Below are user reviews of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and on the right are links to professionally written reviews.
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User Reviews (1 - 11 of 191)
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CZ Preview: What to expect
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 70 / 92
Date: July 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User
BASICS:
This is a PREview, not a REview: Condition Zero was just announced to be released this fall. (I am 80% certain they'll finish it by then, too). CZ is an sequel to the hit internet game, Counter-Strike, which has been the #1 team-based shooter on the web for over 3 years. 70,000 fans cannot be wrong - Counter-Strike is the funnest, most addictive game you can play right now. Trust us. Check out reviews for Counter-strike if you don't believe me.
NEW MAPS, WEAPONS, & CHARACTERS:
New maps are themed from 6 new "Hot-spots", namely: North & South America, the Middle-East, northern Russia, Asia, and "urban" Europe. Each hot-spot has several maps to play on, and each map has 12 objectives to complete in order to unlock new weapons and characters. As the developers actually travels to these various locations for research, the maps look very realistic and authentic. Each map has 12 objectives to complete in the single player game, thus unlocking new weapons, maps and characters. You will outfit your team pre-mission, a la Rainbow Six, and as you unlock new soldiers you'll find each has unique skills, specialties, and personalities (ie, AI routines). I've heard there are over 160 characters in the game so far, so lots to unlock and play with.
New teams include the Russian Spetznatz for the Counter-terrorists, and extremist militia group for the terrorists. New weapons in CZ include: Machete, Galil, Famas, M60, Law Rocket, Molotov Cocktail, Machete, Riot Shield, tear-gas grenade and coresponding gas mask. The Riot Shield will add some very interesting strategy to old favorites like Dust and Militia; the Molotov cocktail also introduces fire to Counter-Strike, and sounds like the perfect terrorist weapon.
AI BOTS!
The greatest addition CZ brings are new AI bots. Finally, people without high-speed internet connections can enjoy the game. Basically, the developers, Gearbox, are working on a complex team-driven AI that mimics real players: your AI teammates will choose appropriate weapons, work in teams, cover choke points, and even do crazy stuff like jump irrationally in corners or do other weird things that people sometimes do. The bots actually learn your tactics and adjust accordingly. Some beta-testers for Gearbox have already reported that they have a hard time telling the computer-controlled characters apart from real players. The best part is that all the AI is script-able, meaning you can go in and adjust the AI to behave exactly how you want it to. I can't wait.
THE HUGE COMMUNITY ISN'T GOING AWAY:
One thing about CZ which might sound like a rip-off but is actually great - the multiplayer updates will be available for free online, including the new maps and weapons. That means that the 70,000+ current players can play with the new CZ players right when the game comes out. There won't be a division between "haves" and "have-nots". Of course, those people who download the free updates will miss out on much of CZ's coolest features, like the single player bots and new graphics.
NEW GRAPHICS:
The game still uses the ancient Quake 2 engine (5 years old!) but Gearbox has somehow managed to make CZ look good. The game supports high-res textures, 32-bit color, and trilinear filtering. There are also new, high-geometry character models and weapons. This doesn't make CZ look as good as Doom 3, but it still stands up pretty well for today's standards. And this graphical update is only available to people who buy CZ, not those who just download the free updates.
Counter-Strike:Condition Zero
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 69 / 101
Date: January 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User
By - Tom Ham
Posted By - Dark Spectre
It goes without saying that Counter-Strike is the most popular online multiplayer game right now. Simply blowing the doors off Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, Tribes II and even the recently released Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer test, the number of folks playing Counter-Strike is truly astounding. According to GameSpy statistics, on the average, there are at least 30 to 40,000 people playing Half-Life at any given time. Going one step further shows that about 90 percent of those are playing Counter-Strike.
But all this gaming nirvana has one important caveat -- players need a high-speed connection. Unless you have broadband access via cable or DSL, you're pretty much outta luck. Sure you can play with an archaic ... err standard 56K connection, but come on people, we all know it's just not the same.
Enter Gearbox Software (the brilliant minds responsible for Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift). Having already proven themselves to be a top-notch developer of Half-Lifeexpansion games, Valve Software was more than willing to hand over the reins to them to create Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. "Condition Zero is a game that we want to play," explains Doug Lombardi, director of marketing and third party relations at Valve Software. "Obviously, Counter-Strike is one of our favorite multiplayer games, and we've always wanted to take on the challenge of recreating, even expanding upon, the thrill of a great multiplayer game in single-player. Add the challenge of co-op play against very worthy opponents while also providing new maps and toys for the existing multiplayer community, and this became a very compelling project for everyone involved."
