Half-Life Fallout: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Officially Announced - Half-Life Fallout

August 13, 2011 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).
Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago (CS beta 1, August 1999).
CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.
"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombard, VP of Marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."
CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year's PAX Prime and London Games Festival.
For more information, please visit http://store.steampo...d.com/app/1800/

Leaked screenshot:

A few back reports surfaced on the internet that Valve was inviting top CSS players and select community leaders to their headquarters. The purpose of the meeting was completely unknown to everyone and speculation ran wild but we knew something important was brewing. Yesterday, August 11th, we all found out why we were here.

...

Perhaps poetically, the first map we jumped into was de_dust, a map remains a sacred cow and the face of classic Counter-Strike and that at lunch Jess warned us was overhauled to become competitively played. My first impression was "WOW". I was surprised at how visually polished the game was. The maps look beautiful, the player skins and animations are smooth, and the gun models are cool! We got to play dust, dust2, inferno, and nuke with confirmation that other CS classic maps such as train and likely some new ones will be included in the release. Visually, the game looked a lot further along than pre-beta. Any new version of CS is going to have to look aesthetically beautiful for e-sports fans and spectators.

We've all seen and played pretty looking games before, but hands down and unanimously, everyone was most interested in the movement, weapon handling, and game play. It didn't feel like 1.6 and despite being built on the Source engine, it didn't feel like CSS. By design, Valve wanted to create a game with a different feel, and overall it was really smooth. The pro players seemed surprisingly happy with the player player movement and feel of the game but thankfully they weren't short of feedback and most weren't shy to share it. Tweaks and adjustments are needed, but in my opinion, it was a great sign that it didn't grossly offend anyone. Player movement is arguably one of the most important elements of any FPS game and I applaud Valve for the decision to create a new feel that both 1.6 and CSS players can hopefully each enjoy.

The weapons were one of the areas that in the group's opinions still needs the most work. Valve wanted to create a more balanced weapon system that would expand beyond the main four weapons (AWP, M4, AK, and Deagle). They wanted shotguns and sub machine guns to have situational value and so they really took some "creative liberties". They wanted sub machine guns to be good mid-distance alternatives and for shotguns to provide a unique close range use. The AK and M4 rifles felt weak and inaccurate while sub machines like the P90 were overpowered and soon became the weapon of choice during some casual pugs. Many pro players voiced concerns about the spray control and recoil patters, feeling that it was too easy and simple, and unanimously felt that the first three bullets of the M4 and AK in particular were too inaccurate, which took out the art and skill of "tapping". In the pro players' points of view, headshots were difficult to score and came at a premium - another area that needs tweaking. The developers eagerly listened to feedback, prying for explanations and more information to improve. They informed us that the game is built to have adjustable weapon variables and made it seem that everything the group was pointing out could presumably be tweaked based on our feedback before launch and even before beta. I think it was put best when some pros suggested that instead of tweaking the M4 and AK to make the other guns more balanced, they instead should remain untouched from 1.6 / CSS and the other weapons should instead be tweaked to provide purpose.

Wake me up when there is an EP3 announcement.