Condemned: Criminal Origins

The Good
Condemned: Criminal Origins, developed by Monolith, and published by Sega, is a unique horror adventure game. You won’t be fighting zombies or vampires here. But psychopaths with murderous intent as, you track and try to stop a serial killer. It is such and original idea for the genre yet a wonder why no one has thought of it till now. But does the game play as well as could?

You are thrust into the role of Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent with a talent for solving the unsolvable, and has stopped some of the most sadistic killers that Metro City has to offer. As of late it has been getting worse. Something is driving these men and women to kill, as violent crime is up in the city by 110% However Ethan’s day is about to get much worse, while investigating the latest killing by “The Matchmaker”, Ethan is attacked, the psycho then kills two cops, for which Thomas is blamed.

Now on the run, and attempting to clear his name, he must find the real killer, before the body count rises. Condemned is a visceral and very unsettling adventure into the heart of darkness, which reminds me of the recent, Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth.

As you will have to traverse some of the worst areas of the city, and not only survive but gather clues and piece together the mystery. Along the journey there will be many plot twists, as Ethan struggles to retain his sanity.

While gathering clues you have many tools at your use, a camera and UV light among others. When you approach a potential clue, a box will appear on the screen guiding you through the process. Doing this Monolith really idiot proofed the game, as Thomas will only use the proper tool at the right time. This is both a good and a bad thing. The good is that it takes the guess work out of the process. More on the bad later.

Combat is really interesting in this game. There are guns, pistols, shotguns, rifles, etc. Which all have their strengths and weaknesses. For example a headshot with a pistol delivers a quick death, regardless of distance, while a chest full of buckshot is best at close range. But firearms are rare in the world of Condemned. And furthermore it is the melee weapons that steal the show.

Just about any blunt of bladed weapon can be used. From steel pipes, to fire axes, and even odd items, like a mannequin arm. Like with the firearms, each has strengths and weaknesses. The steel pipe is quick, but has low attack power and poor blocking. Whereas, the axe, is extremely powerful, has good blocking, but is slow. And the key to successful combat is learning how to use the block feature. If you block to early your foe will not follow through, do it right and they are left open.

The combat with the psychotic populace, is very visceral. When you are struck blood smears your vision. When you attack, your weapon becomes covered in the blood of your foes. Furthermore you often feel as if your life is in danger, not only in combat but while exploring the areas, as well. There is also a stun-gun at your disposal, which can be used to get a free hit on an enemy or escape, or steal the weapon they have. You can also deliver a quick kick. This has the chance of disarming a foe. There are also these “quick kills”, when you tire a foe they will fall to their knees, at which point you can execute them. These are cool at first, but, I have to agree with Von Katze on this one. After awhile it feels like Mortal Kombat.

Some weapons double as items. A crowbar can kill, or it can pry open a safe. Most of the time these are optional, however. There are also tons of Xbox achievements. Which add to replay.

What is and adventure game without exploration? And Condemned offers plenty. The game really excels in presenting a creepy atmosphere, make you feel in danger, this is where most games of the genre fail. You will often see something only to investigate and find nothing. Ethan also has strange visions. These often foreshadow things to come, or are merely intended to freak you out. That being said many of the enemies are very disturbing, and in one of the games creepiest missions, you are in an abandoned department store. And there are these really freaky mannequin looking enemies, the first time you see them, they will completely freak you out.

The graphics in Condemned are good, yet not as good as some Xbox 360 games. The environments look great and have excellent lighting effects. And the characters facial details are very realistic, yet there is something about the character models that looks off.

The sound and music are excellent. The music is eerie and off-putting. While the sound effects really draw you into the game. You will hear audible hallucinations, as Ethan loses it. And the noises that are made by the lunatics is often bone chilling. The voice acting is top notch as well.

The Bad
Back to the tools, Monolith made it WAY to easy. This detracts from the adventure part of the game as you cannot experiment with the different tools whenever you wish. Only when the game allows it. Furthermore being attacked while you are trying to collect evidence is annoying as hell.

Some missions are just not as well done as others. And I feel that you are forced to fight to often. I would have preferred less combat. To make the game more suspenseful, but at least the combat is well done unlike so many games.

Some of the plot twists are just plain stupid. I won’t spoil them, but I did not care for some of them.

The whole the FBI thinks Thomas killed the two cops plot point is completely moronic. The only have minimal evidence of this, his gun was the murder weapon. No provable cause. No motive. They just assume the worst of Ethan. Did it ever occur to them that his gun was stolen? What the fuck?

The Bottom Line
In the end, however Condemned: Criminal Origins, overcomes all of it’s problems, and is one of the best horror/adventure games out there. Especially for the Xbox 360, which has so few. A great game to play around Halloween.(For my American friends, out there.) Monolith and Sega have announced Condemned 2, for release early 2008, and this reviewer is looking forward to it, that I can assure you.

The Good
Next to ID software, Monolith is one of my favourite shooter game developers. From the brilliantly twisted Blood to the hilarious yet smart spy game No one Lives Forever 2 almost everything they have put out has been a hit in my eyes. Condemned is yet another smart game from the folks at Monolith with a unique style and gameplay.

