Condemned: Criminal Origins

splitterguy's Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360) review

Haunting.

    Condemned: Criminal Origins is quite possibly the scariest game ever developed.  This might seem crazy...Condemned is scarier than Silent Hill, Resident Evil, or Clock Tower?  Hell yeah it is.  Scarier than those games combined.
    The game opens with our hero, Ethan Thomas, investigating a crime in a condemned building (get it?) in a bad part of town.  It's here where we're introduced to the investigation mechanics.  Investigating a crime consists of...pressing the X button and listening to your partner, Rosa, tell you what you just saw.  Sure, it sounds pretty boring, but I found myself so compelled to continue the story that it never bothered me.
    But down to the meat of the game, which is pure, brutal, hand-to-hand combat.  You're almost always without a fire-arm, which means you'll have to grab whatever is lying around to survive.  Lead pipes, shovels, and even fire axes are weapons of choice.  Using these weapons in a hand-to-hand fight is quite simply the most satisfying and horrific thing that's EVER been in a game.  Manhunt's got nothing on Condemned.
    What makes this game so scary?  A number of things.  Let's go down the list.
    1. You are almost always un-armed in a hostile environment.
    2. The enemies are sadistic and merciless as they are crazy.
    3. The world becomes more and more surreal in one of the most shocking twists I've ever experienced in a game.
    Condemned is a horror fans, or even FPS fans dream.  If you have an open mind, grab this game immediately.  You'll never sleep with the lights out again.

Other reviews for Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)

Criminally Entertaining 0
Condemned: Criminal Origins(Xbox 360) by drrandle on August 07, 2008
One part CSI, One part first-person/survival horror, Condemned is a game that relishes in it's visceral delight and dense atmosphere, while trying to tell an interesting mystery teetering on reality and insanity. You play as Ethan Thomas, FBI crime scene investigator who is following The Matchmaker serial killer. You arrive at the newest crime scene and begin the first of what will be many somewhat useless crime scene investigation sequences. I say useless because the game pretty much tells you...
4 out of 4 found this review helpful.

Condemned is great fun, despite some issues and inconsistencies. 0
Condemned: Criminal Origins(Xbox 360) by arkthemaniac on September 15, 2008
    First person games are few in far between. Okay, let me slap myself in the face for lying to you. OK, first person games that aren't shooter-based are few and far between. While they can be used for superb immersion, many people look to other styles for their non-shooter games. Condemned is a welcome exception to this rule. While there are guns in this game, they are a smaller part than most other FP games, which makes it unique from the start. Couple that with a genuinely interesting story ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful.