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wanted to send the news to site admin but didnt knew how so...
the review:
It’s taken a few years and four separate developers (five if you count Valve Software) but it seems like the long awaited single player version of Counter-Strike: Conditon Zero is finally close to being released to stores. HomeLAN recently got a near final build of the game from the game’s publisher Vivendi Universal Games and we have spend part of the weekend running it through its paces.
First, here is a quick history lesson on Condition Zero’s rather convoluted development. After the Half-Life mod Counter-Strike, which pits teams playing terrorists and counter-terrorists in first person shootouts, became a hugely popular hit in Internet multiplayer, Half-Life’s creator Valve Software bought the rights to it from its creators and released a stand alone version of the original mod in late 2000 Even though people could still download and play the original Half-Life mod for free, the retail version of Counter-Strike became a best seller as well so Valve commissioned Rogue Entertainment, who just finished work on American McGee’s Alice, to create an all new Counter-Strike game in early 2001 which emphasized single player. However, Valve decided to switch developers a few months into Rogue’s work (the developer closed down as a result) and Gearbox Software, a long time collaborator with Valve, (Opposing Force, Blue Shift and the PS2 port of Half-Life) was selected to take up the reigns.
Gearbox worked on the game for over a year but Valve decided to yet again switch developers in 2002 and worked with Ritual Entertainment (SiN, Elite Force II) on the game. It seemed close to release in 2003 but after some mixed reviews in European gaming mags based on playing a late beta of the Ritual game, Valve decided to switch developers one more time and got start up game developer Turtle Rock Studios (founded by the programmer who created the official Counter-Strike bot for Valve) to finish work on the game.
The final product, based on playing our copy of the near final build, is actually two different types of single player experiences (three if you count the bot instant action custom game modes). The Turtle Rock structured single player game is more like a console title with players going through the various maps (both new and familiar) and not only winning matches against bot generated terrorists but also achieving special challenges in those rounds (everything from simply killing an enemy to more specific tasks). Only a few maps are unlocked in this mode and as you and your team advance more maps are unlocked. You also get access to more and better AI teammates as you advance in each round and map.
Overall, the structured single player mode in the Turtle Rock developed game is something that might appeal to the experienced CS player who might want an experience that is not just a bot match but something that offers up more challenges for them to experience and overcome. The AI for both your teammates and your counter-terrorists enemies is quite solid, even at the easy level and we think that even well honed CS players will enjoy playing against the AI in this game. Of course, Condition Zero will also have a full multiplayer component just like its parent product.
The second and separate single player experience is from Ritual, which is referred to in Condition Zero as “Deleted Scenes” (Indeed, the set-up for installing the game makes putting in the Ritual portion as an option). This is a more traditional single player first person shooter experience. Ritual’s Condition Zero has a number of separate missions, each taking place in a different corner of the world and has you playing as a member of that particular country’s counter-terrorist group. From Russia to the Philippians to Columbia and more, your job is to take out the terrorists or enemies that might be holding hostages, attacking military positions or even gaining access to nuclear weapons.
Playing through a few of these missions, it’s clear that Ritual wanted to make a full bore action movie experience and these missions are anything but boring. In addition to the various weapons that you have access to, players in these mission have some extra equipment that can sometimes can only be used in certain areas, from a blow touch to blow out door locks to cameras needed to obtain vital info to remote controlled bombs needed to take out certain locations. None of these missions are actually connected to each other in terms of story, however, and we think some sort of story bridge might have been used to make the player feel like they were participating in one big story rather than in a series of mini-games.
Graphically, Condition Zero in both the Turtle Rock and Ritual versions use the Half-Life engine as its base, which is over five years old now (and it is based on the original Quake engine). While some improvements have been made to the graphics, such as some excellent level art textures and some detailed weapon models, regular Counter-Strike players will not notice a huge change in looks from the original game.
While Valve personnel have stated in interviews that Condition Zero actually was completed months ago, VUGames has not yet set a final publishing date on the game, with the official reason being to take the time to make a lot of international ports of the game for a simultaneous worldwide release. (Online gaming retailers like GameStop, EBGames and Amazon currently have a late March release date for the game). It is also entirely possible that Turtle Rock and Valve could make some last minute changes and improvements to the game before it is officially declared gold by VUGames. Based on playing this late beta, CS fans and shooter fans in general may find the wait for Condition Zero to be worth it. We will have a full review of the game when it finally reached store shelves.
link: http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=20396
the review:
It’s taken a few years and four separate developers (five if you count Valve Software) but it seems like the long awaited single player version of Counter-Strike: Conditon Zero is finally close to being released to stores. HomeLAN recently got a near final build of the game from the game’s publisher Vivendi Universal Games and we have spend part of the weekend running it through its paces.
