Condemned 2: Bloodshot. It’s a fair comment to say that this is one game I have been salivating at the prospect of it’s arrival. Condemned has been one of the darkest games I have ever played, filled with jump in the air moments and total all out creepiness. So what can we expect from this follow up to the original? It’s been over two years since Condemned was released back in the early days of the 360, so it’s time to find out if the wait for this sequel was worth it.
Developed by Monolith Productions, Condemned 2 begins eleven months after the events in Condemned have taken place. Poor Ethan Thomas has suffered immensely since the events which occurred in the first game, he’s resigned from the Serial Crime Unit and all but disappeared into the depths of alcoholism and homelessness. He’s still plagued by the supernatural premonitions he had before and life just isn’t going particularly well for our hero. In amongst a city filled with violence, where riots and a kind of madness and citywide drug abuse seems to have gripped the entire homeless population, Ethan is recruited back into the FBI and begins a quest to find and then solve the murder of Malcolm Van Horn, his mentor from the previous offering in the series and the uncle of the notorious Serial Killer X.
The single player game begins with Ethan at rock bottom. His look is decidedly more messy this time around, which is hardly surprising due to his circumstances, living on the streets and all that! He’s become so sucked into the alcoholic lifestyle that has consumed him, that a good swig of the hard stuff can help him regain his composure! This time around, Ethan also gets to use his bare hands as weapons in a new combat style, which are controlled by the right and left trigger buttons.
There are some nice little additions in the combat system; bare knuckle fighting, chaining attacks together to make some interesting combos, and environmental kills, where you drag your victim to a skull logo and watch the unfortunate’s demise in an inventive way. Of course, there’s the good old fashioned melee killing that was there for the original. It doesn’t tend to get old too quickly when your bashing hell out of a drug crazed psycho with a house brick. If a house brick isn’t your weapon of choice for melee fun, then you have a wide variety of options, ranging from pipes and electrical conduit, through to shovels, baseball bats and bed legs, to name but a few. Pretty much anything you can get your bandaged and bloody, grubby little hands on! You can even throw these items, should you so desire. Guns are also present, but where possible and with ammo limited to what you can carry in your clip, unless you manage to scrounge some off the floor, you’ll probably find yourself chucking your shooter aside and reaching for a chunk of 4x2.
Graphically, Condemned 2 looks great. It should be creepy, dark and depressing and it doesn’t fail to deliver on all of those things. Some of the locations shown are about as depressing as you could imagine, with peeling wallpaper, piles of filth, black ooze and decaying furniture. Graffiti daubed on walls makes for a nice little touch and adds to the miserable feel of certain locations. I’ll admit, I felt a subtle anxiety as I headed into a level taking place in a disused doll factory! The voice acting is good, lip synching all seems to be nicely done and aside from a couple of minor irks, like seeing an enemy kind of stuck halfway through a closed door, it’s been very well put together on the looks front.
There are some definite “jump” moments which it has to be said are not all down to how the game looks. The sound is very atmospheric and works well to add suspense and excitement to the play. If you are one of those people that I am not and you listen to something other than the game when you are playing, then please take my advice with this one. Listen to the game. Turn up your speakers, make the room nice and dark and absorb yourself in the atmosphere that has been created.
Of course, being a fully fledged officer in the SCU means that Ethan still gets to use his forensic stuff. This time around, he’s graded by how well he uses the tools at his disposal. Obtaining “perfect” will all go nicely towards your final grade at the end of the level. It’s a nice touch and it shouldn’t be too hard to gain those perfects, it just means using your head a little.
Another new addition is the extra modes. Firstly, the multiplayer, there are four game modes in total. Crime Scene, where you play as either SCU and track down the evidence, or as one of the Influenced and attempt to defend it. Bum Rush, which sees you as either Influenced or SCU and is basically a survival game, where the SCU attempts to survive against the continuous attacks from the Influenced. I have to say, I found this mode a little frustrating playing as the Influenced. Killing the SCU was no mean feat! The other two modes are our old favourites, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. No explanation required here then. The single player to me is where this game shines, but, in this age of the multiplayer, it is a nice little addition. If all this isn’t enough for you, there is always the Bloodshot Fight Club to keep you busy. This game mode allows you to attempt unlock able challenges.
Condemned 2 more than delivers everything a fan of the first game could want and more. With great looks and sound, all creating a fantastically creepy atmosphere, inventive gameplay with forensics and new combat and an interesting story with characters to keep you gripped. If dark and nasty are high on your list when looking for a game, then look no further.
