Visually, things don't get much better on the GBA. Character animations and designs are great and show off some neat details. For example, when using something like the flamethrower or machine gun, you'll notice some reflective light on your character. This detail also fits in with whatever weapon you are using. The reflective muzzle flash from a machine gun simply reflects off any shiny parts of your character (like goggles), while a flamethrower illuminates the entire front of the body. This detail seems restricted only to the main character since it doesn't appear anywhere else. Another cool bit of graphical flash is the inclusion of a laser-scope whenever you kneel. I was never able to determine if this actually helped my targeting, but it was fun to see that thin red line on enemies. Environments are generally good, but lack consistency. The opening levels are nice, especially the desert level, which is supposed to be the Middle East but isn't, (I'll elaborate on this later) but this quality isn't carried throughout the game, such as in the jungle area.
CT: Special Forces features all of the familiar sounds of war, including loud explosions and gunfire. Beyond that, there's really not much to hear that you haven't heard before, and I'm not speaking in that general sense when we want to nicely say 'nothing special'. Most of the background music, at least to me, sounded just a little too familiar at times. For example, the fanfare that plays when you complete a level sounds a little too much like the fanfare for the original Contra (only in a different key). But that's about as close as I'm getting to that subject.