Every once in a while a really great game appears out of nowhere from a little known developer and/or publisher. Last year, one of those games was Counter Terrorist Special Forces, a highly refined action platformer from French based development and publishing house LSP. The game was only released in Europe, so it didn’t receive the widespread recognition it deserved, but those who had the opportunity to play it were able to witness a genuinely addictive and thoroughly enjoyable mixture of platforming and shooting. The original game’s only real fault was the fact that it was a little on the short side with just four missions each consisting of three pretty expansive levels. The good news is that CT Special Forces is back, and LSP promise a bigger game with the same great gameplay quirks as the original.

As with the previous game, in CT Special Forces: Back to Hell you are put in charge of a team of elite counter-terrorist troops in a war against terrorism. Your team will receive orders to visit five different locations in the world such as Irak and Korea giving the game five unique settings with differing mission objectives. Stealth Owl, Raptor and Aquila One will return as playable characters with the addition of a fourth character named Avenger.

From the looks of it, CT Special Forces: Back to Hell will play in a similar manner to its prequel. One of the original games main plusses was the variety of gameplay styles that it offered. Whilst the majority of the levels played in the side-on action platformer style there was a selection of stages that played very differently from the main game. These included sniper sections where you must take out terrorist whilst avoiding hostages, old school vertically scrolling helicopter shooter stages and even parachuting sections. The end result was a varied but highly polished gameplay experience. The good news is that the sequel will offer the same kind of gameplay variety. LSP have mentioned that Back to Hell will feature sniper sections, helicopter hostage rescuing stages and all new side on vehicle-based shooting stages.

The last game, although short, was lengthened by its pretty high difficulty setting. This new title will offer a total of 20 stages, which is nearly double the previous selection of 12. Back to Hell promises to be even more difficult with new and more challenging enemy types. Of course, like the last game you’ll be able to play with a fairly large arsenal of weapons. Those featured include the assault rifle, grenades, rocket launcher, flame thrower, knife and sniper rifle. Once again, a two player Challenge Mode has been included. This will allow two players to link up and play simultaneously in a race towards the end of the level. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any mention of a cooperative link up mode, which is something the last game also lacked.

As you’ll see from the screenshots, this game is looking even more stunning than CT Special Forces, and it borrows from the style familiar to fans of the Metal Slug series. The character sprites and environment backdrops retain that instantly recognisable charm that made the first game so visually appealing, and look even more detailed and varied than before.

CT Special Forces: Back to Hell doesn’t look like it will differ too much from the last game, which isn’t really a problem as the previous title was brilliantly designed and gave some of the most entertaining hours you’re likely to get sitting in front of your GBA. It is set to hit European stores during April this year, and there hasn’t been any mention of a US release yet. Judging from LSP’s release policy last year I would think that one is unlikely. However, if LSP deliver an even stronger package than what the previous game offered, this title could easily become a strong contender for being one of the best GBA games of the year. If you live outside of Europe, and it doesn’t make it out over there, then an import would be completely justified. Stay tuned for more information and screenshots as the release of this game draws closer.

- John