Desert Thunder
Desert Thunder
Game
Game2014
CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect
Developer Asobo Studio, Hip Games
Counter Terrorist Special Forces: Fire for Effect, known in North America as Special Forces: Nemesis Strike, is a 2005 third-person shooter video game by Asobo Studio for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. Players play as a counter-terrorism agency. The main objective is to dismantle the Nemesis network and get back stolen technology. It is the fourth and final game in the CT Special Forces series. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
103 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 1, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
46
Mixed
43 positive · 50 negative
95% range 36–56%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 43 | 50 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 2 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
46 of 103 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
46% recommend · 43 yes, 51 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 94 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (156 of 277 positive).
Some reviewers compare it favorably to Syphon Filter, while others call it mediocre. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
Make no mistake, this game is not good. It is, however, a throwback to a simpler time. Back when we didn't google for reviews and gameplay footage before we bought a game. Or we didn't buy games ourselves at all. My mom got this game for me when I was 12. She didn't know anything about video games, but knew that I liked the ones with soldiers in them. I didn't have a point of reference for what made a good game or a …
- [2]
If you are a fan of the old Syphon Filter games (Remember that kick-ass game?) you will probably enjoy this game. It's nowhere near the quality of Syphon Filter, but gameplay-wise it's very similar. Note: this game has a crappy Store Page's pictures that 95% probably will send you off. But actually the game has nice PS2-era graphics in-game. Now for the actual review: For someone who grew up with PlayStation 1 and …
- [8]
Pro: Minimal System Specs Tutorial is useful In theory it's fun ... if you like FPS games Most of the keys can be remapped Single player Con: $10 for a game that should be $2 (tops) Dated graphics that fit nicely with the sub-par story line. Cannot screen capture, no cards, etc. Limited graphics options Controls are not good (not percise) Reallllly needs multi-player or Co-Op. Then the game may be fun. Overall: 5/10 …
- [3]
This game is nothing more than a PS2 Era Budget Game that has been ported directly from the console, with no remappable controls, substandard graphics (for the time), flat shooting, and sometimes cheesy voice acting, this game is mediocre in every sense of the word. The only interesting thing that this game has is its proto-Gears of War style cover system but that's about it. Do not buy at full price, only when its …
- [12]
CT Special Forces looked like a low budget shooter that could be occassionally interesting. However, it turned out that it is bad port and I wasn't able to fix the game on w8.1. The first time I started the game, it ran with 500 fps, everything was speed up and it didn't feel smooth at all. I was able to limit my FPS via the NVIDIA control panel by adding and enforcing vsync on OVERLAY.EXE in the game installation …
Summarised from 34 of the 105 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
46% of the 94 Steam reviewers we collected recommend CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect. The complaint that keeps coming up: dated graphics and poor voice acting. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received mixed reviews from critics, with a 60% on Metacritic based on 10 reviews. GameSpot's Alex Navarro criticized the game, saying that it was a "boring" version of what other games had already done. IGN's Tom McNamara noted that although the game had a higher level of polish compared to other budget European-developed games like Psychotoxic, it failed to meet the mark it was aiming for against classic games like Metal Gear Solid, Kill Switch, and others. TotalGames's Ryan King criticized how the difficulty of the game is created through unfair mechanics, which will make prospective players angry during their playthroughs.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 103 · most liked firstMake no mistake, this game is not good. It is, however, a throwback to a simpler time. Back when we didn't google for reviews and gameplay footage before we bought a game. Or we didn't buy games ourselves at all. My mom got this game for me when I was 12. She didn't know anything about video games, but knew that I liked the ones with soldiers in them. I didn't have a point of reference for what made a good game or a bad game, having never really played any good ones at the time. So she brought…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a time traveller from 1984. This is the best game ever. Best graphics ever. Best everything ever. 100% all the time everything.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bootleg VHS tape of the turkish remake of Commando found at a boot sale in Kyrgyzstan, The official game of the movie
