Condemned 2: Bloodshot Review
Condemned 2 is the sequel to Monolith's highly acclaimed survival horror game "Condemned: Criminal Origins" and boy does it live up to it's predecessor's standards. You play as former crime investigator Ethan Thomas on the search for an old family friend once he's gone missing. Bad things happen and Ethan gets caught in many brutal fist, melee, and firefights. Ethan has now become an alcoholic which affects both the story and the gameplay of Condemned 2.
The gameplay itself is awesome with nice silky smooth controls. This time around there is fist fighting which is great and satisfying. There is a fun "Fighclub Mode" which has training and other objective based mini-games. There is also a wide variety of guns in Condemned 2 and there is also plenty of ammo in some areas.(SPOILER) Once you beat the game on any difficulty, you get "FPS" mode for single-player where you get a gun and unlimited ammo in each level.(END OF SPOILERS)
Condemned 2's graphics are phenomenal. Running on Monolith's proprietary engine, Lithtech Jupiter Ex, there is motion blur all the time, the frame-rate barely drops, and the character and weapon models look photo-realistic. What stands out the most is the games animation. The punching animation by Ethan and the jerking around of bums and other enemies look extremely well done. The sound design is good, too. Guns sound pretty good, but the best part is the sickening sound of hitting bums with melee weapons such as bricks, hammers, etc. Although, it is worth pointing out that on a few occasions I would shoot the revolver and there would be no gunshot sound.
The multiplayer in Condemned 2 is average. It's not bad, but it's by no means Gears of War. It's unique in its own way, though. There is standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. The unique modes are Bum Rush and Crime Scene. Crime Scene is my favorite. Basically, what happens in Crime Scene is the "Influenced" hide evidence while the SCU agents to to find it. It's a blast! Condemned 2 ships with 8 maps out of the box and they're all pretty fun. I played this game on PS3 and there was no lag on the PlayStation Network to be seen by me.
When it all comes down to it Condemned 2 is an amazing game. It's primarily a single-player game, but the unique multiplayer adds to the replay value. If you like survival horror games and own a 360 or PS3, you owe it to yourself to buy Condemned 2: Bloodshot.
-Eli G.
