Counter-Strike Teams to Face New Crises:

Two Downloadable Maps Now Available

December 17, 2003 - Microsoft Game Studios and Valve have announced that two new multiplayer maps for Counter-Strike™ for Xbox® are now available for download via Xbox Live. The red-hot “Inferno” and fan-favorite “Office” are the latest urban battlefields on which to stage Counter-Strike’s world-famous, action-packed multiplayer game.
 
In “Office”, counter-terrorists storm an office building to safely extract hostages from the clutches of entrenched terrorists. In “Inferno”, it’s the counter-terrorists who are on the defensive: terrorists must destroy two critical gas pipelines running through the middle of a small village. But first, they must defeat the counter-terrorists who stand in their way.
 
To enhance game play even further, the game now delivers Xbox-exclusive console content including: seven never-before-seen multiplayer maps, one new counter-terrorist team, one new terrorist team to battle it out against as well as these new downloadable maps through the unified online video gaming arena Xbox Live™.

The intense, team-based multiplayer combat of Counter-Strike for Xbox sprawls across 18 multiplayer maps and two thrilling game types: Bomb Defusal and Hostage Rescue. Players can battle against super-intelligent AI opponents offline in the single player game before taking their skills online against up to 16 players.

Gamers have more than 20 real-life weapons at their disposal, including shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols and heavy weapons as well as new weapon fallout effects such as grenade deafness and blurred vision.

Game play and flow is revolutionised through the technology of Xbox Live. Gone are the days of teammates frantically typing messages to each other; now they can bark orders at each other with the Xbox Communicator for the ultimate in tactical team-based play. The secure environment of Xbox Live ensures that gamers will experience nothing but cheat-free play.

Counter-Strike for the PC is the world’s most popular online action game.  With approximately 2.5 million Counter-Strike players worldwide and over 100,000 of them playing at any given moment – get set for non-stop action.

Counter-Strike is available NOW at leading retail outlets for $99.95.