Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Review

At the harder levels, the friendly AI can get quickly outclassed at the lower levels, which means you have to step up your game if you're going to unlock every map. (Put up or shut up time, l33t bitches!) The game also offers helpful tips and advice for players who may not be so familiar with the CS system, to make sure the learning curve is as small as humanly possible. After playing through at least one skill level in this game, even the most inept of n00bs can at least hold their own in an online game - even with all of the cheaters and aimhackers out there.

Come with me if you want to live.

Not a very promising situation.

Technically speaking, the game is...well...Counter-Strike. Based off of the original Half-Life code, with all of the patches, tweaks and upgrades Valve can possibly give it to make it as modern as possible. CS: CZ boasts none of the modern graphical features like dynamic shadows or lighting or any of that nonsense - it's an FPS, pure and simple. The textures are about as good as it gets in CS, which is definitely not good by today's standards. Valve is very detail-oriented when it comes to their products, and it shows in CS: CZ - but that's not saying much when comparing it to bleeding-edge titles like...Half-Life 2. (Or Far Cry! - Ed.)

The audio is the same way - if you've ever played CS even once in the past 5 years, you have a pretty good idea for what you're going to expect in CZ. If you're looking for technological marvels in PC gaming, you're not going to find anything new here - but what the game provides is the absolute best Valve has to offer with its rapidly aging technology. The code is robust, mature and about as solid as it can possibly get. There were no slowdowns, crashes, bugs or otherwise abnormal behavior out of the main game that I could possibly find. The Deleted Scenes however, were a different story. The game crashed out to the desktop several times, and I found myself stuck in several corners unable to continue on more than one occasion. (However, when playing the Deleted Scenes, remember that you are playing an essentially unfinished project, with the developers never getting the chance to iron out the bugs that you inevitably will face.)

If anything, Condition Zero captures the true feel of a CS online game, and presents it for exactly what it is - the most addictive and popular online FPS game of the past 5 years. The game retails for $40, for what is essentially a rehash of the most popular maps, coupled with a few new arenas, with bots capable of making the game fun for lone wolves and LAN parties. If not for Turtle Rock Studios, Condition Zero may never have seen the light of day, and while Ritual and Gearbox did their damnedest to put an adventure spin on CS, it is apparent to the world that their best simply wasn't good enough.