Do you? Well I’ll do it anyway.
I started playing just before CS:GO was replaced by CS2. The funny part is that, as someone who usually plays adventure games on console, trying to instantly morph into a PC nerd took some getting used to. I began my journey on my own laptop (which could barely run the game at 15 fps—even with the worst graphics settings) and… with a controller. 😀
Yes, you read that right. I had never played a single first-person shooter before—not even on console—because, to be honest, I simply suck at them. And this time was no exception. But this time, I decided I’d learn, even if it killed me. Using both hands to do different things at once has never been my strong suit anyway. And my right leg has no idea what the left one is doing.
So, I started my CS career with settings that practically guaranteed I’d get roasted—and believe me, I did. But hey, my headshot percentage was instantly 100%… granted, that was just from a single kill. 😀
I quickly switched things up: I put the mouse in my right hand, but still moved using the left side of the controller. Laptop plugged into the TV, just so I could at least see a meter in front of me and spot where some pixel-blur might be trying to shoot me.
I played like that — from summer all the way to Christmas 2023 — until I did something I never thought I would: I bought myself a full-on PC gaming setup. We’re talking a proper rig, two monitors, a desk with a mat, keyboard, mouse, chair… the whole nine yards. And all of this just for CS..
Seriously, how the hell did it come to this? 😀
Anyway,
that’s how it all started. Along with it came the endless shit-talking from new teammates, the enemy team, my own squad, and—of course—myself. “Why are you so trash? Go play Minecraft.” Well, I’ve tried that too. Died there as well. What now? Start building LEGO sets?
But stubborn as hell, I just kept playing game after game, and eventually, some progress started to show. For starters, I wasn’t always stuck at the bottom of the team scoreboard from start to finish. 😀 I probably would’ve improved a lot faster if most of our game nights hadn’t devolved into heavy drinking sessions and general nonsense.
I probably wouldn’t be far off if I said that the motto of every Finnish player is: “After three beers you hit better, after the sixth you might as well just go collect pinecones or smell flowers.”
Let’s fast-forward to today.
Over the past year, Valve has dropped some absolute dogshit updates for this game—so bad that even I (the guy who barely had time to get nostalgic about CS:GO) genuinely miss it. The only thing we players have been begging for is for them to get these cheaters under control. Instead, things just keep getting worse. It kills the motivation for me and other real players to even bother, even though we’ve managed to rack up some wins against these useless clowns…
And as for these ranks—good luck climbing from 2000 elo to even over 5000 these days, unless you get insanely lucky or some Russian kid with cheats ends up on your team and just carries the whole match while you hang around for the ride. Pretty fucking great, huh?
So what else can we even do besides bitch about it with our friends? As long as Valve keeps raking in cash and benefiting from these cheaters, and everyone else just keeps playing like nothing’s wrong because they don’t know what else to do, nothing’s going to change. One person complaining is like an ant’s dick in the grand scheme of things…
What do you think about the whole “development” of Counter Strike over the past few years? Drop your thoughts in the comments—or even better, let’s continue the conversation on the forum!
Despite all this, I hope you have an awesome start to your autumn!
– Kisse –
