Counter-Strike

Back in 1998, a modification of the Half-Life games on the PC sparked a universal gaming revolution of sorts.  Counter-Strike, a first-person shooter that involves teaming up with other players on the internet to take on an opposing team acting as either terrorists or counter-terrorist, was a phenomenal success and is played often even today.  Thanks to the mighty Xbox and its ability to play multiplayer games online with the Xbox Live service, it didn’t take long for Microsoft Game Studios to realize that Valve’s popular shooter might just feel at home on this powerful console.  So how well does this PC classic do on the Xbox?  Let’s find out, action fans.

First off, it’s important to note that Counter-Strike was made with multiplayer online action in mind.  Its overabundance of playing maps will bring a smile to any die-hard multiplayer gamers’ face and the fact that you can play as an elite counter-terrorist group or a group of highly trained terrorist gives everyone a chance to feel what it’s like to be fighting for two very different causes.  On the one hand you have innocent hostages to think about and on the other you have innocent lives to put in danger.  Two very opposing sides and boy does this make for some really dramatic conflicts.

This Xbox version isn’t really a direct port of the original but all the ideas, concepts and weapons are all there.  The game offers a Single Player mode but if you’re expecting a few levels tied in with an actual story you are in for a major disappointment.  The single player games offer the same eighteen maps (downloadable maps will be available using the Xbox Live service) but you are accompanied by three bots as you battle against the opposing team made entirely of bots themselves.  The result is a mode you will quickly get tired of after a few rounds of Hostage-Rescue and Demolition.  Yes, online is where the real action truly takes place.

Online, Counter-Strike becomes an entirely different game since now you are joined by gamers (up to sixteen in total online or through a System Link game) that can communicate with you via the Xbox Communicator headset.  This allows you to come up with strategies that you normally can’t do with bots (although bots can be issued commands such as Follow or Need Backup).  The maps range from an airstrip, a chateau, a subway, a bank in Miami or even a sports stadium and they each have enough places to stage ambushes or make your final stand.  While the game suffers from the occasional stutter, it really doesn’t stop the flow of the action.  We’re talking a pretty smooth ride for the most part.

The scenarios, though, are only limited to those two I just mentioned.  For the counter-terrorist group, you must rescue a small number of hostages and lead them out alive by having them follow you out to a certain point in the game (usually where you started).  As the terrorist threat, your main goal is to use demolition charges somewhere in the gaming environment and then guard it from counter-terrorist intent on disarming it.  Successfully completing a round by killing all opposition or completing your task you can earn money to purchase different firearms (anything from a Mac-10 to a stylized Steyr Tactical Machine Pistol) as well as equipment such as body armor and grenades.

The game’s controls are very simplistic and this leaves you with the opportunity to concentrate on the action at hand rather than have you missing a beat by performing complex tasks.  You can jump, change clips and fire rounds just as easily and this makes the action pretty fast-paced.  The only problem is that the aiming reticule remains unchanged no matter what weapon you’re currently using.  This is kind of annoying since you cannot make precise shots or aim for specific body parts.  Oftentimes you will be focusing the reticule over your opponent only to have the enemy focus on you first and get a shot out before you can even respond.  As a single player game, the opposing team certainly has no trouble aiming so you will get shot very often in this game. 

Unfortunately, Counter-Strike isn’t a very gorgeous looking first-person shooter.  The maps, while numerous and somewhat massive in size, look decent enough until you get a closer look at walls or long hallways.  The environments can be a bit plain in some of the many maps but there is still plenty to see and interact with during a match.  The characters also look pretty decent as well, although many of them don’t move very naturally . . . most especially while jumping or getting killed.  Blood does fly in the game, but it looks so pixilated that it will automatically bring early first-shooters like Doom to mind.  There are some nice effects here of gunfire and explosions but nothing that will impress.

Sound-wise, the game doesn’t really showcase an impressive display of sound effects.  You might expect a game that supports Dolby Digital to offer various unique sound effects or at least any that sounds realistically like the actual firearms.  The game does allow you to use your own custom soundtrack that just happens to be burned to your Xbox Hard Drive and play it during a match.  There’s also a decent display of voice acting that is mostly heard during the single player mode when you issue commands to your team.  Other than this, there really isn’t anything here that will leave a lasting impression.

Counter-Strike is the kind of game that’s got a lot of addictive action to offer but you will still feel as if the game could have been a lot better.  While the game will hold your attention for a limited time as a single player experience, online the game really shines through enough that you will forget its few faults.  If you love multiplayer fun on the Xbox Live, this game certainly won’t let you down. 

Gameplay: 8.0
Counter-Strike’s philosophy is, simply put: Keep it simple.  This actually works for this particular game and you’ll quickly find out that the action is quick because of this.  The aiming reticule also doesn’t offer a chance for precise aiming so most of your shots go wild and often times you can miss an opponent up close.  Luckily you can purchase more powerful weapons using funds gained by rescuing hostages and killing terrorist if you’re the good guys or killing counter-terrorists and setting off bombs if you’re the bad guys.

Graphics: 7.0
Graphically speaking, Counter-Strike is not the prettiest first-person shooter on the Xbox.  While the textures are far more superior than the ones found in the PC version, there is little else to be impressed visually by and this is actually a bit of a disappointment.  Sure there are plenty of maps and each location has its own charm, but most locations look rather plain.  The characters--while looking pretty good detail-wise--also don’t move very realistically and when players get killed the blood looks almost cartoon-like.

Sound: 7.0
And speaking of plain, the sound effects found in this game are pretty much your average sounds of guns going off and opponents crying out when killed.  There really isn’t much to say about the sound except for the fact that the voice acting is adequate and the option to use your own custom soundtrack during gameplay is a great idea.

Difficulty: Medium
If you’re playing this as a single player game, Counter-Strike offers a number of difficulty setting that really up the challenge.  The game on its normal setting, though, is still very challenging enough and this comes from the rapid pace in which the opposing team moves and reacts.  Often times you’ll be struck dead quicker than you can turn around to see what that sound was behind you.  As an online game, however, it’s the team with the best strategy that rules supreme.  On my second day of playing this game, I’ve encounter long-time Counter-Strike players that have their own unique strategy and was able to wipe out my team within mere minutes.  The again, I encountered a team that was so disorganized that cornering and executing them was no challenge at all.

Concept: 7.5
Unlike Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War, there is no single player mode that offers a story or something that sets apart the single player experience with an entirely different online experience.  Counter-Strike was designed as an online multiplayer game and so this is specifically how the game is really meant to be played.  With that being said, its online component is downright fun and with extra maps and other goodies to download soon on the Xbox Live, there is sure to be excited about.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Bar none, still the best online multiplayer game around and, thanks to the Xbox Communicator, playing this one on Xbox Live just feels right.  With plenty of maps to play through, there’s no shortage of areas to take down other gamers but the game only has two game types--Demolition and Hostage Rescue.  This actually isn’t too bad really since there’s always the option to play as the counter-terrorist or terrorist factions.  You can also play this one using a System Link cable and multiple Xbox for an up to sixteen-player game.

Overall: 8.0
While not as perfect as many of the recent squad-based first-person shooters out there, Counter-Strike on the Xbox will still please those long-time fans of the game.  I wish I can say that this is the closest to online gaming heaven you’ll ever get but it’s small faults are just too hard to ignore.  Still, there is no denying the pure bliss that is online team action and this game certainly delivers that in spades.