They've trashed CS as we know it. Besides removing the after death screen where damage dealt to enemies was displayed, the new MMR system has it to where Silver-based skill players are facing off against those of a much higher caliber and skill level than should be allowed. Making the game, at least during these few months of first adjustment and ranking, very hard to enjoy to new players and casual players who've been playing for years. It feels like the fanbase has waited so long for meaningful improvements to the game's overall playability and MMR system, and now Valve has simply thrown their fans and customer's long-lived concerns out the window for a flashy new engine, with broken features (Such as a surrender vote in the event of a player leaving being locked as the votes still require 5 players to pass, make that one make sense, Valve). They tried, and the new graphics are lovely. But the failure to address any of the fans' concerns in any form of meaningful actualization, is highly disappointing. They've taken a game near to our hearts, cut it up, stitched it back together with new cosmetics, and attempted to present it as a better result. Perhaps if they had finished all of the game's new features and ironed out a ranking system that would give attention to the many complaints over the years, CS2 might have actually seemed like the next step in CounterStrike's story. As it stands, though, all I see is a fancy, broken reskin of the old toxic CSGO we all know and love to hate.

They've trashed CS as we know it. Besides removing the after death screen where damage dealt to enemies was displayed, the new MMR system has it to where Silver-based skill players are facing off against those of a much higher caliber and skill level than should be allowed. Making the game, at least during these few months of first adjustment and ranking, very hard to enjoy to new players and casual players who've been playing for years. It feels like the fanbase has waited so long for meaningful improvements to the game's overall playability and MMR system, and now Valve has simply thrown their fans and customer's long-lived concerns out the window for a flashy new engine, with broken features (Such as a surrender vote in the event of a player leaving being locked as the votes still require 5 players to pass, make that one make sense, Valve). They tried, and the new graphics are lovely. But the failure to address any of the fans' concerns in any form of meaningful actualization, is highly disappointing. They've taken a game near to our hearts, cut it up, stitched it back together with new cosmetics, and attempted to present it as a better result. Perhaps if they had finished all of the game's new features and ironed out a ranking system that would give attention to the many complaints over the years, CS2 might have actually seemed like the next step in CounterStrike's story. As it stands, though, all I see is a fancy, broken reskin of the old toxic CSGO we all know and love to hate.