Full Review: Strike while the iron’s hot…
What else can I say about Counter-Strike that hasn’t already been said? A mod of Valve’s seminal shooter -- Half Life – it spawned a multiplayer community of epic proportions for PC gamers. Now CS comes to Xbox. Is it worth it? The short answer is no, long answer is possibly --with an explanation.
Counter-Strike places you into two roles – terrorist or counter-terrorist. Depending on which you choose, you’ll be tasked with either holding -- or attempting to rescue -- hostages. Not surprisingly, this mode is called Hostage Rescue. The other gametype is Demolition, where you’ll try to either defend -- and eventually detonate – a bomb, or take out said bomb before it explodes. And that’s about it. CS for the Xbox (while featuring some enhancements) is basically a bare bones port of an outdated PC game. If you’ve waited this long to see what all the fuss was about, you’re likely to be left scratching your head in bewilderment.
The offline portion of CS is nothing more than the multiplayer game, only populated with bots. Missions take place in timed rounds, and since you can only take a few hits before going down (it helps to be wearing Kevlar and a helmet), you need to be cautious in your approach. Forget the run and gun heroics of other FPS’s, CS forces you to think more strategically and proceed with caution.
The game controls well, with the now standard FPS console set up. Movement is mapped to the left thumbstick, and view to the right. The right trigger fires your primary weapon, while the left is used to crouch. X is reload, A is jump, and Y is utilized to cycle through your available weapons. You can use the D pad to issue rudimentary commands to your AI squad-mates in the single player mode, and if you click and hold the right stick you’ll perform a fast look move that’s invaluable during online matches.
Your HUD is the usual fare -- it displays health, armor, time remaining in the current round, ammo and your money (CS uses a cash system that allows you to purchase weapons and armor prior to a match). It also features a radar in the upper left hand corner of the screen, which shows you the current position of your teammates and any objectives that have yet to be completed.
Counter-Strike features some cool weapons (you can carry a primary weapon, secondary, and some grenades). These include submachine guns, rifles, shotguns and pistols. You’ll find the K&M SMG, a Schmidt MP with silencer, MAC-10, and the Magnum Sniper Rifle. For pistols, you’ll have access to a 228 Compact, a K&M .45 and the Night Hawk .50C – which fires a half-inch slug that can penetrate walls. Rounding out your arsenal are several different types of grenades including Flash Bang, Smoke and High Explosive. In addition CS builds in body armor – a Kevlar vest and Ballistic helmet. Purchasing these will keep you alive a bit longer, as you can absorb a little more damage before expiring.
Counter-Strike shows its age in the graphics department. Blocky character models, bland textures and average lighting do little to immerse you in the game, and the sound isn’t much better. Don’t get me wrong -- everything looks and sounds all right, it’s just nothing particularly impressive. The in-game music is sparse, and what there is sounds pretty pedestrian. Again, there’s nothing blatantly wrong with it, it’s just not exceptional – more like barely passable.
The online multiplayer is, of course, the meat and potatoes of Counter-Strike. The maps are pretty solid, and feature some of the old PC arenas, as well as a bunch of new ones exclusive to Live. The timed rounds and brutal nature of the game make it a fairly exciting and intense experience, but the lack of any real flair left me a little cold. All of the usual Xbox Live features are implemented here, and you’ll be able to host a max of 10 players (unless you go dedicated, at which point you can hold 16 – as long as you have the bandwidth).
