Game:

Counter-Strike: Source (2004)

Duration: 6:42

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Original Air Date: October 4th, 2009

...so I'm not feeling anything "beyond average" for this game. To say it's without its charms would be a stretch, but considering another branch of Konami put out Kensei (which wasn't perfect, but much better than this), you'd hope this was better than what it was, not arguably one of the worst fighters for N64.

All the right ideas were in place with this game, they were just executed poorly. The environments are interactive, characters have various realistic evasive manuevers. For instance, if you're backed up against an object with Azami, pressing down-C and back will make her jump over it. Characters can also bob & weave and jump off walls, and apparently pick up objects (though I don't know how). There are even Ring-Outs and judged rulings when time runs out. You can also create fighters, though there isn't much depth.

But... all good things must come to an end right? I can remember when mags slammed this game so much that I had to play it for myself to see just how bad it was. All the anime-inspired characters in the world couldn't prepare me for what I was going to face. The visuals are incredibly blurry and the game is very choppy, and the game doesn't even utilize the whole screen. You'll notice this when you compare the window size of menus versus fights and demos.

The controls will instill much anger in amateurs and pros alike, as I've seen few games make executing a back+punch+kick move so hard. The characters are relatively uninteresting and aren't very deep. Actually, Azami has an unimaginative seven-hit combo that's done just by tapping punch (cough*all kicks*cough*Saya*cough). Actually, that's not correct, as it can be blocked mid-way. However, you can launch an opponent and turn that unimaginative seven-hit into an unimaginative eight-hit. After that, you can hit them on the ground and turn that unimaginative eight hit into an unimaginative nine-hit. However, I'm not sure how her air combo connects when it doesn't on the ground...they give her opponents extra float time or something??? Given how clunky the controls are though, one can only be grateful.

Needless to say, the game also has some pretty steep balancing issues. Just because Kai is like the main character of sorts doesn't mean he should be good at everything, which he is... he has decent throws, he's strong, has decent mobility, and matches Azami's striking capabilities blow for blow... actually, his seven hit combo actually connects, making him take over half an opponents life in a single execution (though it is much harder to pull off). Add a ground kick to that and you'll turn the whole world upside-down. Why??? She's a speed character...Kai is a power/balance character...why does Kai seem faster in nearly every way? Azami is the character for people new to the game, not Kai.

The audio is okay, though something was definately lost in translation, namely the CVs. Characters run their mouthes and seldom say anything other than a grunt or moan. There are many times when they move their mouthes and nothing at all comes out. I'm thinking there were Japanese voices that were removed. The announcer should say unbelievable for that, not a fancy combo. As if the Japanese and European name didn't foreshadow what was to come (G.A.S.P!!: Fighter's NEXTream), heh. Still, I'd file this under a "guilty pleasure", whatever that honestly is. I can see a lot of things in this game that would have been cool if the game was cleaned up.

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