We don’t want to be reactionary, over the top and hyperbolic, but this might be the worst thing to ever happen in video games.

Not only have we lost the wonderful Overpass, we’ve replaced it with the tired, ugly, old-fashioned, puggy, uncouth, sandy cousin, Dust 2.

At least, that’s one way of looking at it. If you’re NiKo, or a BIG player, you’re probably happier that the new-fangled, far-too-big, not-as-complex-as-Jame-would-have-you-think, woke Overpass is out for the comfortable, iconic, based and cool Dust 2. Or something.

Some pros are calling this the ‘worst map pool ever’, while some couldn’t be happier to see the return of a map that makes them feel the way they did when they were a few years younger and still good at this game.

Aimed at nobody in particular.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. While there’s far too many ‘puggy’ maps (for want of a better word), it does have a mix of new, old, big and small. It’s hard for a big team to punish a weaker one in the veto, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.

Inferno, Mirage, Dust 2, Vertigo and Ancient are all pretty close-up and brawl-y, while Nuke is the only bona fide tactical map. Anubis lies somewhere in the middle, for our money.

But… it’s a new game, and it’s easy to get lost in everything new. Sometimes you have to hark back to your roots and bring back all the soldiers we lost along the way. Dust 2 is going to get some 30 year old man back to playing Counter-Strike, and that’s beautiful.

Alternatively, the next Major is in China and it’s a business decision. Or, Valve just hate tactical Counter-Strike. Honestly, it could be anything.

Is it the worst map pool ever? Kind of. But it’s still better than playing any other game, so who gives a toss?