My Take

For being a launch title, Condemned: Criminal Origins still holds its own. While it may not be a graphical masterpiece or offer any multiplayer, the game offers a nice dish of creepiness and paranoia when played at night, alone, in the dark. It’s a rather short game at 6-10 hours depending on how much you explore for achievements, but when played in small chunks, it offers a lasting and memorable experience. If you’ve passed on this in the bargain bin, and you like a good simple melee filled psycho adventure, then you’ll probably not want to pass on it again. Condemned was thoroughly enjoyable and I hope someday we’ll see a sequel.

Game Story

• You play as an FBI agent Ethan Thomas, whose specialty is investigating serial killers.
• You’ll be tasked with investigating crime scenes, searching for clues and tracking down your suspects.
• It won’t take long though, before you find yourself in some of the darkest, dirtiest, rat infested places in the city, surrounded by all kinds of violent inhabitants.
• Armed with only a flashlight and what ever weapon you can find, you’ll creep your way through 10 levels of places that make you say “What the F*&%!”
• Using the grizzly clues you’ll find along the way, you’ll eventually piece together all the pieces to the puzzle.
• It’s hard to say to much more with out giving away spoilers, but the story had me hooked and left me wanting more.

Gameplay

• The gameplay style borrows from past games like Breakdown, and Chronicles of Riddick.
• You play in first person view as you explore different environments and you have access to both fire arms and melee weapons.
• Although you can find firearms such as shotguns, pistols and even a semi-automatic, there is a heavier emphasis on using melee weapons.
• The game’s main combat selling point is that you can grab almost anything to use as a weapon.
• Pipes
• 2X4’s
• Bathroom Signs
• Conduits
• And More
• Some weapons even double as tools.
• Sledgehammers break pad locks.
• Fire Axe’s break down certain doors.
• Crowbars open locked gates, and lockers.
• This will require you to, at times, search for a weapon in order to continue pass a certain section of the game.
• You’ll also be given a taser early in the game.
• This is a great tool that lets you stun your opponent and steal their weapon.
• Unfortunately, there is not as much freedom in weapon choice as you might hope; a lot of objects in the environment just can’t be used.
• Since the game has an emphasis on melee weapons, the combat is rather simple.
• You’ll swing your weapon with the right trigger, and you’ll use the left trigger to block.
• Blocking though is where the skill lies.
• Depending on the weapon, your block will only last a couple of  seconds.
• This makes timing your block crucial to your success.
• The gameplay is a little slow paced, but for a good reason.
• It allows you time to absorb the environment, as well as for allowing the tension to build.
• At times enemies will be few and far between, and once you get good at combat, most random encounters will only serve to startle you.
• It lets you recover after a particularly brutal and violent beating.
• There is also a lack of good boss battles.
• Other than a few notable characters, there isn’t a lot in the way of “major” battles.
• You’ll also have a few forensic tools that you will use to gather clues to the story.
• These tools don’t add as much to the gameplay as they do to help further the story line.
• Anytime you enter an “evidence area”, the tool to use will automatically be selected for you.
• By using the tool, you’ll either collect some evidence to further the story line or be able to follow a trail that will help lead you down your path.
• Even this isn’t necessary, as most of the game is pretty linear.
• Overall, the gameplay is pretty simple and linear. But it’s the experience and the story that makes it fun to play.