Counter-Strike

"Worth it for Live! otherwise don't bother."

Personally I couldn't think of a harder game to review. Counter-Strike for Xbox brings everything from the PC version bar a mouse and keyboard. It does a fine job of transferring across the intense action of the older PC version with the use of Xbox Live! but fails to create any real single playability. As a result I'd recommend it only to those with the Live! service or to those who get together with other Xbox players and use the system link feature. And therein lies the problem. Counter-Strike is an A-grade game online but barely gets a C in the offline realm.

The simplistic nature of Counter-Strike is still the games greatest asset and in the move to Xbox the game has undergone various visual upgrades and a handful of changes to audio but the gameplay is largely unchanged. Most of the maps are the same, the weapons are all the same as Counter-Strike 1.6 (PC) and the addictive nature of the action is still present. Even with a short play on Xbox Live! with this game you'll see why it's still around after all these years and continues to grow in popularity with gamers from across the world.

In Counter-Strike you choose to play on one of two sides – terrorists or counter-terrorists and your objectives will vary depending on which side you choose to battle on. The terrorists either harbour hostages or plant bombs whilst the counter-terrorists rescue hostages and defuse bombs. Once you have decided on your team the game will begin and at the start of each round you can purchase weapons to assist in taking out the opposition. Everyone starts out with very little money but as the game progresses you can earn money by killing members of the opposite team and/or completing the primary objective of the map. Be warned that you can also lose money if you kill your teammates or any unfortunate hostages that you accidentally kill (well, lets hope it happens on accident).

Gameplay wise Counter-Strike is intense and whilst one team may start out on an offensive rush that can be quickly turned into a defensive exercise as they protect hostages and an exploding bomb. It's this quick changing of roles that makes the gameplay quite unique and the balance between teamwork in individual brilliance is another important factor. You can either stick with your team or go gung-ho and try to be the hero and each way presents it's own tactical opportunities.

There are a variety of weapons in the game, pistols, shotguns, sub machine guns, rifles and sniper weapons are all available for purchase. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses and buying the right weapon for the right situation is important. On top of the weapons available players can buy Kevlar, grenades, flash bangs and other items to help in their crusade. The buy menu is accessed by pressing the left analogue stick at the beginning of each round and in a wagon wheel will appear and from here players can buy everything the need for the upcoming battle.

The game plays out just like the PC version and I guess I should really point out what makes the Xbox version unique. First up there are seven extra 'exclusive' Xbox maps and they all play out surprisingly well each with their own sniping, assault and camping positions. It doesn't take long to get your bearings with things like bombsites and hostages clearly located through the games interface. The second difference is the visual style of the Xbox version. Levels while physically the same look a lot different and PC veterans may take a while to adjust to the modern looking Dust or the sleeker Prodigy map. The changes add in a few boxes here and there but overall the level design remains largely untouched.

Control wise Counter-Strike is solid and the system feels just like the one used in Halo. It's certainly harder to aim with the Xbox controllers than it is with a keyboard and mouse but the developers have obviously worked hard to make the controls as responsive as possible. The controller also has it's strong points and it's easy to scroll through grenades, change guns, drop weapons and access the buy menu. I still prefer the old mouse and keyboard but for a console shooter the development team have done a great job for Xbox fans.

Counter-Strikes heads-up display (HUD) has been simplified for the Xbox market and this is obvious with the reworked buy menu making it easier for those new to the Counter-Strike scene to get in on the action. Each weapon is presented with various bits and pieces of information but the game also provides reference graphs to help players determine which guns are best for which situation - something that's not present in the PC version. The game also makes the objectives for each level a lot clearer and it holds players hands through the various aspects of the gameplay something that is quite limited on the PC incarnation. Regardless Counter-Strike is easy to pick up after a few rounds and nobody should have trouble understanding the main aspects of the gameplay.

Counter-Strike is a bandwidth hog and I do not recommend playing internationally. With a 128 kbps Jetstart connection I was playing just fine with a bunch of New Zealanders and we only got minor lag here and there. A 256 kbps connection is recommended but it's certainly not required. The multiplayer interface is a breeze to get through with seamless integration between Xbox Live! and the game. It's easy to pick a choose a game that you want to play through the Optimatch service and if you're in a hurry the Quickmatch option will put you into the most suitable game within seconds.

Online play is where this game is focused and it shows. Playing Counter-Strike offline is basically just like the online game but with bots instead of human counterparts. There is no story or anything like that, it's a straight simulation of the online mode. The bots themselves are very intelligent and are a lot better than the third party bot sets that PC fans have had to put up with for years. They'll camp, rush and headshot their way through the game in believable style and you can ramp up the difficulty level if you are keen for a challenge. In the end the single player is good for three things – learning the gameplay, understanding the maps and practicing your aim with the various weapons.

Once you do get into an online game you can easily communicate with players on your team through the Xbox Live! headset. It's a great way to coordinate attacks, assign patrols and keep your finger on the pulse of the action going down. The online scene is just like it is on the PC. There is plenty of taunting, challenge and fun to experience and it's all a lot 'cleaner' on the Xbox as everyone is playing on the same piece of hardware. There are also content downloads available for this game and two are up already in the form of two classic Counter-Strike PC maps, Office and Inferno.

I have already mentioned the Xbox version has different visuals to the older PC version but are they at all better? In some ways yes, in others no. The texture sets have a lot more detail to them in the Xbox version but often they look grainy on the low resolution that they are locked into. With the PC version players can obviously tweak the graphics heavily and the comparison between Xbox and PC greatly depends on the power of ones video card. Another problem with the Xbox version is the animation of the soldiers and it looks quite jerky especially in the death animations where it can be tricky to tell if a person has died. It's not lag, it's just poor animation. To it's credit Counter-Strike for Xbox has a solid frame-rate and it's easy on the eyes even during online play.

In the end the Xbox version of Counter-Strike is more of the same insanely addictive fun that saw the PC version shoot up the board as one of the best games ever. However the game is only good if you have Xbox Live! and it's very shallow if you only intend on playing offline with yourself. So I'll make it simple for you – if you love first person shooters and have Xbox Live! buy Counter-Strike, otherwise look for something with a bit more single player focus like Rainbow Six 3 or Halo.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/03