Counter-Strike

"One of the best FPS's ever made for Xbox Live!"

When Counter-Strike first came out in 1998, it immediately became one of the most important online games on the PC. The legacy has continued and a new version of the game was released on Xbox. Although the graphics engine was not completely changed, the game was made to look better. A major advantage is the no-cheating environment on Xbox Live. The game has been made more balanced and is much fairer to everyone. There are no cheaters in the Xbox version of Counter-Strike although there are some people who take advantage of the leaderboards and try to make their rank better illegally. You shouldn’t worry about those people; you’ll have a fun time playing this game for sure.

Gameplay – 10/10

Counter-Strike consists of matches, which are divided up into rounds. In a round, which usually lasts from two to five minutes, the Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist teams must fight each other using a primary weapon (rifle, SMG, shotgun, etc..), a secondary weapon (a pistol), and grenades(smoke grenade, flashbang, high explosive grenade). Counter-Terrorists must try to rescue hostages, stop a bomb from being planted, defuse a bomb after it is planted, or kill all Terrorists. Terrorists must try to stop the hostages from being rescued, plant a bomb, or kill all the Counter-Terrorists. Controls are also very simple, R is to shoot, L is to crouch, and the reload, jump, and switch weapon buttons are very similar to Halo's. Aiming is a little harder than the PC version but you will get used to it after a few days. The left thumbstick is to move, and the right is to look around. Although not all aspects of the game are realistic, such as the fact that sometimes more than 10 bullets are needed to take an enemy down, it does require strategy and teamwork.

Graphics/Sound – 9/10

This game truly lives up to the quality of sound and graphics on Xbox. Although the graphics are not as smooth as they can be, they have improved a lot since the PC version. The creators of the game decided to pay more attention to other aspects of the game rather than changing the whole graphics engine. The sound is excellent; you can hear the footsteps of enemies, faraway gunshots, and the explosions of grenades. I also recommend playing the game with Digital Surround Sound; it adds a completely different experience to the game. You can also hear the occasional truck or plane pass by you (although you can not see it).

Play Time/Replayability – 10/10

This game can never really end. Although it does not have much single player value (because you only play bots), you can play this game as long as you want on Xbox Live. There are 17+ maps and you can download more with Xbox Live. You can soon also download different teams too. Another good thing about Counter-Strike is that you will always want to get better and better. If you always set your goals high and try to achieve that 20% accuracy you’ve been wanting, you’ll really enjoy this game and play every day. This is one of the most exciting and addicting games on Xbox Live and I assure you, YOU WILL BE HOOKED!

Final Overview – 9/10

To end my review, I will begin by saying that this game is definitely worth buying if you have subscribed to Xbox Live. I have never myself played such a balanced and fair online FPS. However, if you don't have Xbox Live, I would suggest thinking twice about playing bots. The combination of the addicting gameplay, Xbox Live factor, and amazing graphics, make this game like no other. My final outlook on this game: It pwns all other FPS's!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/18/04