Condemned 2 bloodshot

March 11, 2008 - If
it came down to it, would you be willing to rip your toilet seat off of
its hinges to beat down a frenzied meth addict? You'd better be
prepared to answer 'yes' to that question if you're going to take a
swing at Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
The sequel to Monolith and SEGA's Xbox 360 launch title returns to the
seedy underworld for more first-person melee combat with a hint of
horror. Ok, it's more than a hint. Condemned 2 offers up the same
formula that made the first game a success and tackles every criticism
levelled at the franchise with success in most areas. It's not the
perfect sequel, but it'll do for those of us that found the first a
refreshing alternative to the standard first-person formula.

Condemned 2 picks up several months after the first game ended. Ethan
Thomas, our unlikely hero, has fallen on hard times since leaving his
job as an SCU agent. The alcoholic stupor he lives in has taken its
toll and this game finds him battling demons both real and imaginary.
Things are bad for Mr. Thomas. Not quite Leaving Las Vegas bad, but the
sauce has become such a part of his life that he can't hold a gun
steady without first downing a bottle. It's a sad state of affairs, but
an interesting gameplay mechanic to be sure.



Against Ethan's will, Condemned 2 drags the protagonist back into
action. Things start with a search for the missing Van Horn, an old
friend of Ethan's. As a survival horror game, it should come as no
surprise that things get crazy fast and the story quickly diverts down
a supernatural path. The narrative of Condemned: Criminal Origins
imploded towards the end of the game, leaving many confused as to what
the ending meant. You won't have that problem with the sequel. The
story is presented in a more focused manner with cutscenes book ending
each chapter and an easy to follow tale that continues to unfold as you
play.

A focused story is not always a better one. While Condemned 2 starts
off with a bang, the story is oddly unsatisfying by the end. Perhaps
this is because Monolith had to at once tie up all of the loose ends
(of which there were many) of the first game and create a story that
could stand on its own for people who may have missed the first one. Or
it may be because some parts of Condemned 2 appear written into the
story simply because the level designers had a good idea. I'm looking
at you Magicman. Whatever the reason may be, Condemned 2 doesn't have
the sense of urgency or power that the first game did.


Time has not been kind to Mr. Thomas.

Even
so, the tale does have its high points. There are moments you'll never
see coming that are very cool and memorable in all the right ways. I'll
keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but know that Condemned 2
takes Ethan beyond the city limits into a number of attractive and
twisted environments.

Or course, the first Condemned didn't become a moderate hit because of
the story. It was the unique first-person melee take on the survival
horror genre that caused it to make a splash. Monolith has taken this
concept and run with it. The combat system is fleshed out with combos,
environmental finishers, brutal quick time event special attacks and
good old fashioned fisticuffs. This is a huge leap up from the first
game and continues to be a great alternative to traditional
first-person shooters.

Like the story, the combat loses its way a tad as the game moves along.
By the end, you'll have been tossed into a number of situations where
gunplay takes on too much significance for a game that supposedly isn't
about shooting. If guns are your thing, you can even unlock a
first-person shooter mode by completing the game once. Still, nothing
beats the grotesque satisfaction Condemned 2 provides with its weapons
of convenience. Toilet seats, bowling balls, broadswords and more are
all in play and all a great deal of fun to wield or hurl at an oncoming
lunatic.

Another area of success is the improved forensics. The crime scene
investigations are an involved process in the sequel -- you won't
simply point a tool at a dead body and learn its mysteries. Condemned 2
requires you to use your noggin. You won't have to pull any Law and
Order knowledge out (unless you consider Ice-T the brains of the
operation), but you will be graded on your ability to make observations
and simple inferences. Occasionally you'll be given a list of questions
to ask with a somewhat arbitrary "perfect" answer, but on the whole
this is a great game mechanic and adds to the immersion level quite
well. There's a bonus to doing well here, too. These investigations,
along with meeting bonus objectives and finding all of the collectibles
in a stage, are summed up into one grade that determines how good of an
upgrade you receive for your job well done.

A game like Condemned 2 lives and dies on its level of immersion, so
the new investigative sequences are a nice touch. There are a few small
things in the game that can bring you out of the creepy spell Condemned
2 casts. The framerate drops occasionally, though not drastically.
Object physics also sometimes felt a bit off, or were broken. We saw a
few weapons and objects hovering impossibly in the air a couple times
and we're pretty sure that an empty cardboard box on the ground should
not impede our progress until being swatted out of the way. The
animations of other people, particularly SCU agents, leave something to
be desired as well and the load times in between deaths are a little
too long to keep you engrossed in the dark world. These are small
gripes though and mostly fade into the background when compared to the
good things Monolith has done.


Guns?!? Condemned isn't supposed to be about guns!

With
all that has been updated, changed and improved in Condemned 2, there
are some things that haven't changed. That's a good thing since the
first game had a lot going for it. The sound is as impressive as ever.
The game makes full use of your 5.1 surround system to keep you on the
edge of your seat. It should go without saying that the fright effects
sound great, but Monolith went the extra step here. A simple fistfight
becomes so much more as the game adds aural effects to the soundtrack
to complement your actions.

The graphics look good, particularly the artistic direction, and do
great service towards creating an aura of fear. And there are many
genuinely creepy moments in the game. The designers have a fantastic
grasp of what can, and should, be done with a horror videogame. The
atmosphere is there with troubling graffiti, oil seeping from the walls
and ceiling and splashes of strange reddish liquids that can only be
fluids meant to be kept inside the human body. The goal was to make a
world gone awry and success was had. I mean, you go to a bowling alley
in Trenton at one point. Case closed.

The experience doesn't end when the campaign is over, though the extras
aren't nearly as strong. First is the Bloodshot Fight Club. These small
missions are a quick way to hop into some psycho-slaughtering action.
Each has a specific goal for you to tackle and see how you stack up
against the online leaderboards. These little arena brawls are a nice
distraction, but little more than that in the long run.


Ah, now this is a weapon I can get a grip on.

There's
also a multiplayer game for up to 8 people online or through system
link. A first-person melee-centric multiplayer game might sound fun,
but it isn't all that hot. The deathmatch modes are a confused
cluster-fudge. There's really only one game type worth playing. It's
called Crime Scene and it pits a team of crazies against some SCU
agents. The goal of the afflicted is to prevent the SCU from finding a
box with a head in it, which they can do by moving the box at any time
or putting down emitters to mess with the SCU's equipment. Even with
this fun idea, I can't see the Condemned 2 multiplayer community really
taking off.
Closing Comments
Condemned 2
doesn't make as big of a splash as its predecessor, but it does
everything necessary to make a quality sequel. There are more features,
fan complaints are addressed and it's still as spine tingling as ever.
The story, though less akin to Swiss cheese than the first one was, is
not as gripping and the game feels as if it lost its focus in the
latter stages. As a sequel, the game doesn't have the originality the
first had going for it and, as such, the shortcomings are more
noticeable. The gameplay improvements are strong enough to overshadow
these for the most part and you're still left with a wild ride.

IGN Ratings for Condemned 2: Bloodshot (X360)



RatingDescription

out of 10
8.0	Presentation The story isn't too satisfying, but the atmosphere is excellent.
8.0	Graphics The artistic direction and clever use of filters keep this game appealing from start to finish.
9.0	Sound Turn up the volume and play the game alone for maximum effect.
8.0	Gameplay The improvements are exactly what was expected out of a sequel. The core concept feels a bit diluted by the end.
6.5	Lasting Appeal Most of the new features outside of the main game are throw aways.
8.0 Impressive	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)