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cz thoughts
full article (polls, links, images, and text) @ http://csnation.totalgamingnetwork.com/articles.php/mailbag_185/
cz thoughts
full article (polls, links, images, and text) @ http://csnation.totalgamingnetwork.com/articles.php/mailbag_185/
from: vamiciouskanidI wouldn't say that all the hype has been negative, and apparently, even you wouldn't - what with your contradictory "all the hype has been negative...for the most part."
Well if you are asking "Does it live up to the hype?" I would have to say "hell yes it does, and beyond!"
That of course is because all of the "hype" has been negativity for the most part. Sure it might not be the best game ever made and the endless setbacks upon setbacks even make it worse of a game because we are all frustrated with it already ... But am I happy with it? Yes. The campaign might not be the coolest after you beat it the first time, but the maps look great and the bots are amazing and give me an answer to what would I do if my internet connection ever went down.
from: FL!PWaaaaaaaaay back in the beginning, when CS was first coming out with betas, Gooseman and Cliffe said that they'd like to eventually work on a single-player version. There were a couple of reasons for this - but the biggest reason was that multiplayer mods for HL were both low in number and sparsely played next to the then-powerhouse TFC.
Aside from the price, I see nothing wrong with CS:CZ. It will help out most of the newbies out there trying to get into CS. And for the vets, it's just a little something to do offline.
I know my modem breaks down once in awhile or I'm really laggy, and I always yearned for some sort of offline CS experience. Maybe Steam is being gay. I'm sure people can find excuses to want/need to play CZ.
from: neonGuess you can't please everyone.
I think condition zero is waste of money because the gameplay is same as cs1.6 w/ steam. The cs bots are good for offline play, but it is boring when you play it for hours. I hoped for new models and weapons since ritual
remade condition zero. I don't think valve did a good job on making this game since 3yrs now. I don't like playing current cs version and I believe this game is the worst game buy of the year !
from: FunnyLookinHatWe all sure HOPE it's coming out in July. VALVe has something of a history with these things...
Hey... CZ is crap. Who the frick cares about a new single player version of CS?.... FREAKING HALF LIFE 2 IS COMING OUT IN JULY...
from: The_AbsenceI think VALVe definitely knew that they'd be getting a lot of sales just because it has the Counter-Strike name on it. I also think it went through so many delays because they wanted to make it worthwhile and fun without simply riding on name alone for sales.
I got CZ via Steam, and I was real happy with the bots. They are incredibly intelligent, and they use tactics very well together.
The models do look better, but I just don't beleive its worth the $30 price tag. But that won't stop many CS fanatics from getting it, just like me (and rizzuh).
from: XenoAroeWell, there's not much you can really do with the HL engine beyond what's been done with CZ. It showed its age 2 years ago, and now it's showing hundreds of wrinkles.
First we have to give CZ props for the excellent bots. They are amazing and beyond fun to play with. Their actions are suprisingly human like to the point that they are entertaining to watch. This by far is the best part of the game. The new maps and updates to pre-existing ones are impressive if you rememeber that we are dealing with a 6 year old engine here. It is very unfortunate, however, that this was essentially the only graphical update to the game. New player and weapon models are desired, not just an upgraded poly count. I have heard rumors of an update to be released with much saught after graphical updates but have found nothing to verifiy this.
I really cant comment on the deleted scenes as i havent played them too much yet. But overall, the bots are superb, the new maps and map upgrades are welcomed warmly and i guess to satsify my visual hunger for new models there is always the skinning/modeling community.
from: MrBojiHey, it could be worse, it could have robotic frogs (http://www.planetdaikatana.com/).
I don't think cz lived up to any of the hype. For instance, me and my buddies were playing the new hide and seek mode (which also took us over an hour to figure out how to start), and it was the worst gaming experience i've ever had. From the automated racoons and other rodents to the downright awful graphics of the houses. That was all in the first 30 minutes of owning the game. Little did I know I was in for more than i bargained for. That night when i was asleep, cz started up all by itself and proceeded to play bots vs bots, WITHOUT ME PRESSING ANY BUTTONS. I sent the software back to the guy on the streets i bought it from. If you're considering buying cz, don't waste your time. John Carmack and his team did an awful job on this half life wannabe.
from: wank0rWhere to begin? When we first heard about CS:CZ, um, "decades ago", it was a different game being proposed, yes. But the deleted scenes weren't the same as what was originally being shown, which was Gearbox's efforts to make a single-player game.
CS:CZ was one of the most highly anticipated games of 2002/3 but that was decades ago , since then they have managed to remove everything which was promised to us. The game itself isn't that awful but does get really boring after 18 missions of the same pure lengthened bordem.
The Deleted Scenes are the only part of this game which actually showed some promise with the sort FPS Single-Player game we have all come to know , although VALVe messed them up to with a critical bug in the release on Steam/CD which causes the Deleted Scenes to crash periodically and also not allow the game to be completed. The graphics show how much CS has aged and maybe 2 years ago these were the standard but in 2004 with games like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 coming out CS:CZ just doesn't have anything up to that standard.
from: K-16I think they were dissatisfied with Gearbox's work too, but I would guess that Ritual surprised VALVe by being a lot worse than they expected. Just speculation, mind you.
I have a feeling that it could've been fun if Gearbox Software was given a second (or third depending on how many delays they asked for) chance to finish the game, because it seems that the current style of gameplay hasn't changed much from what Gearbox Software had in mind. So putting it through Ritual Entertainment was a waste of time (although I'm surprised Ritual Entertainment did a mediocre job since they made Sin, which was an awesome game). The fact that the name given for the gameplay mode Ritual Entertainment did (deleted scenes?), as well as the option not to install it in the first place shows how dissatisfied VALVe was.
from: dsd28Thanks Gabe, I mean, umm, dsd28.
