“The Glock 18 is a serviceable first-round pistol that works best against unarmored opponents and is capable of firing three-round bursts.” ― Official description
The Glock-18, formerly known as the 9x19mm Sidearm, is one of the pistols in the Counter-Strike series. It acts as the starting pistol for terrorists in every game.
Review
The Glock 18 is a modification of the Glock 17 model, which has a selectable firing mode function, developed specifically at the request of the Austrian special forces counter-terrorism unit EKO Cobra. This unique submachine gun is equipped with a special lever for switching the fire mode, which is located on the rear left side of the bolt, on its grooved part.
Moving this lever down activates the automatic firing mode, and moving it up switches it to semi-automatic. This weapon, intended primarily for intelligence agencies, is not available to the general public in most countries due to its submachine gun capabilities.
Within the gaming world of the Counter-Strike series, the Glock-18 serves as the main pistol for a team of terrorists. The terrorist receives it at the start of the round - be it the first round of the game half, returning after death, or ending the previous round without additional weapons.
If desired, players can purchase it through the in-game purchase menu. Until a certain update in January 2013, it was available for purchase by both teams in Global Offensive, but after that it was limited to only the terrorist arsenal. This pistol is one of the most affordable in the entire Counter-Strike series, costing just $200 in Global Offensive and $400 in previous games.
Depending on the version of the game, the Glock-18 perfectly replicates the real thing or deviates slightly from it. So, if the versions on the GoldSrc engine are as close as possible to the original, then the Source version is more reminiscent of the compact Glock 19. In Global Offensive, the Glock is visually similar to the Glock 26 thanks to the use of the model from Left 4 Dead 2, but with an extended slide and frame in the style of the Glock 17 .
The gaming incarnation of the Glock-18 is equipped not only with a fire mode switch, but also with a regular shooting mode unique to the Counter-Strike series instead of fully automatic. At the beginning of the round, players start in semi-automatic mode, having the opportunity to switch to the next one using a special key and back. When changing modes in Global Offensive, a characteristic sound is heard that is heard by all players.
The next mode offers an increased rate of fire for quickly dealing damage, but entails an increase in the time between series and more difficult control of recoil and accuracy. The use of a semi-automatic weapon is recommended at medium and long distances, and the next mode is recommended in close combat.
Despite St.Despite obvious shortcomings such as low fire power and poor armor penetration in some versions of the game, the Glock-18 stands out among other pistols due to its large 20-round magazine, low recoil, high rate of fire and excellent accuracy. Its light weight and fast reload time make the Glock a must-have for pistol rounds, where cost savings are important and many players perform without additional equipment. With a high rate of fire and the ability to fire again, the Glock becomes an effective assault tool, providing a decent balance against CT's precision starting pistols.
Tactics
Thanks to its impressive magazine capacity, the Glock-18 is an excellent tool for putting pressure on opponents, especially in early rounds where counter-terrorists may be short on ammunition. This makes it ideal for active operations and quick assaults, although it is worth remembering that the presence of armor on the enemy can significantly reduce the effectiveness of such tactics.
In the latest versions of the game, improved accuracy when shooting in semi-automatic mode makes the Glock an ideal choice for medium-range shooting while maintaining sufficient mobility. This allows for a run-and-gun strategy that can be quite effective in a variety of situations.
The burst fire mode can catch enemies by surprise at short distances, but its use should be weighed against the risk of long pauses between bursts and increased dispersion. Despite this, the Glock remains a reliable choice as a secondary weapon, especially when paired with more powerful rifles like the AK-47.
As a free entry weapon, the Glock provides significant advantages in rounds where saving money is important. It can serve as a faithful companion in the struggle for economic advantage.
In rare cases when the main weapon requires reloading, the Glock can serve as a lifeline for finishing off seriously wounded opponents, showing itself in an unexpected way.
It's important to remember the Glock's significant limitations in terms of damage and range. Players should strive to replace this pistol with a more powerful weapon as soon as possible, whether by purchase or pick-up from the battlefield, to maximize their chances of success.
Here are some fascinating details about the Glock-18 that may interest fans of the Counter-Strike series:
- Regardless of whether there are one or two rounds left in the Glock magazine, the animation always shows three shells ejected from the weapon.
- In versions of Counter-Strike before Global Offensive, the Glock-18 and Five-SeveN are the only weapons that cannot kill with one headshot at short ranges.
- The Glock-18 model in Global Offensive was adapted from the dual-fire Glock model from Left 4 Dead 2, while receiving updated textures, animations and an increased number of polygons. This Glock features a desert brown finish and may be modeled after compact versions of the Glock, such as the Glock-26 or Glock-36, with a custom-long barrel.
- Interestingly, despite having a fire selector, there is no fire mode switch on the Glock slide in games, although the world and game models in Counter-Strike show it.
- In reality, there is no regular shooting mode for Glock; the pistol can fire in either semi-automatic or automatic mode.
- In the original Counter-Strike, the Glock had more varied animations, including several reload and draw options, which were removed in subsequent versions.
- In some cases, the reload animation in Counter-Strike does not match the sounds, which may be due to outdated animations.
- In the Deleted Scenes add-on, the low-resolution Glock-18 terrorist model is taken directly from the classic Counter-Strike.
- In the Global Offensive demo, one of the GSG-9 operatives is equipped with a Glock-18, which is unusual considering it is a traditional terrorist weapon. In early versions of Global Offensive, the Glock was also available for the counter-terrorism team.
- In the Chinese localization of Counter-Strike 1.6 and Condition Zero, the Glock's country of origin was incorrectly listed as Australia, while other weapons from Austria were translated correctly.
Trivia
Behind the scenes of Counter-Strike's development are some fascinating details about the Glock-18. One interesting point is the presence of unfinished animations in the game's source files, indicating that the Glock may have originally been equipped with a suppressor, similar to the USP. These animations are likely leftovers from the development of Half-Life, where a silenced version of the Glock was never implemented for in-game use. An attempt to activate the animation of attaching or removing a silencer only results in the animation of burst fire being played.
Another interesting fact is that in early alpha versions of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the Glock-18 was called "Kobra 18" and "Cobra 18", which is confirmed by temporary voice files and text strings. These names reflected the experimental nature of the development and exploration of various weapon naming options.
Additionally, the textures of the Glock-18 in these early versions of CS:GO were identical to those of the Glock pistol from Left 4 Dead 2, demonstrating the close collaboration between various Valve projects and the reuse of graphical assets across games. This fact highlights the general practice in the gaming industry to effectively use developed assets, helping to speed up the game creation process and optimize the work of developers.
Glock-18 in numbers
- Armor penetration - 47%
- Rate of fire - 400 RPM (Semi auto) 1200 RPM (Burst fire)
- Reload time 2.3 seconds
- Magazine capacity 20
- Reserve ammo limit 120
- Running speed (hammer units per second) 250 (6.096m/s) 240 (6,35m/s)
- Game icon 730
- Kill award $300
- Penetration power 100
- Ammunition type 9mm caliber
- Firing mode Semi-automatic 3-round burst
- Entity - weapon_glock
