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| | Title:
Condemned Criminal Origins
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
Adventure
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Publisher:
Sega Corporation
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Developer:
Monolith Productions
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Release:
11/22/2005
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Mature
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Scary, frightening, dark, dirty, creepy, violent...whatever is scary, it is all in Sega's Condemned: Criminal Origins for the Xbox 360 console. You will travel through eerie office buildings, subway stations, and other locations. No matter where you are, you'll be dodging the enemies' brutal attacks and using the environment as your only weapon. You will rip pipes off the wall, or pick up scrap wood off the floor, all while trying to defend your life and to move further into the game. The lighting and audio help tremendously to create the mood for this game, and it is all well put together. This is without a doubt, one of the scariest games to hit store shelves in a long while.
It all starts one day when you, Agent Ethan Thomas, a member of the Serial Crimes Unit in the FBI, are assigned to investigate the quickly growing list of serial killers. Crime is on the rise, and something definitely isn't right. At the very beginning of the game you are assigned to investigate a certain murder and gather as much information and evidence as possible. Soon after you walk into an old, dark, and rundown apartment building you meet up with two other agents that are already at the crime scene. After some discussion and gathering of some evidence, you realize that there are more than just your two buddies in the building and the suspect is likely waiting to make a move. Soon enough your two co-workers are murdered and you are framed for the crime. Your only choice now is to pursue the guy and investigate the recent and sudden increase in brutal crimes.
Gameplay
For most of the game, you are traveling around dark and creepy areas combating against low-life criminals that would love nothing more than to rip your head of or bash it in with a sledge hammer. It's harsh, but you have to have the skill to dodge their attacks and take them out before they get a chance to take you out. As you progress through the game, you will get to use a variety of different weapons, but for the most part, you simply go from room to room taking out enemies. The combat system is also quite basic, but each enemy is very unpredictable, so it isn't easy to quickly master. As a forensic investigator you have a number of tools that you will use to help further the story. Several times on each level you will get to use some of your tools, and your handy assistant at the lab will research your findings and let you know what is going on. Even though it sounds like a really simple and boring game, the storyline and creepy events that take place are suspenseful and interesting enough to keep anyone playing.
The combat system, like the entire gameplay itself, is simple and easy to use. On the other hand, there is a huge variety in enemies and the way each enemy attacks is very spasmodic, and at times outright tricky. Once you have a weapon in your hand, you only have the option to hit or block. Although at times you feel like chucking a fire ax twenty feet to avoid confronting an enemy, this is simply something that you can't do. Enemies can also only hit and block, so the key is to outsmart them by blocking while they are hitting, and then hitting them right after you successfully block one of their attacks. Luckily, since enemies are usually hard to approach, or get in the first hit, a taser is always included in your arsenal. The taser is extremely accurate and can reach any enemy in sight; however it must recharge for a considerable amount of time before reusing. Although it would be fun to run around tasing everything and everybody you saw, this keeps things realistic and gives you a nice tool to use besides crude weapons. Finishing moves are also a cool part of the game. If the enemy is close to death and you are close enough to them, a menu will pop up on the screen and you can choose things such as punching them in the face, snapping their neck, etc...
The weapons you will get to use come in three main types: firearms, entry tools, and debris melee weapons. Firearms are extremely nice to have, but don't last. Almost every firearm you find has a few bullets left and never more than one clip. Depending on which difficulty to play the game will also determine the amount of ammunition left in firearms. The firearms consist of a revolver, .45 Cal, single-barrel shotgun, double-barrel sawed off shotgun, rifle, and of course, the street grade sub machine gun that can pack up to 30 rounds.
Entry tools are fairly common tools that serve two purposes. You can use them to attack and to break into certain areas. These tools consist of the crowbar, also used for popping open panels and drawers, the fire axe, which can be used to chop down certain doors, the sledgehammer that can break off padlocks, and the shovel that can cut through conduits and chains.
Melee weapons are the most frequently found weapons in the environment, mainly because they are a part of the environment. These are objects such as gas pipes that you rip off the wall, the 2x4 you pull off a crate, or a piece of rubble you pull out of a broken wall. There are tons of these objects lying around the levels and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the more unique melee weapons consist of locker doors, subway signs, a manikin arm, and oh my...you can even rip off the blade on those giant paper cutters you usually see in offices or in the back of a classroom. The melee weapons, out of the three types, are the least powerful, however they offer much better blocking and more speed when going for a hit.
