Using a much more unforgiving and cynical review tone in mind, here's my review for Condemned 2: Bloodshot (PS3).
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Genre: First Person Horror (2-8 Online) Developer: Monolith Publisher: SEGA Release: 3/18/2008
The Fake Sound of Progress
Why so serious? Oh wait, wrong article. Maybe I was confused because like the Joker in The Dark Knight, Condemend 2 is a sick and twisted romp through a dark world, filled with quick frights and fast action.
In Condemned 2, you play as Ethan Thomas- an ex-SCU-agent-turned-violent-alcoholic. The game's story is refreshing from other games on the market, and the sense of character is completely different. However, while the game starts off creepy , with a great story, by the game's end it spirals down into a mess of events dealing with everything from super powers to cult activity to inner demons. Nevertheless, if you can make sense of the story, it's a phenomenal one that I enjoyed thoroughly.
The game is brutal.Sound wise, the game doesn't miss a beat and fares marvelously.The game's dialogue is excellently written, carrying emotional impact whenever the characters speak, and the game's musical score is exceptional, making your heart pound with tension.
Accenting the game's grim story is a beautiful graphics engine. Like the original, Condemned 2 is hardly a first-person shooter, but rather a first-person horror/action game. Seeing the game through first-person just shows how dark, grim, and simply beautiful the environments are. Character models look and move excellently, and the level design ranges from a hotel to a doll factory to a lodge in the deep country- constantly frightening. There are also plenty of visual effects, from black and white filters to hallucinations, the game is sure to make you mad if you play in the dark. However, it is at times overdone, detracting from the game's otherwise immersive experience and making you ponder how something even makes sense. Also, the game's liquid effects, particularly water, and its cut scene graphics are nothing to marvel at, at times even laughable.
However, a game's presentation can all be for naught if the gameplay isn't there to back it up. Thankfully, Condemned 2 covers the gameplay department fairly well. The game cuts back on the forensic part of the previous game and focusing more on combat, for better and for worse. The combat engine is marvelous, intuitive , and visceral, focusing on melee. However, the game does have a larger amount of gunplay this time around, which I didn't like. Also, there are still investigations to take part in, but are hard to complete if you're playing on a SD TV, as the investigation text isn't clear and you're forced to guess. Also, the games online play is very minimal, with few players and fewer modes. I can't help but wish that they had eschewed an online mode altogether and focused a tad more on the single-player.
Overall, the game does all a sequel should do- improve the graphics, add upon the story, and introduce new gameplay concepts. However, is it truly better? The brutal finishers from the first game have been cut back upon, there just seems to be an overload of unnecessary blood, the story spirals into madness, and the online play is useless. Does Condemned 2 take the series to new heights? No. Is it still an amazing, fright-filled adventure? Hell yes.
Overall: 8.5
Good: Beautiful, Immersive, Great Combat
Bad: Effects Overdone, Online Sucks, Gameplay hasn't truly evolved
Editor's Note: If this review could be based solely on personal preference, I'd score it as a 9 or so. Sure, there are more guns, Sure, the visual effects are overdone. Sure, the online may womp. Who cares? I still found this to be an amazing game and I love it, through and through. It may not be perfect, but it sure is awesome.
Thanks to IGN.com for Screenshots, and thanks to Gamespot.com for release info.
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