Counter-Strike

"It's alright, but the PC version is still better."

What's up? If you're trying to decide whether to get this game or not, then you've come to the right place. This review will cover most of the basics of Counter-Strike for the Microsoft Xbox. So, have fun reading!

[Graphics:9/10]The graphics are pretty good in this version of Counter-Strike. I see a lot of ''Man, the graphics look just like a PS1 game.'', or ''God, these graphics are so dated, but they aren't this bad. The weapons are VERY DETAILED! No lie, they are spectacular and could not have been better. The skins are great looking too, and highly detailed. The only reason I didn't give this section a 10/10, is because of this: When walking up to a door, someone on the other side will see you if they look. ''How?'' you might be asking, and I will tell you. Since you have to go right up the door for it to open, people on the other side can see your gun go through it and sometimes even your player, and start shooting the door and kill you, or just sit there and wait for you to open it and kill you. Another reason is because when killed, you may run back into a wall or object, and it will look like half of your body is stuck in a wall, and same with the guns and the shield. I mean come on, even Rainbow Six 3 for the Xbox has better ''ragdoll'' physics then this!

[Sound:6/10]What sound? All you really hear is some gunshots and foot steps, and that's pretty much it. Oh yea, and the radio commands with the D-Pad. The only way to get music is to just upload custom soundtracks onto the Xbox hard drive. The gunshots and other sound effects are all the same ones from the PC version, so its not really different.

[Gameplay:7/10]The gameplay hasn't really improved much over the PC version. Sure, there are single player bots, but who wants to play bots all the time? I sure don't want to! VALVe took out many things from this, that are in the PC version, so it is sort of like a downgraded version of Counter-Strike. For example, when you buy the Tactical Shield, you only get the Shield itself, and the Five-Seven pistol, and can't buy any other pistol. You also can't use the Knife or Grenades with it either. The bot AI is pretty stupid too. I played them on the highest difficulty, and they are still dumb. One good example is that when they spot an enemy, they wait for about five seconds and then start to shoot, by then they will probably be dead. They also sometimes stare into space and corners, and have HORRIBLE aim. Another thing: THERE IS NO SPLIT-SCREEN OR 4 CONTROLLER MULTIPLAYER! There is only single player bots, system link, or Xbox Live. Also, where is the map ''Cs_Assault''?! That map was awesome and is not in this version of Counter-Strike! I'm mad!

[Xbox Live Play:7/10]Now, I bet you're wondering why the hell I would give Live play a 7 out of 10, well I will tell you why. The majority of people I have played on this game are complete morons who do nothing but whine when they die. I recently played a game of 4 versus 4 on the map ''Cs_Militia'', and I took notice that this one person would die, and then complain like this ''Where the **** where was my backup?! You guys ****ing suck big **** god **** losers!'', and that is why the Live score is not too high. You also get called vulgar names when you kill someone too! Also, whatever happened to the User Created Mod Kit? What about the Custom Spray Logo? What about Clan Support? Where the hell did it all go? Darn you VALVe!

[Overall:7/10]
This game isn't all that bad, but it doesn't fit my taste as much as the PC version of Counter-Strike. I would buy it, but not for 49.95! Also, DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE XBOX LIVE AND NEVER PLAN TO GET IT! It is a waste of money and is very boring with Live! I hope my review helped you decide to buy this game or not.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/24/03