As one of the oldest and most storied maps in competitive Counter-Strike history, Jo Bieg's creation in BETA 4.0 of the original Counter-Strike mod has seen iterations and remakes across every single game. Needless to say, Nuke is iconic and up there with the likes of Inferno and Dust II. Due to its reputation, it was the second map to receive a significant revision to not only update the aesthetic but also resolve issues that have persisted for ye

Hunt: Showdown is one of the most unique first-person shooters on the market. It tasks players to go into a monster-filled 1870s bayou with nothing but break-action shotguns, lever-action rifles, and many other historical weapons . It plays unlike nearly any other competitive shooter, as it lacks fully automatic weapons and prioritizes patience and accuracy when fir

Websites quickly began exploiting the craze surrounding Counter Strike 's in-slg game Money guide 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

The Twitch platform has been no stranger to controversy historically, with the wide-ranging avenues of entertainment that streamers engage in inevitably dredging up questions of morality and disagreements among the streaming giant's viewers. As the platform has grown in recent years, so too has the frequency of large-scale controversies and the potential implications they could have on impressionable audien

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

The ping mechanic is one of the most useful non-verbal ways for teammates to help each other during a game of Danger Zone . This is because a player pinging can reveal an enemy, a supply crate, or can direct the focus of a team to a particular po

Platforms: PC, Linux , macOS

Arguably the parent of Overwatch and its unique game modes, Team Fortress is a team shooter that remains popular to genre newcomers and pros years after its initial release . Players in a squad choose one out of nine classes, each with predetermined abilities and toolkits that can help achieve the mode's objectives. Matches can involve mechanics such as moving carts, protecting locations, or even stealing briefca

Some competitive multiplayer games are tough for newcomers to get into. This can be because of the complexity of the game, or the toxic gatekeeping of the established community. While many development studios are trying to make their games as widely accessible as possible, there are still some that are an absolute grind for new players to le

With the long-term chapter of gambling controversies on the Twitch platform seemingly coming to an end, it is clear that the streaming service is shifting dramatically in appeal and ethos. While many will agree that the move might be in Twitch's best interests, the tension and infighting that it is causing among its most popular streamers may be a very detrimental byproduct of its many gambling controversies finally being laid to r

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

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

On its launch in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege had 20 unlockable operators for players to choose from, and a small pool of maps. Now, seven years later, the game sports 63 playable operators and 21 maps. Rainbow Six Siege was already difficult for new players thanks to its large maps, destructibility, and layered strategy that requires good team play and communication. Now, with 63 operators and a massive player base, new players are often completely overwhel

Managing the looting, complex gunplay, and punishing feelings of losing everything make Tarkov a true grind for newcomers. Its incredibly high TTK and lack of kill cams can make deaths feel impossible to learn from. Newcomers hoping to stick with the game will have to find a way to learn though, because Escape From Tarkov never holds the player's h