Prodigy and Dust

By Marty Greene

Prodigy
Somewhere in Mother Russia, an oil pipeline pumping station has become the target of a terrorist attack. The terrorists plan to detonate an explosive in one of two main control points. If they succeed, it will cause untold havoc and the delay of precious oil to where it’s needed. Advance intelligence has allowed a team of commandos—the elite Spetsnaz—to arrive just in time to intercept the terrorist force.

Just like all Counter-Strike demolition mission maps, knowing the routes to the key points is a major part of a winning strategy. Getting from point to point in the fastest, safest way possible will save precious seconds. Once the explosives are set, every moment counts.

As with other demolition maps, the first decision you’ll face is deciding which site to head for: A or B. You may decide to split your team up, but for the terrorists, there's very limited value in that decision, since they only have one bomb. Splitting up is a slightly better option for the Spetsnaz commandos, but it still has risks. Do they defend one site? Or, do they hope they've chosen the same one as the terrorists and gamble that they can move as a complete force to the other site once the bomb has been planted? Keeping the counter-terrorists together gives them the advantage of remaining at full strength. If they split up their forces, they can cover both sites, but they risk being overwhelmed at whichever location the terrorists choose.

The counter-terrorists begin the mission at one of the two control rooms. This one is designated "Site B." Turning right from the doorway of Site B leads upstairs toward Site A. Turning left and following the turns in the corridor leads to a long exterior balcony area. At the far end of the long balcony is a ramp back up into the complex. The starting point for the terrorists is not far inside from that doorway, meaning that the bad guys have plenty of time to reach the doorway and set up a firing position before the counter-terrorists make it to the balcony. A sniper up there can ruin a counter-terrorist’s day. It's probably best for the counter-terrorists to not take that route, but instead, set up their own ambush within the turns of the corridor on their own side.

The terrorists begin the game in a loading dock garage, with two access points: an entrance to the pumping station complex and the aforementioned ramp down to the balcony area. It's worthwhile to send one man with a sniper weapon to cover the long open balcony, on the chance that the counter-terrorists will come that way. But, it's best to hold back and not expose yourself too much. If the counter-terrorists come out into the open from their end, take them down. If they don't show up fairly quickly, give it up, and head into the pumping station—there's nothing worth defending in this garage.

The Site B room has only one entrance, which allows a single man to defend it with a fair degree of success. Unfortunately, once the bad guys know you're in there, you can be flash-banged or rushed. A single man left alone to defend Site B is essentially only an alarm for his teammates. (He just has to live long enough to shout to them.) Because it’s located at a corner, Site B can be more easily defended by two men, each facing one of the corridor approaches. One of these corridors is long and the other short, so one man with a scoped weapon and one man with an assault rifle or submachine gun (SMG) is a good choice.

As an alternative for the single defender, there is a ladder at the corner where Site B is located. It leads up to an air vent and is easy to miss. A defending counter-terrorist may be better off hiding in the vent and waiting for the terrorists to plant the bomb at this site. Once the bomb is in place, he can drop a flash-bang grenade from the vent and then leap down to surprise the terrorists and kill them. He's then free to defuse the bomb.

Site A is trickier to reach … and to hold. It's a tall room, with several entrances and windows that can be shot through as well as a balcony walkway that overlooks the bomb site. No matter which side you're on, it's a nightmare. However, Site A also has a ladder to an overhead air shaft, making the previously discussed strategy viable here for either side. The site is about equal distance from both teams' starting locations.

Move fast, but check your corners and beware of ambushes in the many twisting corridors. Except in the balcony area and perhaps the one long corridor by Site B, the shotgun and auto shotgun are excellent choices for this map.

Dust
SEAL Team 6 has been dispatched to a city in the Middle East to intercept a terrorist cadre, who is expected to plant a bomb at one of two locations. Its mission is to eliminate the hostile force and prevent the bombing.

An aptly named map, Dust could be set in Afganistan, Iraq, or the like. The setting is almost totally exterior, with just a few covered areas thrown in. Learning your way around Dust is fairly easy, as the route between the bomb sites contains only a single turn. However, there are alternate ways to reach both sites and ways to get flanked on your way there. All in all though, Dust is a pretty straightforward map. There are two routes from each starting position to each bomb site, and neither is very far from the other.

SEAL Team 6 holding Site A.

Dust is a much simpler map than many of the other maps in with the game. It has no rooftop access and no crawlspaces. Both bomb sites are easy to get to, though Site A is much closer to the terrorists than Site B and thus an easier place to sprint to and hold. The design of Dust places the counter-terrorists and the terrorists at almost equal distances from Site A.

Finding a bomb site to hold is easy for SEAL Team 6, which begins at Site B at the head of a long road that passes through an arch and forms a T-intersection at the far end. To reach Site A, the team simply needs to head down to the intersection and turn right. Even once the bomb is planted, moving between Site A and Site B is fast and easy, once you've played the map a couple of times.

The counter-terrorists face the usual starting decision: split up or stay together. Because of the long roadway, which can only be entered through the arch at the far end, a single counter-terrorist left at Site B with a good sniper rifle (the Magnum, if you can afford it) can easily kill any terrorist who decides to approach that way. But, better yet, one of the terrorists' two ways to Site A passes by the same arch, allowing the sniper the opportunity to take them down as they pass by. He's so far away that they may not even be able to see where the shots originated.

Another counter-terrorist with an SMG or assault rifle could stay behind at Site B as well; there’s is a back alley approach that will bring a terrorist to Site B without coming up the roadway. In this case, a man with a sniper rifle who’s been trained on the faraway arch could be easily surprised and killed. Either way, the sniper should always have a strong backup pistol. My choice is the Blackhawk.

As SEAL Team 6 reaches the T-intersection at the end of the road, it may encounter the terrorists coming from their left. If not, the team should turn right to head to Site A. The gate to Site A is clearly visible ahead; however, the team should keep an eye on the hallway opening to their left as they move toward the gate. The terrorists may come that way as well. The map's design forces both teams to pass through this general area to reach Site A, and the terrorists must go this way to reach either site, so there's sure to be a firefight right around here someplace. Watch your back, and don't get flanked.

The tactical terrain for Dust is varied, including some long, open areas and many narrow twisting alleyways as well, so no one weapon is ideal for this map. The Bullpup is a good compromise, as it offers a 2x zoom, but it’s still a manageable weapon in close quarters.

Grenades are of limited utility here, but having a flash-bang grenade to toss through the gate of Site A isn't a bad idea if you arrive late. Whoever is holding the site is certain to be staring right at the opening in the wooden gate. Both bomb sites are laden with boxes and offer nooks for the terrorists to stash the bomb. Laying down a smoke grenade as the counter-terrorists approach will cost them precious seconds as they search through the haze looking for the explosive. In the end, this game is all about those final moments.

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