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Counter Strike Condition Zero at first glance seems like a rip off. $40 for a game that is based on Half Life, which was originally released in 1998. Many $50 games hit the bargain bin in 6 months.

On top of that, Condition Zero is hardly a new game. Counter Strike itself is almost as old as Half Life. Condition Zero adds several "deleted scenes" single player missions. Originally, Condition Zero was supposed to be just like any other single player game. These single player missions didn't live up to Valve's quality control, and development for Condition Zero started all over again. These missions have, however, been included as "deleted scenes." Officially, all Condition Zero is is Counter Strike with high-resolution textures, high quality models, and bots.

What makes Condition Zero worse? Unlike the previous retail version of Counter Strike, you can no longer download and install Half Life mods such as Half Life Deathmatch, Team Fortress Classic, Deathmatch Classic, Opposing Force Deathmatch, and Day of Defeat. Not only that, you can not even play the free in independent mods such as FireArms, The Specialists, Hostile Intent, Frontline Force, and Action Half Life. This is a big disappointment. If you do not already own Half Life, you end up paying $65 for the ability to play Counter Strike and Day of Defeat. Being able to play all kinds of different mods made Half Life a worthwhile buy for $40 even after being five years old. On the positive side, you can find a new copy of Half Life on Amazon.com for under $10. If you can't wait a week for it to come, you will have to pay $34 for it on Steam.



Once you get a hold of a copy of Half Life you then click "Register a product I already own" and enter in your half life cd key. If you are looking for a free copy of Condition Zero, or Counter Strike, you can forget it. Steam requires you to have a unique Condition Zero cd key. If you load Condition Zero on two computers and use the same cd key for both you risk invalidating that cd key. This means you can go out and spend another $25 or $30 just for a cd key. This is a great way for valve to fight software piracy. Unfortunately, it also means that they have more control over what version of the game you play. Valve recently turned off WON, requiring anyone who wishes to play a Half Life based game online to download an install Steam.


Let me remind you, Counter Strike and Day of Defeat were both original freely and independently made mods. Both games drove new sales for Half Life, had a huge following, and easily attracted Valve's attention.

So what do the new graphics do for Counter Strike? It is still the same engine. In comparison to Counter Strike Source it looks like nothing . Despite this the new graphics make Counter Strike Condition Zero look damn good. This difference is almost night and day. On the downside, Condition Zero servers are separate from Counter Strike servers. This means to play the Condition Zero maps, you can not play on your favorite old Counter Strike server. It also means when you go back and play on a regular Counter Strike server it kind of looks like crap.

These two high resolution screenshots show what a huge difference the high resolution textures make. The picture on the left is of the original Counter Strike dust map. The picture on the right shows the Condition Zero dust map.
de_dust	de_dust_cz

The bots on single player are actually pretty impressive, These bots camp like people. They even know how to AWP-whore. Still, they are no replacement for real humans. That being said, if you are still on dial up you are going to really appreciate the bots. These bots actually have the ability to learn custom made maps. This greatly adds to the replayability of Condition Zero.

The question remains, "Is Condition Zero worth it?" With Counter Strike Source and Half Life 2 waiting to be released (they may already be out by the time you read this) is Condition Zero worth your time or money? Let me put this in simple terms. If you have played Counter Strike regularly for at least a year -- it is worth it. If you have played Counter Strike but did not enjoy it, first ask yourself why. Did the skill level of other players piss you off? In Condition Zero you have bots with scalable difficulty. If, however, you did not enjoy it because of the style of gameplay; avoid Condition Zero. If you have never played Counter Strike before try to find Condition Zero for $25 or less. Counter Strike really is an unparalleled first person shooter with an amazing level of addictiveness which ever computer gamer should experience at least once.

Despite its downfalls and weaknesses, Counter Strike Condition Zero continues to prove what a revolutionary game Counter Strike really is. For any true Counter Strike fan, Condition Zero is a must have despite what any other gamer or reviewer says.

Graphics.......... Below Average Sound.............. Average Gameplay........ Excellent Replayability....... Excellent Overall Rating...... 80%