On a recent visit to Dallas, GameSpy got to sit down and meet with Gearbox Software and discuss their upcoming plans for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. Not only did we get insight into the game's development, we managed to get some serious hands-on playtime with the game as well! Even though the single-player game was still in the works (don't worry we'll report on this when we go back to Dallas), we were able to spend several hours checking out some of the multiplayer aspects of Condition Zero including new maps, units, and weapons. Needless to say, what we saw was brilliant. Gearbox Software is definitely on the right track.
"It's a challenge for us," explains Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software, "the biggest hurdle was to design a single-player game that captured the excitement and rapid-pace gameplay that the online version offers. We had to design a single-player game that feels in every way like Counter-Strike as far as tactics and action goes, but give solo players an experience that is actually better than the online game in terms of structure and presentation." Granted this is no small feat. But how do you top an already seemingly perfect game such as Counter-Strike?
Counter Strike: CZ
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 47 / 75
Date: April 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User
I love the game of Counter Strike, even though I use a 56k modem, but if you can find a good server, which is easy, because you are able to filter out servers over a certain ping, then you can use any connection.
Counter Strike: Condition Zero will be a very awesome game, and mind me, I have done my research. The player models have 66% more polygons, better graphics, and no frame rate is sacrificed due to this. CS and CS: CZ will use the same multiplayer system because a patch will be released for the regular Counter Strike
to make Condition Zero compatible with Counter Strike.
I have read a few interviews with Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software, and watched a few demo movies about CS: CZ. The more I find out about this game, the better, and the more excited I get.
This, unlike the first Counter Strike, has a single player that is said to be longer than Blue Shift and Opposing Force combined.
Everyone should look into this game!
Teams
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 39 / 46
Date: January 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User
By - Tom Ham
Posted By - Dark Spectre
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will have five teams per side, and each team will have four different heads. So for all your math wiz's out there, that's over 160 combinations of units. What's cool here is that Gearbox has added a bunch of new uniforms that reflect the environments in which they're fighting in. "So when your mission is in a cold setting, your units will all wear artic gear. We also have desert and jungle camouflage as well," says Pitchford. "Every character type gets a different outfit dependant on where the mission is taking place."
One thing we here at GameSpy want to make clear. Almost every aspect of the single-player experience -- the new weapons, models, and maps -- will be available in multiplayer games. Don't think all this cool stuff is just for the single-player experience. Pitchford states, "The complete version of Condition Zero is a full retail product. A free patch will be released, however, that will make online Counter-Strike fully compatible with Condition Zero's online components."
The Artwork
"We've increased the amount of polys per model," explains Matthew VanDolen (a.k.a. Doo Doo Brown, artist and modeler at Gearbox), "Before the models were 750 polygons each. The ones in Condition Zero are 1,250 polygons. It's a 75% increase in the amount of polys per character." So how did it look? Check out our exclusive screenshots of the models. In game they look incredible. Remember how much better Quake III Arena looked when compared to Quake II? It's that drastic of a change. You can see little nuances in the faces, not available in CS before. "We're also going to have full lip-synching," continues VanDolen, "You can see here the CT's mouth is moving. So when they say, "Fire in the hole!" you'll be able to see it. Just another thing to make CS more realistic." The textures on the uniforms are also first rate. We could see every wrinkle, crease and fold -- it left us speechless.
In addition to new models, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will also incorporate new weapons. "As far as weapons go, we pretty much started over with the following assumptions," explains Pitchford. First, balance. The balance of CS is very important. We didn't want to introduce anything that disrupts the solidity of the game design as it stands. Second, realism in context. We wanted to introduce weapons to be plausible in the context for which they were intended. Third, fantasy. A lot of the CS weapons allow us to safely simulate the kinds of things we see in movies or hear about from war stories. We've added some guns that we've always wanted to see in action and have had a lot of fun using in the safe, simulated environment of CS. And lastly, strategy. Without radically altering existing CS paradigms, we wanted to add weapons that allowed for new tactics and new solutions to old tactical situations in the game. Using these basic objectives, we came up with a huge list of potentials. The list was tweaked, some tests were done, and some debates occurred and eventually we concluded with a very nice and solid collection of new weapons. Most of them are pretty exciting and all of them "fit."
Weapons and Toys
So what are the new weapons? "We've added some new weapons for both the CTs and Ts," explains Stephan Palmer, game/level designer at Gearbox, "The CTs have a new rifle called the FAMAS. The FAMAS is more so to counteract the Terrorist AK. Incidentally, the FAMAS is used by the French GIGN." "On a side note," says Brian Martel, "the FAMAS was also the gun that was in Metal Gear Solid." A new weapon for the Terrorists is the Galeil. "It's the Israelis official rifle," explains Palmer, "It's similar to the AK-47 but it's a little heavier, so the recoil is not as bad so you're more accurate with it."
