If you've done the whole PC gamer thing, which we all know you have, you've undoubtedly tried at least one version of Counter-Strike, you know, that game that caused teens to be yelling about terrorists setting up bombs pre 9/11.  The 'old time' FPS that launched the online movement to shoot your buddies in the face and is getting a fresh new look in 2012. The first iteration of Counter-Strike appeared as a mod for the insanely popiular Half-Life (1997).  Sierra Entertainment / Vivendi Univeral Games bought and released the mod as its own standalone entity bundled with Team Fortress Classic, opposing Forces and several other games.  And from there, history was made as Counter-Strike became the largest online game, spawned a sequel and a Microsoft XBox version and an updated version on the Source engine.

Enough of the history lesson.  In 2012 we get to see a brand new version of Counter-Strike that is taking the best from all the versions previously (1.6, Condition Zero, and Source) and adding some new twists to keep things fresh.  As a 1.6 player, that makes me happy, but it also worries me as I found Source a bit lacking, as most Condition Zero and 1.6 players do.  From the videos we can tell that it is still the counter terrorists versus the terrorists except shinier.  The weapon selection is expanded but the actual process is streamlined by circular menu, similar to what was seen in the Xbox version.  Some new weapons include a stun gun and a molotov coctail.  Folks used to the standard Hostage, Demolition, and VIP will not be let down as those make a return as well, with some new added modes of gameplay.  Veterans will be happy to know that some of the core maps are back with small tweaks: Dust, Dust2, Italy, Nuke, Aztec, and more.

One surprising move is cross platform between console and computer.  It has been confirmed that Playstation 3, Mac and PC will all be able to have a crack at eachother in 5v5 Matchmaking, while the Xbox Live version will be isolated due to Microsoft being Nazis not wanting to play in the same sandbox as everyone else.  This could finally put to rest the "Console vs. Computer FPS War" that we see spark up from time to time.

Battlefield 3?  Modern Warfare 3?  Screw those, I want another crack at the game I spent 7 years in a monogomous gaming relationship with.  Counter-Strike Global Offensive will be appearing on the Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, PC and Mac as early as first quarter 2012.