'Counter-Strike: GO' Danger Zone Battle Royale First Impressions: Fast-Paced, Intense

“Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” is now free-to-play and it now has a new battle royale mode, called Danger Zone. It’s already been a few days since the new battle royale mode was added to the game, and it seems a lot of players are already liking it.

Some fans over at Reddit praised Danger Zone for having limited ammo for players. Like other battle royale games, Danger Zone drops players into a map where they need to loot for weapons, ammo and other equipment before they are able to take on their enemies. The low ammo count in the game makes matches more intense and force players to make every shot count.

“I love the fact that you're not getting a ton of ammo. I feel like the way it is right now is very nicely tweaked. It's a battle royale, but every single bullet really counts here,” Reddit user Kazumo said.

The fast pace of the battle royale mode is also regarded as another reason why it is actually fun to play. Unlike “Fortnite” or “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” “CS:GO” Danger Zone only has 18 players instead of 100. The map is also smaller, but it’s big enough to let players loot for equipment before facing enemies. This combination means that matches are shorter and players can quickly jump into another match. A Danger Zone match typically lasts for just 10 minutes, according to The Verge.

“Right away, the small player count and small map mean these matches take a fraction of the time that most other BR games do, and I think that's a very good thing. I don't always want a potential 30 minute commitment but that's what I'm signing up for every time I play ‘Fortnite’ or ‘PUBG,’” one player remarked.

“I honestly don't think have these massive, 30 minute long matches on massive matches on large maps is all that fun,” another player commented. “Danger Zone provides a much quicker, fast-paced version of a BR that gives you more action in a shorter period of time.”

Players are also able to earn in-game currency for kills and for completing other objectives, like rescuing hostages. These other objectives may have been a mechanic that was added to deter players from camping, which is almost always a problem with battle royale games.

In Danger Zone, players also have a tablet that lets them view the map. They can also use the tablet to order items that will be delivered by a drone. The drone can be seen by anyone in the match, which means that players can be traced by enemies if they ask for a delivery. The drones make it risky for players, but it can also be used as a strategy.

The drones actually go to the location of the tablet and not the player. Players can ask for a delivery then just simply drop their tablet. This allows players to ambush any enemy who followed the drone to the location of the tablet. Although a lot of players are liking Danger Zone in “CS:GO,” there is one problem: the long waiting time for matchmaking.

“Three Minutes to wait for players to load is too much. Going to 15 seconds once everybody loads is pointless, just start straight away. 30 seconds choosing a spot is also too much,” one player said.

“My biggest issue with the mode is that 60 seconds matchmaking + 3 minutes waiting for everyone to load (goes down to 15 seconds the moment last person loads, if he ever does) + 30 seconds selecting spawn point is too long for a casual game mode where I just want to hit that new game once I die,” another player complained. “ IMO each of these numbers should be halved.”

Overall, it looks like Danger Zone in “Counter-Strike: GO” is off to a good start. It’s just unfortunate that a lot of players are still unhappy with how abruptly the game became free for everyone. “CS:GO” received over 14,000 negative reviews on Steam just a day after the game went free-to-play, as reported by PC Gamer. The problem that most players have about the game is actually the new free-to-play model and not the addition of the new battle royale mode.

The game was originally sold for $14.99 on Steam. Those who purchased the game were upgraded to Prime Status — the premium tier in the game. They were also rewarded with a new submachine gun and other freebies.