Since you are a detective, you also have a number of forensic tools you carry along; unfortunately you can't bop someone on the head with your 3D scanner or attempt to blind them with your camera. In fact, your forensic tools are quite useless besides adding something different to the game and helping the story move along. When you enter an area where evidence is nearby a message will pop up on the screen letting you know there is something nearby. By pressing the X button you will automatically bring out whatever tool is needed for the job. Then all you have to do is point that tool at the evidence and press a button and you’re done. Then your handy assistant will call you on the cell phone to talk about the evidence and analyze whatever it is. For instance, you might use your gas spectrometer to find a decaying body and then take a picture of it with your digital camera. You will use these tools often throughout the game and usually several times on each level. Although the game does not allow for much freedom in the use of the tools, they are still pretty fun to use.
Although Condemned sports the cool "Xbox Live" logo in the upper right hand corner of the box, there is no multiplayer online. Co-op online play with Condemned could be extremely fun, but it's not even offered offline. The only thing Condemned offers online is leader boards (big whop!). You can see things such as who has spent 315 hours playing this game, who has killed the most enemies, etc... Another big downside to Condemned is that the story mode is pretty short and could be easily beaten in about a week. With no online play and a short story mode, Condemned has very little replay value anyway you slice it.
Graphics
Simply walking through the levels and environment of Condemned is enough to scare most people (honestly). Everything is extremely detailed, as you would expect it to be on the Xbox 360, and everything is scary. Just about every level takes place in old or rundown buildings where debris usually is scattered around the ground, the walls are dirty with blood splatter in places, and the lighting is always dark. There are also tons of creepy effects such as doors closing by themselves, shutters on windows banging around, locker doors moving around, and the list goes on and on. Although most of the game is played indoors, there are a few outdoor environments, including the last level where you are walking around in an apple orchard with just a flame on the end of a wood plank and no flashlight. The level environments are amazing with the same creepy style over a number of different locations.
Lighting is one of the best aspects of this game and helps create the overall creepy feel during the gameplay. Even though you have a flashlight for 90% of the game, the levels are still very dark, which allow enemies to come out from all over the place. Light that doesn't come from your flashlight mostly comes from windows, ceiling lights, or a fire. In one stage you fall through the floor of some building and the lighting fixture disconnects from the ceiling and is waving around connected by a few cords. The lighting in the room changes realistically based on where this hanging light fixture is, and you can even go up to it, hit it around, and watch it effect the lighting on the walls, things like this throughout the game are just amazing and really shows what the Xbox 360 is capable of. Also, in several key parts throughout the game, the screen will get grainy, everything turns black and white, the lighting in the area seems to get eerier, and this adds a really creepy effect to the game. If you are familiar with Doom 3, it is very much like when you enter a room, some doors lock, everything starts turning red, and you hear some creepy laugh and it all works well for Condemned.
Animations are another huge plus for Condemned. The characters in cut-scenes as well as enemies in the game are are extremely well animated. Each level has a good amount of different enemies and they all seem to walk, or even crawl, differently. Some of the enemies are fat and seem to waddle around while the more skinny ones are running around rampantly; some of the enemies are even crawling all over the place.
Audio
Just like in a horror movie, the audio is extremely important in horror type games, and Condemned nails it. The sound effects and creepy soundtrack help big time in creating the overall feel for the game. Stepping on pieces of broken glass, knocking a bucket off a shelve, or only hearing an enemy near by in this game is enough to scary anybody. There are tons of sounds in this game, and many times you have no clue where it is coming from...so it only adds to the suspense already in the game. The voice acting in the game seems about average, compared to the great sound effects and eerie background music.
Overall
Condemned: Criminal Origins is simply put, an awesome game. The compelling story, the insanely good graphics, lighting, animations, and the great audio are what makes the game great. The storyline was well put together, and the scary and realistic graphics make it happen. The audio adds a great deal of suspense to the game, just like you were in a scary movie. Condemned is really more about the interesting story than gameplay, and this is probably why there was no multiplayer included in the game. Because there is no multiplayer, after you beat the game it's basically finished. You can always go back and replay the entire game, or work on getting every single achievement, but after beating the story mode there are no other options besides replaying levels. There are only a total of ten levels in the game, so it also isn't that big of a game. Since most can play through the game in about a week, it is probably best to just rent since it retails at $60. If you are the kind that likes to replay games several times and unlock every single secret, this is definitely something you should pickup.
| The Core Score |
Overall
8.5 |
| Fun |
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8.5 |
| Gameplay |
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8 |
| Graphics |
|
9 |
| Audio |
|
9.2 |
| Replay |
|
5 |
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