I am personally very satisfied with CZ. It has everything that Valve advertised it would, and brings the CS experience to those without a decent internet connection. To all the people who expected CZ to be something that it is not, and to compete with all the new FPS games, I say "this is still based on the HL engine fool!" What did they expect? CS2 on HL2 code? I for one am glad that all the weapons like the LAW rocket, etc. are not available in multiplayer. CS is a very balanced game, and adding these weapons (we'll forget about the shield for a moment) would unbalance it. I consider CZ to be $30 well spent! GJ VALVE!
from: DramavianIt seems that the most useful part of CS:CZ is the offline training it gives you. It might not help you become the next moto or Ksharp, but it'll certianly help you improve your skills for your next online frag session.
For mere 56k users like myself CS:CZ is great.
I now have the CD version of the game and i'm quite enjoing it..
..I'm just too scared nowadays to join a real online server...what with my 'high' ping of 150+ I always receive slander from my fellow CS playing peers (Well, that and i rather suck...which the CS:CZ bots are helping me remedy)...not a very comfortable environment to be in..thats for sure.
from: exwhyzeCowboy Neal.
Comedy 'OMG SUX' option.
from: willthegreatAnother person who liked the deleted scenes more than the main game? One is an abberation, two is...well, it's a trend. Uh oh.
If you treat the deleted scenes as the real game and the official game as an add-on the CZ is a great game. Valve screwed up in changing from Ritual. If the AI was more developed, the deleted scenes would have made a freakin awesome game. I think they just didnt get to finish...sucks. Overall the game is still hella cool with the deleted scenes and well worth the buy.
from: silvabladeAnother unhappy customer. I wonder what would have happened had VALVe released this version when Condition Zero was originally supposed to be released? Would the community's overall opinion of the game be better?
I was definately excited to pre-order it. But everything after putting in the credit card number was an amazing let down. Almost nohting has changed. It's 1.6 with bots. Same old skins, same old maps, and REALLY bad objectives. Not to mention that you can't even play T-Side. Since when is counter-strike only about play CT? Besides all of those gripes, it's plain old glitchy. I'll hold down the button for a 3 shot burst, and it'll lag (in single player) and shoot 15. I'll be holding left to move left and itll keep moving left after i let go. It isn't my computer. I'm running 2600+ @ 333 / 1 gig corsair dual channel / g4 ti4400. Not really anything to sneeze at. I feel that i was tricked into buy a second version of counter strike with bots, for $29.95. Sigh, thanks again valve.
from: Paul ShuttleFortunately, there hasn't been too much of that. After all, most detractors seem to think VALVe is selling crap, rather than selling out. I think the purpose of having the deleted scenes was, as you say, to offer something a little extra for free.
Well here we are, 3 years on. I guess a lot of the comments here are going to be pretty negative, so I'll go against the grain and admit I enjoyed it (the Turtle Rock half anyway).
Now, I didn't exactly go into it with high expectations, so maybe that helped. After so many changes throughout its development, it really had no right to do anything but suck - but I'll be damned if I didn't stay up all night playing the game.
Probably not worth the 3 year wait, but an enjoyable few hours anyway. Sure, that's mainly because it's tried and tested CS rather than anything spectacular on the part of CZ itself, but it could have been far worse. The Ritual half was rightly consigned to "Deleted Scenes", and really doesn't deserve to be here (unless you consider it free). Still, the TH half made up for it, although it makes you wonder what the Gearbox version (which I think was something similar to this) would have turned out like.
I'll let you get back to people accusing Valve of selling out.
from: jyc_primeOne of the only comments about the online play, which I haven't tried. I assume it is fun, but I can't say I think bifurcating the CS PC community is a good thing.
I think that its abit disapointing to old cs players and from the screen shots, you'd think there will be new player skins. The deleted scenes sorta made dizzy after playing it for awhile. But what i enjoyed about it is the tour of duty missions with the bots and assembling your own team. That was really fun and it simulates the online games well. Also there radio talks from the bots is always fun. The only bad part was the cs_ maps where you must rescue hostages to win. I found thats hard because i always kill the other team first and makes sure the area is secure, but then again, thats just me because i seem to enjoy de_ maps more. Over all, I bought the game but the only part i play is the missions on tour of duty, the online play does not have much of a difference then cs.16. Also, some of my fave maps are not out yet and also with the skins. So i think the cs 1.6 is better for online play because it has more maps but csz has a great tour of duty.
from: salamijediInteresting idea here, playing the single player mode co-op with friends. I think, though, that would make the game horribly easy.
it's okay, but my UT2004 is still better
Single Player Campaign. they should have also made a co-op version where you fight with you friends to complete the objectives. also.... UPDATE THE FREAKING DAMN MODELS!!!!!!!!!! i open it up and i see some crappy pieces of triangles that only old people would enjoy. (<<yes horrible joke).
The Ritual idea was good (a more intense version of Raven Shield if you thnk about it) valve should have let ritual finish. The UT style TurD Rock sing plyr should have been something on the side
from: nickWell, as for being too short, that's just something all game players these days have to deal with. Games are getting more expensive to make and more involved to produce, and thus, unfortunately, shorter. I think that's why multiplayer games are quickly becoming as popular as they are - the game never ends.
I liked the game but it is way to short. I mean really I waited 2 years for it's release and I finished the whole game in a weekend and I was even having technical problems. I do however like the new Bots they have. They are really good but not ridiculous shooters.