Suddenly it appeared, looming from the greyness like a beacon to the lost, drawing in slack-jawed observers like fireflies to a lantern. Standing in front of me, was the man himself, Mr Randy Pitchford, not a bazooka-toting behemoth, but an affable enthusiastic man.
During a lull in the action, I took the opportunity to ask how you, as the commander of your team of special forces soldiers, would be able to interact with your comrades. The first of these is getting your team to do what you want. Basically they should be enhancing your experience of the game, not counteracting it," explained Randy chirpily. Like a newborn I wedged myself between the two animated hunks of flesh that stood either side of me to get a better view. Things were beginning to get interesting.
Randy was now in an ebullient mood so I thrust my Dictaphone nearer to his face to record his every word. We decided it was important that we give the player some direct control over what their team-mates do. And what about the second approach to interacting with your team-mates?
An example of this is walking into an open area where there is potential to be sniped. So the first bot will go to a certain point and cover the next guy as he makes his way to the same spot, so that the whole group moves together like a real military unit.
Gesturing for me to have a go, I clutched the controls in tepid palms. Twenty seconds later, I was dead, decapitated by a well placed LAW rocket.
Eager to make amends I tried again, attempting to outflank the enemy with my squad of three highly trained soldiers. It was then I noticed it. These bots are very different. Lifelike some might say. They worked together in a well-organised team, opting for differing routes depending on their past experiences.
These are written to a file which tells them what kind of things happened when they played before, negating any chance of predictability and on this occasion, scuppering my feeble and poorly thought out plans for an ambush. Randy then informed me that hardened Counter-Strike veterans will be in for a stern test, while partially solidified FPS players will find even some of the earlier levels, seriously challenging.
Such was the tension, in fact, that while we watched the action unfold, the Stimpy lookalike started shaking uncontrollably with excitement, buck teeth knocking violently against his kneecaps, dislodging pieces of his lunch and sending them arching off in random directions as he trembled. Picking out a piece of cold fish which had lodged itself in my ear, I asked Randy to tell us a bit about the new types of missions, and some of the new mission goals we could expect to see in CZ.
These new goals may involve getting your whole squad from one side of the map to the other without losing a single man. So you have to start thinking about how to play each level differently. In this case you may send one man out as a decoy, while the rest of you take another path. Once the level was complete a wry smile tinted with smugness crossed his face for the briefest of moments before composure returned and the demonstration continued.
So another objective may be trying to complete a mission where every member of the team is forced to use the same weapon. This throws up a totally different tactical situation. In any given mission there are nine objectives and each of these is divided into modes.
The narrative mode will involve the classic types of mission goals such as defusing a bomb, rescuing hostages and planting surveillance equipment. Certain soldiers specialise in certain skills, so someone with a high accuracy potential will be worth investing in as he has the potential to become an incredible sniper. Suddenly a high-pitched squeal cut its way through my ear drums, emanating from the back of the rabble of journos which had, unbeknown to me, converged on the CZ stand, behind which stood the other developers, vacant, confused and unsure of what to do next while everyone ignored them.
Fortunately Randy understood. Each territory will have three or four missions. In each one there are nine different objectives. So overall, there are about mission goals in the whole game. Newcomers will be taken care of with an in-depth tutorial. But Randy, undeterred by the bobbing heads, was intent on pushing on.
As you start making money though, you can recruit guys to join your team and buy yourself better weapons. What skills will they have?
Moans of hatred from everyone else. This one is their ability to ct to the sounds that they hear, such as knowing what weapons are being fired at them. Knowing things like this will affect their behaviour. The tactics skill represents their ability to communicate with each other and move together as a unit. Condition Zero was looking little short of stunning, with an engine so brilliantly enhanced that it was barely discernable from the original Half-Life one.
As I pushed my way through the rabble, I threw a cursory and somewhat sympathetic glance to the man at the Nascar stand, isolated and ignored bar one suited man who stood like a wax figurine, holding a gaming wheel steady at a slight leftwards i angle. The verdict was clear. No game on show that day could come close to competing, and as I clambered back on the bus. I realised that any team-based first-person W shooter out this year would have trouble doing so too.