Advice From A Professional Gamer
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 31 / 50
Date: July 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User
I have been playing this game for 32 months and there is no game that has ever tested your skills this way, and there is no game this fun. I have never gotten bored of playing this game, infact I play this game 24/7 and I never get tired while engaged in this thrilling and realistic game. This game will have new Weapons, Maps, Terrorist/Counter-Terrorist Models, and an optional 1 Player Mode. Anyone who is new to this game and is concerned about hackers ruining the fun in the game, there is a protection against hacking called HLguard (Half-Life) or CSguard (Counter-Strike) servers with this installed and if that's not enough, you can just play the new 1 Player Mode with skillfull AI Bots and a non-hack enviroment.
!FOR THE PARENTS! --------> Please notice that this game is rated "M" for Mature and includes gore and Adult Language when chatting and tehre are logos that players can spray everywhere in a server with pornography, and there is no control over this unless the ADMIN of the server feels that it is in-appropriate (which usually they don't) the ADMIN will kick/boot that person. If you launch Counter-Strike and go to configuration you can turn off the language you feel is in-appropriate for your child.
Recommended For Enjoyable And Non-Hassle GamePlay.
-256K Modem (DSL) Connection or higher (Cable, T1 etc.)
-nvidia Gforce2 Video Card (or any nvidia and no VooDoo)
-A Very Functional Mouse (Microsoft) (Cheap Mouse)
-GameSpy 3D -- Don't pay for Gamespy, use the one without all capabilities. You will still be able to do everything you need to play Counter-Strike -----...-----
For People Who Have Never Played Counter-Strike, low ping is good go into servers with ping around 115 or lower.
I hope this review has helped you in any way possible. I suggest kids over 12 or 13 of age should be able to play this game.
Thank you -- Clayton Davis
win xp
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 10
Date: December 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User
u ppl that think this game won't run on win xp r insane. just wanted to set the record straight.
Condition Zero
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 10
Date: June 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User
I have been playing Counter-Strike for about 7 months now and I cant stop playing!! Its so addicting. I didnt have to pay for my CS because a friend downloaded it for me. Anyway, CS:CZ looks like a great sequel. New weapons (Some of them are FAMAS, Galil, Molotov Cocktail, M60, LAW Rocket Launcher, and a Machete knife)and great looking new character models. CS:CZ is not only multiplayer: It has a single player mode so any n00bs (begginers) that need to improve their skill and test it against the AI bots in single player mode. When you play online, you dont have to worry about h4xx0rs (hackers) because CS:CZ has updated versions of HLGuard (Half-Life guard) and CSGuard (counter-Strike guard). Those are some good improvements because h4xx0rs can ruin the game your playing. Even though it says RP (Rating Pending) on the box, I know the the ESRP (people who give games ratings) will make it M for mature. I dont blame them. There is blood and gore in this game, and when you play online people can swear and say other offensive stuff, unless swearing isnt allowed on that specific server. Also, players can download custom spray paints and that could be porn/swear words/racial comments, or anything offensive. I am only 13 and belive me, i have seen alot when playing online, and its pretty rude . Even CS:CZ has its bad things, it is a great and fun game to play i think
re:hahaha what a joke...
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User
alright buddy first half life 2 got pushed back because the source code got stolen. know your facts before you cry. and if you havent noticed all great games dont come out on the right date. look at halo 2 that was supposed to come out months ago and it is pushed back to april of 2004. ok another thing steam is actually a great thing just give it time ti fix the bugs they were rushed to put it out that is the only prob. you know everytime counter strike has put out a new version people havent liked it so grow up and stop crying. its a game. a great one but only a game.
This is pathetic
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User
man, I know this will be a perfect game from perfect prequel but....... what is taking so long!!! I pre-order this item for birthday present(7/20) and it said it'll be released on 9/1/2003 back then. for the past three months I've been reading every single article about CS:CZ and I really really really hope this game WILL be released on 12/30
It's True... World's #1 Online Action Game!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User
Condition Zero is so great... I can play this for hours and never get tired of it. The new single-player mode, Deleted Scenes, is much better than the original's single-player, which was just beating requirements in a regular multi-player game. And the online experience is better. The graphics have greatly improved, and I find that there aren't as many problems with the servers. A great improvement from original Counter-Strike, and I say it's the best first-person shooter game on the PC.
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