What makes Condemned unique is that it is not a "shooter" in the traditional sense; you are rarely given ammo, and you only have access to one clip and you have to check your clip to know how much is left instead of having the leisure of a HUD for this. However, the environment is your weapon. Various objects around the world are weapons, and each of them have different stats that adds a layer of strategy. They all feel powerful and fun to use, combat is brutal and downright sick. Bash someone with a two by four and you'll see teeth flying out and them spitting blood before head butting you. You feel the intensity, but you aren't superman, so you are still vulnerable. You have to block and use combos as well in order to survive, and you have to always take into account the stats of your weapon.

The games plot is fascinating, compelling, smart, scary, and cool. There's a killer on the loose known as the Matchmaker, who sets up dates for women and men and lures them into a trap where they are murdered and then posed along with their "Date," a mannequin which is always missing a finger. The games box cover depicts one such murder, in which the victim was posed and bound in chains. Its a creepy scene and sends chills up your spine. You play as Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent who is hunting down the Matchmaker, but here in lies the rub: He ran in to a violent man who took his gun and shot another FBI agent in Ethan's premise, and the killer was wearing gloves.. That means the only fingerprints on the gun are Ethan's, so the FBI turns against him and Ethan has to run from the FBI and psychotic drug addicts as he attempts to get to the bottom of the matchmaker mystery, but the secrets and twists revealed are so much darker, twisted, and intelligent. Ethan is a great character, and the story will please fans of murder mysteries.

The lighting effects are moody, ambient, and very well done. They keep the game looking dark and spooky, and shadows will haunt you every step of the way.

The game is scary, really scary. The atmosphere will keep you on your toes, and the drug addicts you face are disturbing and surreal, all looking ill, diseased, which invokes a feeling of disgust and fear making them threatening. The AI is smart too, and you will have to use your basic survival skills to survive. The game gets under your skin with great mindfk scenes, incredible atmosphere, and jump scares, but it balances all 3 brilliantly. The mindfk scenes come at the least expected times and are unpredictable, the atmosphere keeps you on your toes and in the game at all times, and the jump scares aren't overused, in fact, there are very few scripted jump scares; leave that up to the AI, so the jump scares don't get repetitive or predictable, and can give you a vicious shock. This is one scary game, and considering that most American horror is stupid, that makes Condemned one of the few truly excellent American horror games. Horror fans looking for thrills, chills, and twisted insanity will be satiated. Even the fans of gore will.

The voice acting is excellent, and so are the sounds. Spooky sounds and gruesome screams are sure to add to the fear. Sounds are one of the most important things in a horror game, and if a horror game sounds scary, it can make up for many flaws.

The second to last level in the game is awesome, having you follow clever clues and REALLY thrusting you into an atmosphere of being alone in a house with a mass murderer is disturbing and awesome.

The Bad
The graphics are flawed. For the most part, they look great with great shadowing, special effects such as gore, depth of field, motion blur, and more but some environments are muddy and uninspired, as well as repetitious. Also, while I give an exception to the bad guys as I feel they were meant to be sub-human, most key characters barely look human and seem lumpy and plastic like which is quite poor.

For the most part, the story is awesome, but it has some big flaws particularly during and after the climax. Most of the game takes place in reality and you will never run into many supernatural elements save for the twisted looking enemies and the mindf**k moments, but towards the end you run into this weird monster that has all these pistons, gauges, and metal body implants that raise too many questions and make you wonder what the hell it is, and it suddenly appears out of nowhere with no warning and brings with it a stupid plot twist that unravels the otherwise extremely tight storyline. There are also many mysteries that NEED to be solved, like the strange birds constantly falling to their deaths in strange sequences. One might argue that these are supernatural, but newspapers in the game argue the opposite and suggest people have experienced the dying birds as well. The ending is a slap to the face, and is totally irrelevant and lacking any closure.

The game is relatively short, and can get a little repetitive when taken in large doses.

The forensics system is disappointing. Save for a couple moments such as the aforementioned house before the final level the game will tell you where to go and what to do removing almost all challenge in it and this is disappointing, because the forensics element could really make for a great puzzle solving element that could have improved the immersion.

The replay value is low, although you will find yourself replaying it from time to time, its not a game that one would want to instantly replay. Much like a movie, coming back to it too often and too soon can leave a nasty taste and make you dislike it.

The Bottom Line
Condemned is not like any other game you've played, and is a great combo of first person action with survival horror. It is scary and brutal, and has a great story, regardless of the stupid ending. I highly recommend it to horror fans and people who love brutal melee or murder mysteries. Take a bow, Monolith.

The Good
- Visually it's very unique and stylish, interesting direction. - Same can be said about sound design & music. - Visceral enemy encounters. - Most of the time the game looks very good for 2005.

The Bad
- Story intrigues at first but descends into incoherent madness as you get closer to the ending. - Levels are mostly consists of abandoned buildings of different origin and almost every one of them is incredibly bland. - Annoying backtracking, very bulky and clumsy controls. - The engine can barely keep itself from breaking apart at this point.

The Bottom Line
A guilty pleasure. It's not really great, but i like it.