Despite its short length, Condemned will keep you hooked with both its deep story and amazing presentation.
You play as Ethan Thomas, and FBI Agent investigator who, at the beginning of the game is pulled in to investigate a murder scene, but finds that the murderer is someone who is being stalked by a murderer himself. A serial killer who stalks and tortures other serial killers. It's an interesting and complex story that teases you nicely with clues along the way.
Besides the story, what I really found was surprising was just how good this game looks. For a launch Xbox 360 game, it certaintly holds its own, even to most games a year later. The sound is just as nice, with tons of creaks and clangs. The enemys will scream at you, most of the time when there in another room or hallway, which adds a lot more than you'd think to the game's creepy feeling. All of the various weapons, from the crack of a pistol, twang of a steel pipe, and slap of a 2x4 (complete with the rusty nails) all sound amazing, which they should, given that the game has few other major noices.
Condemned isn't without its faults though, mainly in the length of the game. On my first play though, I was able to beat it in about 8.5 hours, and with nothing more than the single player, all you can do is play through it again, which is probably best, because a multiplayer mode would have been horrid with meelee weapons as your main line of attack. Still, because of this, a longer length would have really improved the game. In addition, the gameplay did start to wear thin, but thankfully not until almost the very end of the game.
One of the most, if not the most over-looked and underappreciated launch title, Condemned: Criminal Origins definetly delivers in both its story and presentation, it's just too bad that the incredible experience couldn't have lasted longer.