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Counter-Strike

X-Play Rating:

Developer: Turtle Rock Publisher: Sierra Entertainment

Tried and tested gameplay
Intelligent AI, somewhat improved graphics and sound

Not a significant improvement over the original free mod
Lacks a true single-player campaign
Visuals are dated by today's standards

Following up the most popular online shooter in the world is no easy feat.
"Counter-Strike" was acclaimed as the best multiplayer game of 2000 and still
manages to entertain thousands of players in 2004. As a freely distributed,
player-created mod for the original "Half-Life," the game of dueling terrorists
and counter-terrorists is a favorite at Internet cafes and LAN parties around
the world. Tonight on "X-Play," we stock up on ammo, grab a flashbang grenade,
and find out whether "Condition Zero" will herald the next coming of those incredible
weekend-long gaming sessions.

Deleted scenes? Or missing feature?

The full-fledged single-player story mode some have impatiently waited for
is nowhere to be found. Apparently it was abandoned near the end of the game's
tumultuous production. Instead, you access a number of playable "deleted scenes"
that were the foundation for the single-player game, serving to either disappoint
some with their quality or tease others who were hoping for more.

The single-player scenes play through in a linear fashion, with only a handful
of nifty gadgets and weapons separating this from a sub-par "Half-Life" mod.
You can make use of a blowtorch to cut your way past locked doors or scope out
key locations using a fiber optic camera, but these devices are used in a gimmicky
fashion. The enemy AI encountered in these deleted scenes is disheartening.
Zealots will race at you blindly with knife raised high above their head, screaming
"ai-ai-ai-ai-ai!" at the top of their lungs, like some kamikaze from "Serious
Sam." The local citizenry that you engage in firefights with (you can write
them off as terrorists) fare no better, failing to take cover and never displaying
any sort of intelligence besides shooting at you when you are in sight. The
deleted scenes mode was included for completeness' sake, but doesn't significantly
add to the package.

Counter-intelligence

But if you came to "Condition-Zero" looking for some sort of melodramatic
story mode depicting your handsome counter-terrorist operative falling in love
with a lovely terrorist informant or something, then you're missing the entire
point of "Counter-Strike." It all comes down to the gameplay, and in this department
"CS" still reigns as king. The single-player tour-of-duty mode allows you to
play what amounts to rounds of the multiplayer game, populated by teams made
up of the official "CS" bots. These bots are the only significant addition to
the "Counter-Strike" experience. Ah, but what an amazing addition they are.
During the tour of duty you'll recruit a squad of teammates, allowing you to
customize your partners as you see fit. Need a sniper to hang back and pick
off enemies? Looking for someone to take the point with a tactical shield? You're
free to pick and choose.

The AI behind these soldiers causes them to act and react in remarkably lifelike
ways. A counter-terrorist may creep around a corner, happen upon an enemy with
his sights trained in his direction, and double back in fear, while calling
for reinforcements on his radio. Your squad will inform you of what they are
doing, with such direct streams of information as "I'm camping bombsite B."
Call for help, with the classic "Taking fire, need assistance!" and you can
expect your braver team members to come running. But if you have allies without
the intestinal fortitude to take commands well they'll flat-out deny you any
help, and you'll have to go the solo route.

Go, go, go!

There are a few new equipment options in the game, but more exciting than
any new guns are the spectacular looking new maps that show off detail and design
as good as any "Half-Life" engine-based game has seen yet. Expect to see your
favorite old maps touched up nicely as well.

Terrorists win

If you already play and love the original "Counter-Strike," there's not much
of a need to plunk down the money for this revamped version. The updated graphics
and sound effects are an improvement, but the game is still inferior to modern
PC games in this regard. Not to mention, there's something to be said for the
massive community that may remain loyal to the original. If everyone decides
to jump ship and make "Condition-Zero" the online game of choice, you wouldn't
be in bad company, even if some of your new teammates end up being the remarkably
lifelike bots.

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