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Intro It was 5 years ago, back in 1998 when a group of college students released Counter-Strike as a downloadable mod for the wildly successful Half-Life. In the years that followed, Counter-Strike grew from a fun diversion into a way of life. Even now, its popularity shows no signs of waning, as new versions are constantly being released and servers are consistently full with players from around the world. Now, with Microsoft's help, Counter-Strike has been released for the Xbox, allowing console gamers to finally get their grubby little mitts on the game. But how does it fare compared to its PC brethren? Gameplay: 7/10 Let's get this out of the way: do not buy Counter-Strike for its single player modes. There just really isn't any to speak of. Counter-Strike is a team-based, online, first person shooter that takes place in rounds. In any given round, either certain objectives must be completed, or the entire opposing team must be eliminated. Each game requires players to play as a counterterrorist (CT) or a terrorist (T). Win a round, and your team will be rewarded with cold, hard cash. Lose, and you'll also get cash, just not as much and besides, it's loser, consolation money. Money is used at the beginning of each round to purchase new, more powerful and accurate guns and shiny equipment, ranging from bulletproof vests to flashbang grenades. The money system isn't the only innovative feature that Counter-Strike boasted upon its release many, many moons ago. For one, when a player dies, they stay dead for the remainder of the round-a feature that's been copied many time since by many different games. This cuts down on the kamikaze-run 'n gun-cause-I'll-just-respawn-anyway style of play featured in many online FPS titles. Additionally, the PC version featured many different types of guns modeled and named after their real world counterparts. Sadly, due to licensing, the Xbox had to rename many of these weapons, giving guns like the Desert Eagle .50 a name like the Night Hawk. This shouldn't be a problem to Xbox players new to the game and still learning the weapons, but PC veterans will have some difficulty trying to figure out which gun is which. But then again, why would a PC gamer be playing the console version? The Xbox version features two gameplay modes ripped directly from the PC: bomb defusal missions and hostage rescue missions. In bomb defusal missions, it's up to the terrorists to find a bomb point, set the bomb, and then guard the bomb until it either goes off or all the opposing counterterrorists are eliminated. In the hostage rescue missions, it's up to the counterterrorists to find and rescue the hostages (usually located in or around the terrorist base) and return them to a safe point. Luckily, both mission types have a sweet, if not a tad short, tutorial that should bring gamers up to speed. Online, the game plays great. Xbox Live does a wonderful job of finding games, and due to the popularity of the title, there's no shortage of servers to play on. But one of the best things about playing on Xbox Live is that everyone takes advantage of the voice headset that comes with the Xbox Live package. The PC version supports voice, but supporting is quite different than everyone actually having and utilizing voice support. Due to this widespread utilization, online matches are often very heated and, GASP, strategic, as teammates plan and plot attacking methods and strategies. In my time with the Xbox version, I saw a higher level of coordination between complete strangers than I have seen in organized clans playing the PC version. However, the console version isn't all shiny gems of gameplay. Because Counter-Strike was designed for the FPS-friendly control scheme of the keyboard and mouse, the Xbox version suffers in comparison. Counter-Strike is a game based on speed and accuracy. A good PC player can get the jump on a team and quickly take down an entire squad based on surprise and some well-aimed headshots. With the Xbox controller, this simply isn't the case. Due to the dual analog stick configuration for movement and aiming, quickly aiming at soft, squishy opponent heads isn't always the fastest way of dispatching an opponent. It works well enough, but rest assured Xbox players, your PC counterparts would eat you alive in a match played on your respective platforms. However, the mechanics for accuracy are reserved: staying crouched and firing in short bursts will be far more accurate than jumping and shooting in full automatic. Hosting is made quick and easy. Up to 10 players can join a hosted game, but if for some reason you wish to have a dedicated Xbox server, up to 16 players can join. Options like friendly fire can be toggled at will, and maps can be voted on in game among the players. Additionally, any number of slots can be reserved for players on your friends list, making for a very full-fleshed online mode (it had better be…). Unfortunately,
the only single player mode to speak of is bot play. Up to 11 of the automated
little guys can join a single player game that unfolds much in the way of the
multiplayer-short, objective based rounds. The AI is most impressive, featuring
4 distinct difficulties and an option for customizing the bot behavior. Often
times, AI-controlled teammates will act in much the same way as human teammates-switching
to the knife in the early game for a slight running speed boost, or jumping around
aimlessly or without purpose. On several occasions I was even team-killed, bringing
all the annoying headaches of online play offline…hurray. Bots will even
react to your voice commands given via the d-pad, and aren't above camping. Overall,
Valve did a wonderful job to insure that even offline, Counter-Strike does
well to entertain. But that's not to say that they fulfill. There's just not enough
original single player content here to satisfy. Seeing as how our PC brethren
get the same game for free, Xbox players are basically paying $50 for two tutorials
and some bots.
Graphics: 6/10 Sound:
8/10 Control:
9/10 Overall: 7.5/10
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