And so another press trip was over, ending the way each one does. Well, this was Paris after all Got to work, had a cup of coffee, a muffin, a banana. Checked my emails Hold on there was something else At about hours we received a Code Red from Tac-Ops, who relayed the position of a terror cell to us.
Major draaaag. So after afternoon tea and a nap, we pootled off in a stealth chopper to have a look, infiltrated their base and you'll never guess who we found. Osama Bin Laden. Heh, who would have thought it? In Somerset of all places. One minute you're sitting around sharpening a knife on your stubble, the next your intestines are being used as a skipping rope by some terrorist's niece.
It's a job where you never know what dangers you'll be facing tomorrow, whether you'll live to see another day. Danger, intrigue, brutal firefights, a battle of wits against the most uncompromising and brutal men on the planet. It's a scenario which many an online shooter, in particular Counter-Strike , has tried to replicate The impudent little twat gets to you so much that all you end up thinking about is how much you'd like to grab the little prick by the neck, slap off his glasses, and hang him out of a window by his ankles while beating him round the back of the legs with a sawn-off oar.
And I don't think I'm alone in thinking that What's more, how the hell are you supposed to improve when you die within seconds of each round? Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, that's how. At least, that's what we've been led to believe until now. Due 16 months ago when it was still being developed by Gearbox , Condition Zero claims to be the single-player version of Counter-Strike, the world's favourite online shooter.
Which obviously means, you don't need to go online to play it. Now, from what we could gather from the information trickling out of Ritual who appear to have totally changed the game since the Gearbox days , this meant an 18 mission, worldwide campaign against terror, where you and a collection of intelligent bots fight as a team to thwart terrorist cells, in all-new missions not too dissimilar to the ones you currently play online.
We were wrong. Split into two parts, Condition Zero's first half we'll come to the other, far superior half later offers an 18 mission, worldwide campaign against terror, where you singlehandedly fight to thwart terrorist cells, while a handful of brain-dead Al team-mates stand around looking at flowers urging you on to do everything for them, in missions not too dissimilar to the kind of basic, bedroom-coded rubbish you'd expect from a ten-year-old making their first foray into level designing.
And you can't play them online. Or with other people. Before you wade into the action, you're offered a training course, which is basic at best, and inadequate at worst. After this, it's on to the campaign. Each of the 18 missions begins with a token cinematic sequence, outlining the mission goals defuse bomb, rescue hostages, kill VIP etc before you set off on your lonely trek. In fact, while we're here, why don't we get a feel for a typical mission?
The first level picks you up and plops you down, deep underground. The Japanese underground to be precise, where you find yourself on a tube, keeping one eye out for terrorists and one on the white panties peeking out cheekily from beneath the skirts of the Japanese schoolgirls sitting opposite you hey, they said they were 16 OK?
The next thing you know, you're getting beaten round the head by a man who looks like a South American paedophile, while his mate wires up a bomb and randomly shoots passengers. Mustering all your years of training, you pass out, waking just in time to see the bomb go off.
Now you're pissed - especially as those schoolgirls have gone. Kidnapped apparently. With the place swarming with counter-terrorists CTs , you're ready to join with your compadres and pump your assailants up to the fillings with lead. Sadly, only one other CT, Gerald the model-train enthusiast, will come with you. He opens a door. You walk through. He closes the door behind you and wishes you luck. The bastard! Seconds later, you're cowering behind your riot shield one of the game's new weapons , futilely popping away at a dozen or so terrorists with a cap gun.
Barely alive, you stumble past the corpses, blood smattered all around the white walls like vulgar graffiti, diving on to a bomb in order to defuse it, only to die immediately as two terrorists appear from nowhere and shoot you. You dive on to the bomb to defuse it, then die as two terrorists appear from nowhere and shoot you. Rip off earphones, throw them at monitor.
