Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since December 2006. |
| Counter-Strike: Condition Zero | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Valve Software, Gearbox Software, Ritual Entertainment, Turtle Rock Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal |
| Engine | Half-Life engine (GoldSrc) |
| Release date(s) | March 21, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) PEGI: 16+ |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Media | CD or Steam download |
| System requirements | Intel Pentium III, 96 MB RAM, 16 MB VRAM, 500 MB free hard disk space |
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (abbreviated CS: CZ or just CZ) is the Single player version of the Multiplayer game, Counter-Strike. The game was released in 2004 using the aging GoldSrc Half-Life engine. CS: CZ also features a multiplayer mode, which mostly features updated character models, textures, maps and other graphical tweaks.
Contents |
[edit] Development
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero has gone through many incarnations in its development. In April 2001, the game was announced as being developed by Rogue Entertainment, first mistaken as Counter-Strike 2 but soon revealed as Condition-Zero. However, Valve Software soon took over development. Due to time constraints and content issues, the project was soon given to Gearbox Software, developer of several Half Life expansions. Gearbox's version had an optimistic release date, but soon went into a downward spiral of delays. After several push backs of the release, Gearbox themselves finally dropped from the project.
In December 2002, Shacknews announced that Ritual Entertainment had picked up development of the game, however the game was leaked twice and before it was even released, the community made negative feedbacks of the game which made Valve pull the plug on the project for Ritual. Valve took on development of the game and paired up with Turtle Rock Studios to create the official Counter-Strike bot, first beta-tested on Counter-Strike 1.6, then added into CZ, then later added and improved in Counter-Strike: Source.
The final released version of the game included a combination of the original Counter-Strike maps (from CS 1.6), new maps and weapons content from the Gearbox version many of which were modified by Ritual, the FAMAS and the IMI Galil, along with a few new maps by Turtle Rock. 13 of the 19 Ritual single-player maps were also included on the original disc as "deleted scenes" - eventually all 19 were available as downloadable maps over Steam.
Gearbox's own version of Condition Zero was anticipated highly by fans. However, since that version was later dropped, fans began to demand that this content would be reinstated in another version.
The missions from Ritual's content were mostly from the lost content multiplayer maps such as de_vessel and some of Ritual's player models resembles the ones from the lost contents itself. For example, the idea of the GIGN having a visor, moreover the M60s, LAWs, and the shield gun (not to be confused with the shield in the multiplayer version) were from Gearbox's contents, only screenshots of it now remain for players to view.
Condition-Zero was leaked twice before it was officially released, giving many players the hands-on preview of the unreleased game. The first leak contained the source code of Half-Life 2 and Ritual's content along with some unreleased maps such as as_destown_cz and cs_penal_cz. This leak started the negative feedback from the community against Ritual's work. The second leak contained Turtle Rock's content, it is still unknown whether or not the leak contained the CZ bots.
[edit] Gameplay
It is very similar to Counter-Strike 1.6, featuring nearly identical gameplay, weapons, equipment, and maps popular in the multiplayer version. The textures are all different, as are the guns and maps. Nightvision makes a whirring, whining noise and in some servers casts an eerie glow around the player when in use. Also, players drop their grenades when they die, allowing other players to take them. CZ offers a new bot system in which the player can "create" computer players of varying skill levels and control the weapons they use to practice. In the single-player campaign, the player leads a hand-picked squad of counter-terrorists through missions around the world thwarting terrorists. The single-player mode is often praised for the highly intelligent AI, which are made to emulate actual players.
Some items introduced in Counter-Strike 1.6 were to be originally introduced to Condition Zero, such as the FAMAS, IMI Galil and the Tactical Shield. New player models were introduced, one for each side. Spetsnaz, the Russian security force for Counter-Terrorists, and Midwest Militia, a supposedly U.S. based group of dissidents for the terrorists. The second update of CZ feature the new hostage AI, which apparently gives the hostages emotions. They'll escape on their own if left unguarded, panic if firefight is heard, "talk" to terrorists and counter-terrorists, and navigate the entire map by using ladders, etc.
[edit] List of official Counter-Strike: Condition Zero maps
|
|
|
|
[edit] List of Official Counter-Strike maps for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
|
|
|
|
[edit] Player models
|
Counter-Terrorist (CT): All take names from real groups
|
Terrorist (T): All (understandably) fictional
|
[edit] Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes
Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes were what was left over from Ritual Entertainment's dropped share of development. A series of unconnected single-player missions, Deleted Scenes were originally the focus on the game with standard multiplayer thrown in too. However, after declaring the game gold and handing out review copies of Ritual's work, Valve saw an average review score of around just 60%. The companies retracted the gold status and work on CZ was essentially begun again. The final game contained Ritual's portion, called Deleted Scenes, alongside Turtle Rock Studios's version of the game.
Deleted Scenes missions are single-player and the mission locations are worldwide from the cold Russian missile silo to the warm busy Japanese streets. In Deleted Scenes, players are prohibited from buying weapons like normal Counter-Strike gameplay; instead players collect weapons, ammo and armor along the way. Players always play as the Counter-Terrorist, while the enemies are AI bots. As opposed to the main campaign, Deleted Scenes missions usually put the player on their own and must find out how to proceed to the next level, unlike the multiplayer component of CZ where players have to eliminate all members of the opposing team or complete certain map objectives.
Several weapons from the "lost contents" have made an appearance in Deleted Scenes, including the M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon, and the M60 machine gun. Some are unfortunately limited to the AI terrorists, such as the machete and Rogue Entertainment's controversial suicide belt. Some reconaissance weapons including the blowtorch, radio, Fiber optic Camera, and remote control bombs. Players can also carry up to three grenades instead of the usual one. Moreover, the power of players' Kevlar Armor is boosted, better protecting players from many projectiles and bullets.
Some weapons were completely reanimated. This includes the Colt M4A1, FAMAS and Galil with the exception of the SIG SG552 which uses its "beta animations." Weapon textures are also slightly modified. The weapons are colored a bit differently from their Counter-Strike counterparts, such as the Arctic Warfare Magnum which is now brown instead of green, the Steyr AUG and the Colt M4 Carbine are now two-tone police black instead of the usual colors. It initially came with twelve missions, but later Steam updates added six additional missions that were cut from the initial release. There is a small community for Deleted Scenes, and a few custom maps have been released. Three are by Thearrel "Kiltron" McKinney, a mapper who worked on the game itself.
[edit] Trivia
- At the ending credits, a soldier of Delta Force rides a Scud missile, clearly spoofing Dr. Strangelove.
- At one point in Deleted Scenes, Ritual added characters based on Mexicans and Native Americans, but eventually removed it because of racial issues. They also made maps based on the American and Mexican border but no one ever saw what happened with the map.[citation needed]
- In Fastline and Hankagai, the player may notice some titles in the bookstores which resemble some real-life animes with names changed.
[edit] External links
- Official CS:CZ site
- Official CZ:DS site
- Counter-Strike.com — Provides Counter-Strike Condition Zero server related forums, FAQ's and guides.
- Counter-Strike: Condition Zero at the Internet Movie Database
|
Counter-Strike series
|
|
WON2 • Counter-Strike • Counter-Strike: Source |
|
Valve Technology
|
|
GoldSrc engine • Half-Life TV • Mods (Half-Life, Half-Life 2) • Source engine • Source SDK • Valve Anti-Cheat |
|
Valve games
|