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pro: Minimal System Specs Tutorial is useful In theory it's fun ... if you like FPS games Most of the keys can be remapped Single player Con: $10 for a game that should be $2 (tops) Dated graphics that fit nicely with the sub-par story line. Cannot screen capture, no cards, etc. Limited graphics options Controls are not good (not percise) Reallllly needs multi-player or Co-Op. Then the game may be fun. Overall: 5/10 -1 for controls, -1 for price, -1 for story, +1 for system specs = 3/10…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game kinda reminds me of Syphon Filter from back on console.Just a fun little shoot'em up :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I know ima get a lot of dislikes but i enjoyed the game a lot. These types of games brings me back to my good ole days. In 2005 i was playing area 51, evil dead regeneration, and Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas. During this time this game was a blast!! But, as time moves on, graphics get updated, and etc.. We become more picky on what games are fun now. Some go for graphics, some go for story, and etc. I enjoyed the game in 2005 and i enjoyed the game in 2015. Found some bugs, but they werent…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended if you dont mind the few issues due to modern hardware Issues being: Does not lock the mouse to the game on dual monitor setups Game runs a bit fast, not so bad in gameplay but FMV's can be a mess (VSync Forced on Overlay.exe may help) Video Review Below: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=261674044
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm just going to wri.. let's start wit..audio how befo....the next line of dialog b.... Couldn't even pass the training mission, ran out of ammunition couldn't rewind, couldn't even get to a menu. Alt-F4 is the only saving grace this game has. The graphics where compariable to PSX game from 1995, no kidding here. All in all this game literally gets no points, 0/10. Good effort from a grade 3 computer basics course though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces Game Boy Advance LSP, 2002
neutral · AI labelView post →Perhaps you have already played CTSF series on gameboy advance. Those games was similar to Metal Slug series but this time CTSF:FFE is a third person shooter. Raptor and Stealth Owl are back and now in 3D world. And certainly gameplay changed a lot- No more infinite pistol ammo. And unlike other shooter games you cannot pick up weapons and ammo from enemies. Ammo conservation bothers me all the time. Our heroes can jump in 2D world but now in 3D world they cannot jump. That could be good…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old but fun. Still fun :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are a fan of the old Syphon Filter games (Remember that kick-ass game?) you will probably enjoy this game. It's nowhere near the quality of Syphon Filter, but gameplay-wise it's very similar. Note: this game has a crappy Store Page's pictures that 95% probably will send you off. But actually the game has nice PS2-era graphics in-game. Now for the actual review: For someone who grew up with PlayStation 1 and totally loved the Syphon Filter games i found this game fun. I'm not a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best game ever.10/10 best game ever 10/10 best game ever 10/10 edit: see,noone agreed that this is the best game ever
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How to have fun with CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect: 1. Buy Delta Force 2. Play Delta Force
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it shows its age. might have been great a long time ago, but probably only play it for nostalgia's sake.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New Game Boy Advance Endings www.vgmuseum.com/end/gba Blender Bros. CT Special Forces 2 Back in the Trenches Donkey Kong Country 2 Pac-Man World 2 Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream
neutral · AI labelView post →I can't play on the PS5 when the TV is being used downstairs so I started this game on PS2 called CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect! So far its so so and does have ONE huge sin in it but I will get to that when I review the game. Please don't suck.