Throw monitor out of window. Where's the back up? There is none. Where's the teamwork? What team? Even after just this first mission, you're left in no doubt about two things, a Those girls definitely weren't And not a very good one at that, either. Throughout the next few missions this suspicion intensifies as you're persistently sent off on your own to accomplish goals your team should be helping you with.
And on the rare occasions when they bother engaging the enemy, their bullets prove about as effective as sponge plugs, with 30 of their bullets accomplishing what yours can achieve in two or three. Add to this an abundance of barrels filled with high explosives which are always conveniently positioned right next to large groups of terrorists, the inability to pick up enemy weapons, not being able to shoot enemies while they're in the middle of a scripted animation and stealth sections which are lamer than a two legged horse, and it's hard not to feel you're trapped in Clichesville twinned with Crapsville - a town where there's nothing new and little to get excited about.
But even a little is better h than nothing, and while the campaign as a whole will invite little more than derision B from CS veterans, B there are some merits to this section of CZ. While enemies' often flamboyant entrances rolling from behind a r wall, throwing over a table F and taking cover are all scripted, the level of intelligence they show during a firefight is sporadically impressive.
When in groups they fan out and take cover, when in a position of superiority they close you down, caging you in to prevent you from escaping. Throw a grenade at them and they'll run and cower, aim at their heads and they'll try to duck down.
Then there are some of the more entertaining scripted sequences, like shooting down a Harrier Jump Jet as it strafes you from above, or reliving the final chase scene from Terminator 2 as you try to shoot down a pursuing helicopter. And the dated Half-Life engine has received a thorough makeover, updated to just about passable modern-day standards. The weapons from Counter-Strike are all present and correct, as well as some new ones too, meaning variety isn't a problem, but sadly the buggy-like radio controlled bomb that we were promised, which can be driven into enemy encampments, is MIA.
So why the relatively high score Korda? You been taking bribes? You getting' a cut of the profits? Bloody hell, my schizophrenia-induced alter ego Sharon is getting impatient these days, isn't she? OK, let me explain. Remember, I said there were two parts to this game, and it's part two that lifts the score immensely. Even though all the features you're about to read about will be available as a free V1.
Here's the deal. Imagine playing all the existing official Counter-Strike levels with bots. Intelligent bots. This point is needed to open the next map or to recruit better bots as teammates. The game lets you take on missions as agents, buy weapons that are not available anywhere else, and complete a few missions. While the premise of this mode is good, the gameplay content does become predictable.
Initially, players of Condition Zero game download were supposed to play with the advanced Counter-Strike gamers. Nevertheless, the multiplayer mode is the same as the first Counter-Strike but with one added feature. CZ players can add several bots to the multiplayer game while playing solo! If you wish to change the language of the game, you can easily do so by going to the primary CS folder and looking for a rev. The game creates an impression of being built on the Half-Life engine, which was good a few years ago but not anymore.
This version of the game is The first-person shooting game comes with a campaign mode and tutor that allows you to practice, improve speed, accuracy, and shooting skills. These features may not seem very interesting, but they are there to ensure you learn a few Counter-Strike tips and tricks before heading to an online battle. Similarly, experienced players can enjoy playing the game solo using different AI bots. The more points you gain, the more weapons and bots you get to unlock.
Paying money for the game may seem off-putting to some users. Better Game. Good game! Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is cs Pro s: Action Shooting Graphics equal with cs Not full version free.
You need to pay for it Pros: - Cons: price More. Laws concerning the use of this software vary from country to country. Recent Reviews:. All Reviews:. Popular user-defined tags for this product:.
Is this game relevant to you? Sign In or Open in Steam. Languages :. English and 7 more. Publisher: Valve. Share Embed. Read Critic Reviews. Packages that include this game. Package info. Add to Cart. Bundle info. Add to Account. View Community Hub. About This Game With its extensive Tour of Duty campaign, a near-limitless number of skirmish modes, updates and new content for Counter-Strike's award-winning multiplayer game play, plus over 12 bonus single player missions, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is a tremendous offering of single and multiplayer content.
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