Let’s get the comparison out of the way early: at face value, CrossfireX is a janky console version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. From the fact you can’t aim down sights unless you have a scope to the game’s Search & Destroy map, Black Widow, feeling like an Italian Riviera version of Dust II, there’s a lot of ideas cribbed from Valve’s original offering, and modern shooters in general, in CrossfireX.
It also doesn’t help that the launch of CrossfireX on Xbox has been beset by glitches, issues, and a host of other problems. Game Pass subscribers haven’t been able to access the campaign they were promised, and the fact it doesn’t have achievements is a big nope from me. The game’s hit detection and sensitivity can be a bit unpredictable at times, and there’s a huge issue of players going AFK for entire games, likely farming for the “complete X matches” achievements.
So, why am I still enjoying myself? By all rights, CrossfireX should be too much of a mess to really find any kind of fun, but there’s a solid nucleus here that’s hard to ignore. While CrossfireX is hardly going to set the world on fire when it comes to player numbers, retention or streaming figures, it still offers a great amount of mindless shooter fun that’ll keep you entertained for a while.
On a surface level, CrossfireX seems hard to distinguish from other FPS games on the market. Again, the comparisons to Counter-Strike are skin deep, while the battle pass and overall presentation certainly feel reminiscent of other high profile multiplayer shooters. Look underneath though, and there’s a certain madcap “throw all the ideas out there and see what happens” energy that’s infectiously fun.
Players can choose between modern and classic modes, though the difference between them is negligible at best. Modern modes allow you to sprint, pick perks at the start of a match, as well as some mid-match rewards for earning XP, while classic modes are a bit more straightforward in their design. Still, there’s plenty of weirdness and innovation to make CrossfireX a satisfyingly silly experience.
The Modern playlist only has two modes at the minute, S&D and Point Control, which is Domination by another name, but there’s enough iteration to make the game fun. Those in-game perks include higher damage, the ability to slide, a shield to hide behind and more, adding some match-by-match strategy to proceedings. Meanwhile, on Point Control, you can cash in your XP on three different buffs: a heartbeat sensor, a Spectre Suit for invisibility and the “Boogeyman Suit”.
If you want your fill of fast but janky fun, the Boogeyman Suit is like an instant power trip. Armoured like a tank and equipped with powerful dual wield SMGs, the suit is an overpowered death machine that can turn the tide of any fight. Is it a bit oppressive when multiple enemies have the suit equipped at once? Yeah, absolutely, but it’s still an injection of fun into a game that could easily have shot for straight-laced military shooter instead.
As for the classic modes, that experimentation is continued with some of the modes on offer. Classic S&D might not have the same additional wrinkles of the modern variant, while TDM is your old reliable of a multiplayer mode, but the extra modes are imaginative if nothing else. Nano is an infected/zombies game type that feels like a Halo 3 custom game fan’s fantasy. Think hard platforming and huge sightlines to be really oppressive to the zombies, but at least the zombies have tonnes of health, if nothing else.
Meanwhile, the Spectre mode takes the suits from the Modern playlist and puts them to work in their own mode. A team of players has to defend objective while another time of invisible Spectres have to plant a bomb. It’s a tense mode that adds an extra dimension to regular Search & Destroy matches, though it can feel like your Spectre suit is “less invisible” than others. Perhaps that’s the ScrubQuote in me, though.
Again, CrossfireX isn’t the cleanest of experiences, and with only one map per mode (there’s only five maps total available right now), the game is desperately in need of new content to sustain itself in the coming weeks and months. Despite the lack of refinement though, and the fact it wears its influence proudly on its sleeve, the core gameplay is solid enough to warrant a download, if nothing else. Just try your best to ignore the pushes to spend money on a shiny weapon skin.
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