ESEA, but is still a higher level than you'll find on matchmaking. CEVO also offers tournaments you can participate in (pay to play, or free to play). FaceIt.com is a tournament ladder website that allows you to participate in daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments and earn points or win prizes. I'm less experienced with FaceIt and personally have only used it two or three times. You'll find that with all three websites I mentioned (faceit, cevo and esea) many players intersect and are generally member of two or all three communities. Skins and cases have amassed a large amount of money that Valve has pumped back into the community and is working to revive CS esports and frankly they are doing a damn good job. There are plenty of ways to play this game competitively. My view may be bias because I've grown up my whole life playing Counter-Strike games, but I still believe it's the greatest multiplayer FPS ever made in a competitive standpoint and hopefully it will continue to be a leading PC eSport. So yes, I recommend this game for anyone looking for a competitive or casual FPS experieince. For $15 you can't really go wrong. Update: for steam badge :/