Who knew that the sequel to a great game would turn out so damn good? The original “Condemned” was definitely creepy enough, but the gameplay got a little repetitive while playing through its storyline. However, “Condemned 2: Bloodshot” has taken the whole game a few steps further, even going so far as to embracing aspects of other recent hit games without looking like a copycat. Indeed, “Condemned 2” is far better than any “Resident Evil” title that’s come out within the past few years, and the same goes for “Silent Hill,” the master of redundancy when it comes to survival horror games.
In this sequel, players control former investigator Ethan Thomas. Thomas has left the force, become a drunken sot, yet inherently “knows” how to deal with all the evil currently plaguing his home turf. The crime rate is higher than ever, with people randomly going on a berserker rage with the intent to kill, and no one is quite sure why. Soon enough, though, Ethan is more or less forced by the higher ups at his former job to come back and seek the solution. Of course, there’s something a lot more sinister going on than meets the eye, and the deep, twisted main story of “Condemned 2” is one of the game’s shining moments. After all, it’s not always easy to come up with something original in the horror genre.
But Monolith Studios has done just that. They went back and made the melee system featured in the first game nearly flawless in this sequel. Once again, you can batter your enemies with pipes, conduits and wooden planks, but this time out you also get to use lots of other items like meth lab gear, toilet seats, and an array of high-powered weapons. What’s more, this game introduces a fantastic combo system into the melee combat. Successfully completing combos unlocks more combos and allows Ethan to become as deadly as possible. Hell, you even get to kick the crap out of your opponents and use a stun gun (which really comes in handy in tight spots) as well.
Yet this game isn’t just about FPS action. Also introduced in this sequel is a fantastic crime scene investigation module. Ethan comes with a battery of equipment, such as a digital camera, spectrometer, UV light, and GPS system to help him unravel the clues to what’s really going on. He will often have to use all of these items during the main story, as well as optional side missions. Unlike most games that incorporate them, these side missions are usually right in line with the main mission of the game, so players won’t have to scramble willy-nilly to complete them and go too far off the beaten path. In addition to all of this, there are many moments where Ethan will have to verbally respond to other characters in conversation. Hitting the appropriate button when it flashes on the screen achieves this effect. At the end of each chapter, the player is graded on such things as how many times he made responses, his CSI investigation, the number of TVs and radios scattered about each level he tuned in to (doing so allows Ethan to keep in contact with the outside world to a degree and lets the player in on what’s going on in the city when all hell is breaking loose), and so on. Players then get a grade from bronze to gold depending on these factors. The better the rating, the better the reward received, which can range from new weapons and abilities to such things as increased health and the ability to holster a weapon.
But let’s take a look at how “Condemned 2” embraces other games to its advantage. The lighting in the game is excellent, with some of the inside battles taking a cue from “F.E.A.R.” with its long, backlit shadows that can often make the player think someone is jumping out in front of them. But unlike that game, which overused the aspect almost to a fault, it’s done here in the best possible moments so that the player never quite gets used to the effect. So when something evil does jump out of nowhere, it genuinely is a good surprise.
The character models in the game are nothing short of gorgeous. Watching Ethan and the other people he interacts with is one of the best parts of the game. The mouth movements are perfect (they look like how real people talk) and the facial and body models are nearly flawless. Ethan’s sort-of-partner Rosa looks stunning. So much so that at times you could swear you were looking at a real person. And when Ethan picks up a bottle of booze to drink, the ridges in his knuckles and overall textures of his hands are also amazingly realistic. Take that “Mass Effect” and your oft-lauded characters.
Then there are the set pieces. A lot of places in “Condemned 2” are pretty damn dark. But in certain areas, such as the magic theatre, the art design is nothing short of breathtaking. I thought it’d be a while until I saw something that rivaled “BioShock” and its weird world, but within a couple chapters we get just that. The attention to the smallest detail and some of the surreal qualities injected into them is just staggering at times. Indeed, the magic theatre chapter will likely be a favorite part of the game for people who loved the graphical aspects that made “BioShock” such a phenomenal sight.
Finally, there is the gunplay portion of the game. It’s not a big chunk of “Condemned 2,” but when it does come into play, it’s as exciting and natural feeling as a “Rainbow Six” or “Call of Duty” game. Granted, Ethan will need to grab a drink to steady his accuracy at times (he steadily overcomes this crutch as the game progresses), but he’ll find himself battling it out with snipers, general thugs, and even having to down a helicopter with an assault rifle. Yeah, there truly is a little of everything in “Condemned 2.”
It seems like such a thing should ultimately fail, but it doesn’t. Only the online portion of the game is a bit lackluster, but then again, players have had some really great FPS games mainly geared toward the online community as of late, that you really couldn’t expect that portion of this game to really be tops. The Bloodshot Fight Club minigames are also a bit of a disappointment, but are more fun to play than the online portion. Yet even with that factored in, “Condemned 2: Bloodshot” is a remarkable horror/action game that easily exceeds any expectations one could have for it. There’s a whole lot to do in this game, and all of it feels natural, none of it forced. Plus, there’s some damn good scares in it as well (those freaky-ass mannequins make a brief appearance once again and the little mechanical baby dolls in the toy factory are creepy as hell), so it’s a guaranteed good time for those who like this sort of game. Excellent stuff.
4.5/5 Stars
Publisher: Sega
Category: Action/Adventure
Available for: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
By ~ Jason Thompson
