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Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

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Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Zak Belica
SeriesCounter-Strike
EngineGoldSrc
Platform(s)Windows, OS X, Linux
ReleaseWindows
  • WW: March 23, 2004
OS X, Linux
  • WW: March 6, 2013
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ritual Entertainment, Turtle Rock Studios, and Valve, and published by Sierra Entertainment and Valve. The follow-up to Counter-Strike (2000), it was released in March 2004 for Windows. Condition Zero utilizes the GoldSrc engine and has a multiplayer mode, which features updated character models, textures, maps and other graphical tweaks. It also includes two single-player campaigns; Tour of Duty and Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes.

Alongside various other Valve titles, the game received versions for OS X and Linux in 2013.[2]

Gameplay

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The largest difference between Counter-Strike and Condition Zero is that all maps, player models, and weapon models, received updates to their graphics, enhancing their detail and modifying them slightly. The gameplay is separated into two parts; the multiplayer game, and the singleplayer add-on campaign.[3]

Condition Zero

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The primary game, Condition Zero, plays largely the same to Counter-Strike with the inclusion of bots and a "Tour of Duty" campaign across multiplayer maps. The game features a linear progression system where the player must complete each map by defeating opposing bots and completing challenges along the way, such as killing a certain amount of enemies, rescuing a certain amount of hostages, or killing an enemy with a specific weapon - new maps are unlocked after a previous one is completed.

All game modes from Counter-Strike are also present in Condition Zero. Minor changes to the hostage rescue game mode were made to allow hostages to reach the extraction zone on their own unless confronted by a terrorist, and will cower if gunfire is heard.[4]

Deleted Scenes

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Deleted Scenes is new to Counter-Strike in that it provides an offline, non-arena-based singleplayer campaign for the player, where they go along on an assortment of various missions all around the world, engaging in firefights with various enemies as a "Counter-terrorist". This game add-on uses gear and equipment from the main multiplayer game somewhat differently, where the player uses them for scripted interactive sequences. Beating a level unlocks a new mission somewhere on the globe for the player to then select. The weapons provided to the player are strictly based on the type of mission they are playing, as there is no longer a purchase menu for gear and equipment, though the player can still find and pick up weapons along the way. Missions are generally unrelated and meant to focus on immediate action, so the stories and plots within each level are self-contained.[5]

The player is more difficult to kill in this game mode, to seemingly make-up for the fact that you can die rather quickly in regular Counter-Strike. Overall, the gameplay is more action-movie-esque, with a focus on set-pieces and linear progression through each level.[6]

Development

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Condition Zero started development in 2000 by Rogue Entertainment, and was initially announced in May 2001 at E3 of that year. Rogue's producer for the game, Jim Molinets, later that year moved to Sony and the development company went defunct, leaving Valve empty. Later, they gave it to Gearbox Software, the developers of the Half-Life expansion packs, so that Valve could focus on the development rival Team Fortress 2 and its new engine.

Gearbox created an overhaul of Counter-Strike with high quality models and improved graphics. They also added alpha blending, allowing for realistic foliage and weather effects, a single-player mode to the game, similar to the final game, based on inspiration of Randy Pitchford from console games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, and they included explosive weapons such as a Molotov cocktails, tear gas bomb, M60 machine-gun and M72 LAW rocket. They also used the release of Steam to their advantage to help prevent cheating by ensuring constant code updates.

In the 2018 documentary Unforeseen Consequences, Pitchford told interviewers that after development was significantly underway, Valve requested that Gearbox pivot to a linear campaign in the style of their work on Half-Life: Opposing Force. This upset Pitchford, who subsequently decided that Gearbox would walk away from the project in July 2002.[7]

The development shakeup led to the project missing its late 2002 deadline. The project was given over to Ritual Entertainment, who completely remade the game into a single-player one with 20 unconnected missions.[8] It was expected to be released in early 2003 with a secondary multiplayer mode by the upstart Turtle Rock Studios, and released alongside the Xbox version of Counter-Strike. Capcom published the game in Japan.[1]

However, after declaring the game gold and handing out review copies of Ritual's work, Valve saw an average review score of around 60%. The companies retracted the gold status and work on Condition Zero was essentially begun again. Ritual's share of development was dropped, and Valve assigned Turtle Rock to finish development. They implemented a new bot AI that was beta tested in Counter-Strike 1.6 before release. The final game contained a version mirroring Gearbox's version, along with 12 missions recovered from Ritual's single-player portion, called Deleted Scenes.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Reception

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Condition Zero received "mixed or average reviews". It has a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on reviews from 33 critics. The game was praised for its AI and new maps, while it was criticized for being out-of-date following its lengthy development.[18][17][19][21][20]

Competitive play

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Main article: Counter-Strike in esports

Condition Zero has been featured in tournament play, although neither Condition Zero nor Counter-Strike: Source was able to generate mass interest from players of the original Counter-Strike as their successor Counter-Strike: Global Offensive did.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese version published by Capcom.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "PCゲームレビュー「Counter-Strike: Condition Zero」".
  2. ^ "CS:CZ Continues Valve Linux Catalog". Steam. Valve. March 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". March 24, 2004. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". March 24, 2004. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Game Chronicles - Review". Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Game Chronicles - Review". Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Unforeseen Consequences: A Half-Life Documentary. Retrieved May 10, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  8. ^ "Ritual Condition". IGN. December 6, 2002. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  9. ^ "GameSpy's Most Wanted Games of 2003". Archive.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  10. ^ "CVG PC Interview: Zero Hour Approaches". Computerandvideogames.com. March 18, 2003. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "GameSpy.com – Preview". Archive.gamespy.com. December 13, 2002. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Counter-Strike: Condition Zero". computersandvideogames.com. June 8, 2001. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  13. ^ Kasavin, Greg (March 25, 2002). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  14. ^ Remagen, Bridget (July 15, 2004). "PC Games: Counter-Strike, Condition Zero". PCWorld Australia. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  15. ^ "Useful for Counter Strike virgins maybe?". BBC. April 2004. Archived from the original on March 25, 2005. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  16. ^ "Condition Zero". 1up.com. January 1, 2000. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  19. ^ a b Bramwell, Tom (April 13, 2004). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Colayco, Bob (March 23, 2014). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  21. ^ a b Butts, Steve (March 23, 2004). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  22. ^ Mitchell, Ferguson (September 19, 2018). "Esports Essentials: The Impact of the Counter-Strike Majors". The Esports Observer. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
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