neutral · AI labelView post →there's a tanker mission and one of the guys sound like they're trying to do their best solid snake impression 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i purchases it two days ago ..but i cant go further because the stucks at next module (grenade) i think something is wrong with the game instead of giving me the grenade ammunition ,it gives me sniper ammo iam still at the training,,,secnond character
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces 3: Navy Ops LSP 2004 Game Boy Advance GBA #gaming #nintendo #gameboy
neutral · AI labelView post →This game did not age well at all. It belongs to a different era and it's quite rusty now. Maybe it wasn't even good in it's own time, I'm sure the ps2 have better shooters to offer. It has some cool designs and a feeling I really miss from the new games, but overall it's just not worth to buy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is nothing more than a PS2 Era Budget Game that has been ported directly from the console, with no remappable controls, substandard graphics (for the time), flat shooting, and sometimes cheesy voice acting, this game is mediocre in every sense of the word. The only interesting thing that this game has is its proto-Gears of War style cover system but that's about it. Do not buy at full price, only when its at a discount.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just tested the tutorial and first ship level of this game on Windows 11 with a Ryzen 7 7840H CPU and 780M APU. No real issues except for the game hanging on exit. No compatibility modes, vsync, etc. used. Unlike other reviews, for me it just worked.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another mediocre PS2 era shooter. Fun fact though, this game is also on GameBoy Advance and it even managed to score a couple sequels on that platform.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Didin't like it. Nothing special. Although you always have to aim below the crosshair to hit something.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would not recommend this game, all you do is go through stages, which are basically throwing grenades... It is boring to me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I aint gunna lie, the game was never great. But i played this back in the day and you know what? I'm just happy its playable, and runs fairly well (even at a lower resolution). Hell, the physics really makes killing enemies kinda entertaining. Like an over the top 90's action movie Well worth my hard earned $3. (cant even buy a big mac with that)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces looked like a low budget shooter that could be occassionally interesting. However, it turned out that it is bad port and I wasn't able to fix the game on w8.1. The first time I started the game, it ran with 500 fps, everything was speed up and it didn't feel smooth at all. I was able to limit my FPS via the NVIDIA control panel by adding and enforcing vsync on OVERLAY.EXE in the game installation folder. However, while the fps were now limited to 60 FPS and it wasn't speed…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For what it is, it is worth it. CTSF:FE is a non-pretentious PS2-era budget third person shooter with some horrific cutscenes and awful voice-over and bland characters (whilst it was nice that they tried to give the 2D GBA saga lads some dimension, the attempt turned out uninspiring). However, it has that special VHS action b-movie vibe - the plot and atmosphere are sufficiently cheesy, running'n'gunning is fun, and the overall pleasantly easy difficulty curve even offers a few rewarding…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game for extremely cheap (somewhere in the region of 60p) and I don't regret it, however I am not shaking with excitement either. The graphics are better than I expected, especially considering the age of the game. The first problem I encountered was the lack of a control list. The first level is a tutorial which at one point, requires you to throw a certain type of grenade. Only the game does not tell you which key to press to throw the grenade, and does not have a list of controls…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is worse than Donald Trump becoming president......and I'm white. 2/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Might be a decent enough game even though it does not in any way seem impressive by todays standards. Technical problems ruins the experience though. No support for common hd resolution is bad enough but the game upscales in some weird way and the cursor you see do not match with the "real" cursor in the game. The controls are also a mess and the options menu is lacking to say the least. This mess is probably enough to make people like me who did not play the game back in 2005 lose interest in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fix the game...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is tons a fun. I love sky diving it's a blast.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is actually good. But has a few very difficult levels... If you like a challenge. The game has ragdoll physics! The game has unlockables! The game has 2 protagonists. The game has box pushing physics! The game has breakable lights! The game has no difficulty settings. The game has drivable vehicles. The game has no jump button. The game has no ending cutscene. The game has dumb ai. Fun game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended. Old experience, eclipsed by the fame of games of the genre like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor series. I would say that this game has it's own proposition, but failed to make it due to whatever reason, from low-budgets to low spotlight space. A very good game still for it's age. Story - 2 Gameplay - 4 Scenario - 2 Sync - 3 Sense - 3 Final - 2.8/5
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces: Fire For Effect pros: //fast game with modern day graphics with easy controls that moves from location A to B to C and so on //good amount of action and special effects cons: //some difficult battles //some lack of directions/instructions //difficult dodge attack minigame final mission //good game Personal Suggested Purchase Price: $0.99 Or Less During Sale
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game have ,bad grafics In trille loks goodest than game But have good gameplay and good misions . I don't recommend this game .
