The horror...the horror...
You start the game by taking control of your character, Ethan, an FBI agent specializing in serial killer investigation. While investigating a crime scene in which the victim is posed with a mannequin, which ends up tying into the story later, Ethan gets involved in an altercation which lands him on his own agencies most wanted list. The rest of the game involves Ethan trying to clear his name while tracking down the serial killer and trying to figure out strange occurrances that are basically making citizens behave like bloodthirsty savages. Yes, there's a lot going on, and it's all inter-related, and Ethan is in the middle of it.
By far, the best aspect of this game is the environment. Since you're wanted, and you're looking for shady characters, you spend much of the time creeping through abandoned buildings, sewers, subways, and other places frequented by the insane, the criminals, and other violent people. In one level, you find yourself wandering around an old, abandoned department store, somehow still pumping old Christmas music through the speakers. The store is full of mannequins, some of which aren't mannequins at all. I found myself bashing some of the mannequins with lead pipes, "just in case".
As I mentioned earlier, the first-person perspective of this game immediately adds tension. The game doesn't throw a constant barrage of enemies at you like a pure action game. Instead, it lulls you into complacency, and that's when the frights are most effective. The game will have you turning Ethan around so he can look over his shoulder frequently.
The sounds are also good, especially if you have surround sound. Hearing footsteps, the creaking of the floor above you, breaking glass nearby, it's all well done and works in getting the player paranoid.
I have mixed feelings towards the combat. On the one hand, it's pretty bad, and your character is slow. However, your character is never supposed to be an action star, he's a regular guy, an FBI agent with some fighting & shooting skills, but he's no ninja. This adds to the realism and tension, because if you allow yourself to get surrounded, you're basically screwed.
The game also tries to throw in some CSI type elements, like high tech gadgets that pick up fingerprints, shoeprints, etc. These are cool at first, and if used right they could have added some more depth to the game. But really, you only use them when the game tells you to, and the game basically tells you exactly what you need to do with them, when you need to do it.
Although the gameplay is nothing fantastic, if you turn the lights off and the sound up, Condemned: Criminal Origins will immerse you in a disturbing environment, with not much but a flashlight and whatever makeshift weapon you can find.