At a certain point, developer Valve became the new Capcom and Counter-Strike became its Street Fighter 2. Rather than take the series in a completely new direction, Valve has decided instead to make adjustments to the series over time and release it in various versions across multiple platforms throughout the years.

What has worked in the past - and works again here - is that these adjustments never bump up against the franchise's key element: the simple culture of good versus evil. It's terrorists versus counter-terrorists, and that's it. There's a simplicity to the formula that modern multiplayer shooters have recoiled from. Today, it's all about progression of the individual player, which often pushes them away from what should be a team-oriented experience. Counter-Strike has always nailed the team dynamic, because going it alone is a much riskier proposition when a single spawn is in the balance.

There are certainly some new elements in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but they are based on classic components found in Counter-Strike's culture.