Militia in the Stadium

By Ben Barker

The legendary PC hit Counter-Strike fits Xbox Live® like a glove, offering team-based combat that’s addictive, time-tested, and unlike any other Xbox Livegame on the world’s most powerful console. Learning the layout of the game maps is crucial to victory, so let us save you a lot of grief from your teammates online. Before you hit the XboxLive arena, study up on the Militia and Stadium maps here.

This rocky area is riddled with maintenance tunnels.

Militia (Hostage Rescue)
Location: Russia
Teams: Spetsnaz (Counter-Terrorist) vs. Arctic Avengers (Terrorist)
Recommended Weapons: Sniper Weapons, Flash-Bang, and High-Explosive Grenades

Militia is one of the most versatile maps in Counter-Strike™ for Xbox, and it gives both teams many options to achieve victory. Terrorists are holding hostages in a militia compound that can be entered from the ground, from the sewers below, or even by dropping in through the skylights. This map is not optimal for small teams, as both sides will want plenty of players for guarding and infiltrating the many access points.

Counter-Terrorists
From your spawn point, you can go right or left. Left leads to the maintenance tunnels, and right leads to the house at ground level. Split your forces, and send half into the tunnels, but send at least one counter-terrorist unit the other way. There’s a big rock that splits the two routes down the middle, and it makes for a nice sniping perch if the terrorists poke their heads out. Don’t stay there long, unless you have a guard, though. After the tunnel-travelers have had enough time to move, head for the roof and trap the terrorists in a Spetsnaz sandwich. After you have the hostages, take them out through the tunnels, but leave a spotter topside to remove terrorists watching the access points.

Terrorists
The counter-terrorist units will find the tunnels hard to resist. If you’re low on cash, buy the double pistols and get as many grenades as you can carry. The pistols will work fine for counter-terrorists approaching through the skylights, and the grenades will blind tunnel-crawlers and give you the drop on them. If you have enough players, post two on tunnel duty and have them watch the exits, leaving at least one behind to guard the hostages. The counter-terrorists will probably lead hostages out through the tunnels, so if you have an even bigger team, send a spotter out to watch the tunnel that emerges near the rescue zone. But, in general, stay near the house and cover, monitoring all exits.

Stadium (Demolition)
Location: United Kingdom
Teams: SAS (Counter-Terrorist) vs. Arctic Avengers (Terrorist)
Recommended Weapons: Shotguns, Smoke, and Flash-Bang Grenades

Gotta love those shotgun-friendly maps! This demolition mission pits Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) forces against the busy Arctic Avengers, who are trying to take out a whole sports arena. The stadium map doesn’t offer a lot of cover or sniper positions, so you’re in for some up-close and nasty fighting. Target Area A is surrounded by a mezzanine area that lets you “snipe” with a shotgun (i.e. you can hide and pick them off, but you’re close enough to use the spread weapon). Target Area B doesn’t offer a guard perch, but it does allow you to watch the area from all sides through the glass walls of the other rooms. If you find yourself in the bathroom, get out. There’s nowhere else to go.

Counter-Terrorists
You’ll have plenty of places to monitor the target areas from a distance, but few offer any protection for yourself. Consider posting guards within the target zone, where they can hide behind tables and vending machines. Of course, the terrorists are probably thinking the same thing, so clear the area with a grenade first.

Terrorists
You have several open rooms perfect for setting ambushes. Post one terrorist near the bomb and have him hide behind furniture, armed with shotguns or double pistols. You’ll also need at least two others watching the access points with automatics. As soon as the counter-terrorists start to move in, throw smoke into the target area to hide the bomb and your lurking ambush guard.

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