Five years ago a groundbreaking PC first-person shooter, Half-Life, was introduced to gamers worldwide. A little over three years ago a free modification for Half-Life entitled Counter-Strike was created and released to the internet in beta format by a group of college students. The results ended up being a mod that in some ways overshadowed the game it was spawned from. But how could this game not be popular? What self-respecting PC gamer didn't own a copy of the highly anticipated Half-Life at some point? With Counter-Strike being a free download and having a counter-terrorism theme, how could anyone resist not giving it a try? Players got caught up in the team tactics, realistic weaponry, exotic maps, and competitive spirit of the game. The other major factor to Counter-Strike's success was the uniquely fast-paced game play that was unheard of in this type of game (i.e. Rainbow Six series). Well now the #1 online game in the world is making its mark on another gaming platform, the XBOX. Lock and load.

For the most part, Counter-Strike on the XBOX is basically a mirror image of its PC counterpart. The game play feels the same, plus the weapons and equipment are identical to the PC version so don't expect any XBOX exclusives there. What you will find are some slightly higher polygon counts, some new skins on the player models, and even a few new maps. The game play of Counter-Strike is fairly easy to grasp as it is basically CTs versus Ts (Counter-Terrorists vs. Terrorists) in round-based objective matches. Objectives range from bombing missions, VIP escort, and hostage rescue. Bombing missions consist of the Ts trying to get to a point on a map and setting a bomb. Once set it begins a countdown and will explode unless a CT can diffuse it in time. VIP Escort is self-explanatory in that the CTs must get the VIP to his transport and not let the Ts kill him. Hostage rescue is probably the toughest of the objectives as the CTs much infiltrate the T's base and extract hostages. Then the CTs must have the hostages follow them back to their base. Not easy to sneak back to base when you've got four of more hostages wearing orange suits following you around. Of course you can also win by just eliminating the other team completely.

Counter-Strike's appeal has a lot to do with the way the game rewards players. In Counter-Strike players must buy their weapons and equipment before a round starts. This is done on the XBOX Counter-Strike via a radial menu that allows access the an assortment of highly priced pistols, rifles, submachine guns, body armor, shotguns, grenades, etc. Like most tactical shooter recently, you can only carry one sidearm and one larger weapon, plus about three varying grenades. The reward of being a good player, that means killing someone on the opposing team, is that you get bonus cash. The other reward is that if that opposing player actually had a better gun than you have then you can toss yours and pick up theirs (they're dead so they won't need it). Actually, tossing weapons is also popular amongst teammates too. Can't afford that pricey assault rifle? Let your rich teammate buy it and then have him toss it on the ground for you to pick up. Same applies to the bomb on bombing missions if someone is set by default to carry the bomb, they can just toss it for someone else to grab. Unfortunately, none of this applies to other equipment such as kevlar, helmets, and grenades as they cannot be tossed and are immediately worn upon purchase.

Each weapon in Counter-Strike feels unique enough that players must decide which the best is for them and their mission. In a map with lots of close quarters combat you would be wise to use no less than a submachine gun. If it's a map with wide open areas then a sniper rifle or assault rifle will do. Each weapon has a number of ratings that are displayed on the buy menu. Weapons are rated in increments of 1 to 5 in Firepower, Firing Rate, Accuracy, and Reload Rate. Through a bit of experience in the game you will also realize that certain weapons are powerful enough to shoot straight through some objects like crates and doors. Smoke grenades will provide good cover for your team or provide a worthwhile diversion. HE grenades are used to blow your opponents to kingdom come. Want to blind that opponent you just know is waiting to ambush you around that corner? Toss a flash bang and turn the tables on them when they're blinded. Now with Terrorists and Counter-terrorists not having the same suppliers it is only sensible that the two teams aren't offered the same weapons and equipment. Ts will have exclusives like the dual pistols and the AK-47 while the CTs will have the riot shield and Clarion 5.56, just to name a few.

Visually, Counter-Strike is a mixed bag. The maps have been tweaked in the XBOX version and the textures have been bumped up as well. There is a slightly higher polygon count on the models also. Animations are well done also, but aren't anything special. Special effects like real-time lighting are okay and the smoke effect is a nice touch. Unfortunately, the game still seems like it isn't very polished after all this development time. Even those terrible glitches from the PC version occur from time to time. Most often of those would be the floating dead bodies or the corpse that shakes as if it were having a seizure. Point and case is that Counter-Strike just doesn't look like what you would expect from an XBOX game.

Counter-Strike was built around the idea of multiplayer and it shows. The single player mode of Counter-Strike is nothing more than the same game you play online, except with AI bots replacing human players. While the bots are pretty good once set on a higher difficulty, they just can't ever replace human players. Kudos to the programmers though because the bots do actually attempt to mimic the actions of human Counter-Strike players. Once you get online with XBOX Live though, the fun truly begins (note: you can also play multiplayer via system link). With over eighteen maps (and more coming via download content) there's plenty of killing ground to spill online blood upon. Sixteen players can mix it up on XBOX Live and get ranked on statistic scoreboards. And what online game like this would be complete with the ability to talk to your teammates via the voice chat feature. In a game like Counter-Strike it is essential. Bottom-line is that, for the price tag, Counter-Strike may not be for anyone who doesn't have or plan on getting XBOX Live or doesn't play games via system link.

The developers of the XBOX version of Counter-Strike succeeded at just what they set out to do. That was bringing the Counter-Strike experience to the console. Though I can't help but be a bit remiss about the fact that it has been nearly four years and some of the same glitches still exist. Also, I just can't comprehend why the graphics were not given a complete overhaul for the XBOX. Even still, there are some nice additions like playing custom soundtracks while playing on Live that add great touches to the package. The other great touch is the fact that the XBOX version of Counter-Strike let's players rest assured that there are no aimbot or wall hack cheaters ruining the game. That one factor alone may even be reason enough to for some PC Counter-Strike players to grab the XBOX version. One thing that won't be denied by most is that Counter-Strike is FUN. It offers a style that is very different and fast-paced in comparison to the more slower-paced, tactical games like Ghost Recon. If multiplayer mayhem is your thing then you would be hard pressed to find a game better than Counter-Strike to fit that bill this Xmas.