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →playing CT Special Forces 2, decided to go for Italian language just cuz and I'm pretty sure this is making a level unbeatable the same issue happened when i played it many years ago but didn't happen when I played it in English wouldn't be the first game that's unbeatable in italian (Terracon..)
negative · AI labelView post →CT Special Forces (GBA) CT Special Forces (PS1)(Replay) Basic run and gun, the sequel is aeons better, but I still like this first game, well on PS1 that is the original GBA version is sluggish, sometimes doesn't control right check alt text for more
neutral · AI labelView post →The 2000's was an era that saw a plethora of budget ($20) first and third person shooters hit the market to try and capitalise on the genre's growing popularity. While most of these were incredibly average and some were downright terrible (Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction, Gun Warrior: The Rider From Nowhere), every now and then, a gem comes out of the budget shooter scene (Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green, Chicago Enforcer). CT Special Forces…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old but a total gem, helps increasing Aim.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worth Checking out! , a little older but a fun game for a few bucks..
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh. It's not bad. But, not good. The gameplay isn't fun. There is nothing that makes you want to play the game, it's just so generic.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you manage to make game running, you might have some problems still. But if you somehow fix them - game will be good, if you won't mind PlayStation 2 prime-era graphics =) There is some voice-acting and gamepad controls, too. Includes stealth/tactical elements, but they are not mandatory to follow. Has tutorial and Steam Cloud saves. Overpriced, but entertaining for 10-12 hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →is it bad? Yes... is it that bad? Yes....
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nope. Pro - what can i say, can't remember any Con - nonsensical story - bad controls - no quicksave - ai is godlike sometimes - infuriatingly bad game sections 4/10 rating, if you want to rage or like unfair difficulty just buy it on sale, i can't recomend something like this, i finished it but it's a major pain, when other great games await, avoid the bad ones. Let me explain something, Rockets and Soldiers with RPG, big area of effect and all instakill, redo sections 10x even 100x times…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont buy this game is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't like this game :S
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was nothing short of terrible. Yes, I only played about 10 minutes of it but that's all I could play before the game seemed to bug out. I got to the second part of the tutorial and it was telling me to back up against a wall and nothing was happening. That's not to say that even if I was able to play more I wouldn't give a similar review. The 10 minutes I spent in game were ridden with problems right from the beginning of the intro cutscene. The voice actors are terrible and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An OK old school fps shooter game, not bad at all for a time-waste! I got it on a sale for less than a dollar and it is worth what I spent on it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →waste of 49 cents. dosent even work
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces: Back to Hell (GBA)(Replay) a great sequel, pretty much improves on the first game in every way it's also my favourite in the series and also just a GBA game i really recommend if you like run and guns, it's a good time!
positive · AI labelView post →Pls donate me ammo amoao (IDK WHAT IM TYPING IM HALF ASLEEP)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →CT Special Forces: Fire for Effect Positives: + Ok idea + Two characters with different strengths + Nice abilities (invisibility & vision modes) + The vehicles you can use + First person view when aiming down sight + The scope weapons + Some missions are entertaining and fun (especially mission 12 & 13) + Ok physics engine + Ok music + Acceptable voiceacting + Good length (about 8-9 hours) Negatives: - A lot of bugs and glitches - Fps stuttering and general instability - Graphics in general…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If this version wasn't so buggy the game would be great. Some videos on the internet show that these are bugs. On level 9 you can't go through some metal beams, if you're lucky you'll pass just fine. Splash damage and the bazooka kill you with one hit, which is also a bug. Enemies can see through walls and more bugs. Otherwise, the game is interesting and would be quite easy without the bugs and has a nice upgrade system. You only save after the level, and checkpoints are in bad places, and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow, i had a blast playing this old hidden gem from creators of A plague tale Requiem! This game is like A little bit of Syphon Filter, MGS, Splinter Cell, Gears of War etc. Looks more like PSP game, but you will forget about graphics, because gameplay will suck you in! Its not perfect but a good mix of old school stealth (with hiding in shadows and optical camo) and shooter. It leans more into shooter, but stealth is a good option. There are also few really impressive missions like jumping…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can't recommend it . I enjoyed it because of the nostalgia but some missions were very frustrating and lets not talk about the story or cinematics,voice acting etc. Its a standard shooter
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Discount metal gear 5
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →why...just why would someone sell actaul fps fecies to the public what kind of messed up person does that?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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