Impressive graphics, amazing gameplay...now this is what a launch game should be.
In the game, players take control of FBI agent Ethan Thomas as he tracks down the “Matchmaker”, the city’s newest serial killer, with the aid of his versatile forensic toolkit and knowledge of crime scene investigation. However as the story unfolds, something much darker and sinister broods as Ethan discovers that a vigilante serial killer has surfaced and is slowly baiting and killing all of Ethan’s unrestrained murderers.
To make matters worse, this “Serial Killer X” shoots and kills two fellow FBI agents with Ethan’s gun and frames him for the crime. Now on the run from his own department, Ethan must try to pursue and subdue “Serial Killer X” in hopes of stopping future deaths and more importantly proving his innocence.
“Condemned: Criminal Origins” is best described as a grisly look into the seedy underworld of drugs and violence. On the path to capturing the crazed serial killer, Ethan will encounter numerous disturbed individuals all juiced up on a new street drug that makes its users extremely paranoid and ultra violent.
These aren’t the type of thugs that typically sit and wait for someone to come along and dispatch of them, but rather will do anything in their power to make sure Ethan doesn’t make it out alive. The amount of intelligence that the bad guys possess in this game is downright creepy at times as they’ll hide, stalk, and attack players at every unsuspecting twist and turn of a level. And don’t even expect that they’re coming to a fight without weapons.
The disturbing aspect of “Condemned” is that even though the game looks and plays just like a first person shooter, you’ll rarely come across any guns to use. Weapons in this game are usually makeshift items found throughout levels. These include shovels, fire axes, wooden 2x4’s, sledgehammers, and even pipes that can be ripped from the walls. Each item has its own strength and weakness, but unfortunately they all have one thing in common; they require gamers to get up close and personal with their enemies to use.
This can be quite intimidating at times, especially when gamers find themselves in the situation where the room up ahead is occupied with two or three strung-out druggies with the common goal of destruction on their minds.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the places where these guys hang out are quite fear-inducing as well. Gamers are required to traverse through old dilapidated train stations, school buildings, farm houses, and other dark environments that will keep gamers uncomfortable the entire time they’re there.
While “Condemned” does a lot of things right, it is far from perfect. The game itself runs around ten hours long and due to the lack of variety in gameplay can become quite monotonous at times. While for the most part the story is interesting and helps keep the game flowing, by the end of the game the story ends up raising more questions rather than solving the ones at hand.
One could argue that it is a setup for a sequel, but it really ends up feeling more like a rushed ending. Either way it’s quite discouraging for a gamer to invest 10 hours into a game that starts out with a great story, and then by the end of the game end up in far left field with untied loose ends.
But failed story aside, “Condemned: Criminal Origins” is well worth playing. It will keep gamers on the edge of their seats with its spooky atmosphere and designs, yet in the end gamers will appreciate the amazing graphics and smooth gameplay of the game, which is exactly what makes “Condemned: Criminal Origins” an excellent launch title for the new Microsoft X-Box 360.