While the future for the game is bright, Counter-Strike is a franchise that loves to pay homage and respect to its roots. As such it is one of the few, if not the only game that has remained mechanically identical since its inception. This familiarity extends to the maps that for some have surpassed 20 years of active competitive play. So, the best way to pay respect to these maps is to rank the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has to of

Of all the map revisions, Inferno is likely the most faithful to the original with so little changed that it would be more apt to call it a facelift. Then again, it's not all that surprising so little was changed about the map since there were very few flaws with the map in general. Inferno is renowned for the balance it provides on both T and CT-sides, the high skill ceiling for players/teams to master the map, and endless replayability at the casual and professional lev

One of these is its CT-sided nature, which is likely what Nuke is most known for. While it was always a popular map despite this reputation, the casual and professional scene responded very positively to the changes. While many would argue it remains largely CT-sided, strong teams, structured or not, have options to be effective on the T-side creating a nice balance. Nuke remains in the Top 3 to 4 most-played maps in both casual and competitive pl

While all of these seem a bit overwhelming, Siege does help genre newcomers get familiar with skills only pros often learn over time. Due to Siege 's mechanics , newcomers can train on precision aiming, listening to odd sounds around them, and the value of quick thinking in high-stress situati

Created by renowned map creator Chris "Narby" Auty for Counter-Strike version 1.1, Inferno would go on to be included in every Counter-Strike game and remain a mainstay of the competitive scene. Since the map has such a legacy it made sense that it would be an ideal candidate for a revision and would get just that on October 13, 2

It's no secret that CS: GO has a massive fan base, and as a result, is pretty toxic for newcomers. New players are often picked on purely for being new, which makes any game unbearable to play. It's an unfortunate circumstance of the game's overwhelming success, but alas, it is something newcomers must be wary

Following intense subsequent pressure from the community on what was already a longstanding controversy, Twitch has banned most forms of gambling from the service , with the aforementioned crypto-gambling giant Stake.com being a named company that is no longer welcome on the streaming platform. This is enormous news for the company considering just how popular gambling streams are on the service, with streamers and fans on both sides of the argument continuing in intense deb

Websites quickly began exploiting the craze surrounding Counter Strike 's in-game items, with sites like CSGO Lotto allowing players to trade their items for eligibility into raffles for extremely valuable prizes. Many streamers began promoting these kinds of websites, often without disclosing their financial stakes in the services they were promoting. For example, popular streamer Phantoml0rd was famously permanently banned from Twitch for just this reason, despite later winning a civil suit against the platform. Twitch would quickly go on to ban these kinds of raffle or gambling websites related to CSGO , marking one of the first major gambling controversies for the serv

Escape From Tarkov is punishing on all fronts. In most games, players need to lose to learn. Tarkov punishes players for losing though, as all equipment brought into the field is lost upon death. On the flipside, players can get massive rewards for beating another player by taking their loot h

Weapons sway more when aimed down sights, making even simple shots hard to pull off, and the map is filled with sound traps that reveal positions to other teams in a heartbeat. The overall flow and strategy of Hunt make it one of the hardest yet most satisfying games for newcomers to le

What has made the map a mainstay for so long is its balance, unique aesthetic, and low learning curve. The map has also gained a bit of a reputation for being a bit of an upset map in the professional scene. This and its age have led to community questioning when the map will inevitably get its revision, but until that day, Mirage surely has a lot more to g

For newcomers with varying tastes, do any of these aforementioned games help them get more acquainted with the FPS genre? New FPS players looking for a great introduction to the hardcore world of multiplayer FPS might want to try out certain games to test their reflexes and engage in gun-toting fun against other te

Platforms: PC

Players who want a decent alternative to Counter-Strike would want to look at Black Squad , a free-to-play multiplayer FPS . Released in 2017, Black Squad seems reminiscent of other F2P FPS titles, with its own share of items in the cash shop. However, while players can whale real money buying guns, skins, and other cosmetics, they can also use in-slg Game Strategy currency into buying the same it