Since its birth as a mod for Half-Life in *checks notes* the late 1700s, Counter-Strike has undergone many a facelift, engine migration, and mechanical revamp. But the proposition has always been the same: a team shooter with an eco metagame and a huge emphasis on raw shooting skill.
It’s not lightning-fast like Quake, it’s not as rigorous about simulating reality as Escape From Tarkov, but modern-day CS:GO is considered one of the purest tests of a player’s aim and strategic nous out there. See also: incredible nades.
Rookies don’t have an easy time picking up a game that’s been out there in various forms since 2000, and even those who’ve lapsed – or never got all that great in the first place – can find themselves overwhelmed by cryptic playcalls, improbable headshots, or barbed deployments of the letters ‘E’ and ‘Z’.
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Lucky it has such a competitive and established esports scene. So let’s steal all the pro gamers’ habits and *clears throat* git gud. In list format, because the internet.