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.
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#Reviewer’s |
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.
