The internet is awesome: only a few weeks ago, a Counter-Strike/Ghost In The Shell crossover would have been the worst fan-fiction in the world. Now it’s a fantastic free mod for any Half-Life 2 Deathmatch server, and one you should really be playing.

If you don’t know what Ghost In The Shell is, don’t worry: you’ll still appreciate the excellent Blade-Runner stylings, texture rich multi-level locations and brutal combat of NeoTokyo servers (which, unlike many mods, actually have an active population.)  Think “near-future cyberpunk” with cyborgs, cloaking devices and high-level governmental shenanigans - usually resolved by gunfire.

The game has a real Counter-Strike brutality - it only takes a couple of bullets to put you down, and keep you there until the end of the round. The twist is the unique “Capture The Ghost” gameplay, a Capture The Flag variant where both teams are trying to take the same object back to their own exits. The “Ghost” is a piece of a cyborg shell, and also a giant flashing neon sign shouting “Yes This Is Totally Ghost In The Shell In Everything But Name, Isn’t It Awesome?”

Carrying the Ghost gives you information instead of ammunition

Picking up the Ghost means dropping your primary weapon, giving the game a real VIP-mode feel. There’s also an intelligence aspect - you can switch to your pistol, or “use” the ghost to detect enemies and relay the information to your team-mates by voicechat. The central nature of the ghost defines a whole new style of play. Players can choose to make an end-run with the ghost, rely on their comrades to defend them, or simply camp the objective and wait for the enemy to show up.

Another addition to the Counter-Strike core is classes and levels. Levels are simple: the more points you score on the server, the more XP you gain and the more weapons you unlock. There are three classes:

1. Recon

Recon have unlimited running, can use an “Aux power” bar to make incredible jumps (very nice for landing behind entrenched enemies) and have a fair bit of thermoptic camoflague. And by “thermoptic camoflague” we mean “cloak”, except you can actually fire while half-invisible - something of a shock for anyone coming over from a TF2 server, adding a real “Was that all of them?” element to any firefight.

2. Assault

Less cloaking, and they have to use their aux power for running, but more health and heavier weapons. The Assault class support the spearhead of recons out for the ghost (or the enemy) while maintaining the ability to make a few surprise sprints of their own. They can also counter cloaking with “motion vision”, at the expense of missing camped enemies.

3. Support

Defending the ghost-carrier with a support class.

No aux power, no cloak, just a great big health bar and a great big gun. The Heavy of the NeoTokyo rooftops, the extremely 3D nature of maps means a well-placed Support player can really change the course of the game. Thermal vision means they have the best view of the battlefield.

On top of all the innovations, NeoTokyo servers are beautiful. Detailed maps making great use of the Source engine, where even the lighting effects have tactical considerations (the act of cloaking causes a bright flash, advertising your location before you become invisible). With everything from rust-stained walls to Metal Gear-memorializing “Calorie Mate” advertisements, you really feel you’re engaged in urban combat in the middle of a major city or governmental facility. A lot more interesting than de_dust, and just as much fun.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 9:14 am and is filed under Counter-Strike: Source News, HL2 Deathmatch News, Half Life 2: Deathmatch Classic News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.