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Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

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Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
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 (1999), 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.[1]

Development

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 Molinet, 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.

After a few developmental delays, it missed its late 2002 deadline and was given over to Ritual Entertainment, who completely remade the game into a single-player one with 20 unconnected missions.[2] 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.

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.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes

Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes is what is left over from Ritual Entertainment's stage of development, a series of eighteen unconnected single-player missions.

Deleted Scenes was originally the focus on the game with standard multiplayer included. However, taking into account lower-than-expected contemporary review scores, the developers retracted the game's gold status and work on Condition Zero was essentially begun again. Ritual's share of development was dropped, and Turtle Rock Studios eventually made its own version. The final game contained Ritual's single-player portion, called Deleted Scenes, along with Turtle Rock's version.

Several weapons from the "lost co" have made an appearance in Deleted Scenes, including the M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon, and the M60 machine gun. Some are limited to the AI terrorists, such as the machete and Rogue Entertainment's controversial suicide belt. It also featured some reconnaissance weapons including the blow torch, 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 to better protect the player from many projectiles and bullets.

Some weapons were completely reanimated. This includes the M4A1, AK47, FAMAS and Galil with the exception of the SIG SG 552 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.[11][12] There is a small community for Deleted Scenes, and a few custom maps have been released.

Reception

Condition Zero received mixed to average reviews, receiving an aggregate score of 65 on Metacritic. The game was praised for its AI and new maps, while it was criticized for being out-of-date following its lengthy development.[14][13][15][17][16]

Competitive play

Main article: Counter-Strike in esports

Condition Zero has been featured in tournament play though 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.[18]

References

  1. ^ "CS:CZ Continues Valve Linux Catalog". Steam. Valve. March 6, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  2. ^ "Ritual Condition". IGN. December 6, 2002. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "GameSpy's Most Wanted Games of 2003". Archive.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  4. ^ "CVG PC Interview: Zero Hour Approaches". Computerandvideogames.com. March 18, 2003. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  5. ^ "GameSpy.com – Preview". Archive.gamespy.com. December 13, 2002. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  6. ^ "Exclusive: Counter-Strike: Condition Zero". computersandvideogames.com. June 8, 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2014.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Kasavin, Greg (March 25, 2002). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Useful for Counter Strike virgins maybe?". BBC. April 2004. Archived from the original on March 25, 2005. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  10. ^ "Condition Zero". 1up.com. January 1, 2000. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Update History". Valve. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  12. ^ "Update News - Counter-Strike: Condition Zero". Valve. March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  15. ^ a b Bramwell, Tom (April 13, 2004). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Colayco, Bob (March 23, 2014). "Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Mitchell, Ferguson (September 19, 2018). "Esports Essentials: The Impact of the Counter-Strike Majors". The Esports Observer. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
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