The world of Counter-Strike has changed much since its inception as a mod for the original Half-Life, but its core has largely remained the same - until now. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) has done away with one official game play mode and has added a few more to spice things up.

Classic modes remain, but they now come in two flavors: Casual and Competitive. A popular mod created for Counter-Strike: Source (CS:S) was "Gun Game"; it's now here and called "Arms Race". Finally, the newest edition is a mix of Classic and Arms Race, called "Demolition".

The Classic game types are going to be the bread and butter for the majority of players so let's take a look at their differences first. Casual reflects its namesake very well; there is no friendly fire, no team collision, the income is much more generous, the rounds are best of 10 and the armor and defuse kit are provided at no expense at the beginning of every round. Competitive best reflects the harsh conditions of the original Counter-Strike, with friendly fire enabled, team collision enabled, the rounds best of 30 and the armor and defuse kit needing to be bought at the beginning of every round.