First, here is a quick history lesson on Condition Zero’s rather convoluted development. After the Half-Life mod Counter-Strike, which pits teams playing terrorists and counter-terrorists in first person shootouts, became a hugely popular hit in Internet multiplayer, Half-Life’s creator Valve Software bought the rights to it from its creators and released a stand alone version of the original mod in late 2000 Even though people could still download and play the original Half-Life mod for free, the retail version of Counter-Strike became a best seller as well so Valve commissioned Rogue Entertainment, who just finished work on American McGee’s Alice, to create an all new Counter-Strike game in early 2001 which emphasized single player. However, Valve decided to switch developers a few months into Rogue’s work (the developer closed down as a result) and Gearbox Software, a long time collaborator with Valve, (Opposing Force, Blue Shift and the PS2 port of Half-Life) was selected to take up the reigns.
Gearbox worked on the game for over a year but Valve decided to yet again switch developers in 2002 and worked with Ritual Entertainment (SiN, Elite Force II) on the game. It seemed close to release in 2003 but after some mixed reviews in European gaming mags based on playing a late beta of the Ritual game, Valve decided to switch developers one more time and got start up game developer Turtle Rock Studios (founded by the programmer who created the official Counter-Strike bot for Valve) to finish work on the game.
The final product, based on playing our copy of the near final build, is actually two different types of single player experiences (three if you count the bot instant action custom game modes). The Turtle Rock structured single player game is more like a console title with players going through the various maps (both new and familiar) and not only winning matches against bot generated terrorists but also achieving special challenges in those rounds (everything from simply killing an enemy to more specific tasks). Only a few maps are unlocked in this mode and as you and your team advance more maps are unlocked. You also get access to more and better AI teammates as you advance in each round and map.
Overall, the structured single player mode in the Turtle Rock developed game is something that might appeal to the experienced CS player who might want an experience that is not just a bot match but something that offers up more challenges for them to experience and overcome. The AI for both your teammates and your counter-terrorists enemies is quite solid, even at the easy level and we think that even well honed CS players will enjoy playing against the AI in this game. Of course, Condition Zero will also have a full multiplayer component just like its parent product.
The second and separate single player experience is from Ritual, which is referred to in Condition Zero as “Deleted Scenes” (Indeed, the set-up for installing the game makes putting in the Ritual portion as an option). This is a more traditional single player first person shooter experience. Ritual’s Condition Zero has a number of separate missions, each taking place in a different corner of the world and has you playing as a member of that particular country’s counter-terrorist group. From Russia to the Philippians to Columbia and more, your job is to take out the terrorists or enemies that might be holding hostages, attacking military positions or even gaining access to nuclear weapons.
Playing through a few of these missions, it’s clear that Ritual wanted to make a full bore action movie experience and these missions are anything but boring. In addition to the various weapons that you have access to, players in these mission have some extra equipment that can sometimes can only be used in certain areas, from a blow touch to blow out door locks to cameras needed to obtain vital info to remote controlled bombs needed to take out certain locations. None of these missions are actually connected to each other in terms of story, however, and we think some sort of story bridge might have been used to make the player feel like they were participating in one big story rather than in a series of mini-games.
Graphically, Condition Zero in both the Turtle Rock and Ritual versions use the Half-Life engine as its base, which is over five years old now (and it is based on the original Quake engine). While some improvements have been made to the graphics, such as some excellent level art textures and some detailed weapon models, regular Counter-Strike players will not notice a huge change in looks from the original game.
While Valve personnel have stated in interviews that Condition Zero actually was completed months ago, VUGames has not yet set a final publishing date on the game, with the official reason being to take the time to make a lot of international ports of the game for a simultaneous worldwide release. (Online gaming retailers like GameStop, EBGames and Amazon currently have a late March release date for the game). It is also entirely possible that Turtle Rock and Valve could make some last minute changes and improvements to the game before it is officially declared gold by VUGames. Based on playing this late beta, CS fans and shooter fans in general may find the wait for Condition Zero to be worth it. We will have a full review of the game when it finally reached store shelves.
link: http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=20396
