The best horror game ever made. Intense and shocking.
The game starts off with the main character, CIA agent Ethan Thomas investigating a murder scene. It starts off with you meeting an officer outside of the building, he then proceeds to lead you to the crime scene. This is great because the game doesn't just start you off at the scene, it builds up to the reveal of it. Once you get to the scene, you determine the victims cause of death. Chains are wrapped around her body and she was strangled brutally. The game gives you a lot of cool detective tools. Like blacklights, DNA collection, etc... Once you find out how the victim was killed, you have a "flashback" to when the murderer is carving up a dummys head. The officer with you informs the other officer at the crime scene that smoking is not allowed. He then states that he wasn't smoking. This is where the game kicks off.
The game has amazing combat. You can use pretty much anything you want as a weapon. Conduits, rebars, small and large pipes, axes, shotguns, handguns, shovels... There is so much more. The guns normally are about half full, encouraging the use of melee combat. The combat does get a little repetetive near the end, but it's still very fun.
The AI in this game is amazing, they will use their surroundings to hide, find weapons, and surprise you. The enemies will always have a weapon on them. If they don't have a weapon, and just their bare hands, they will jump at you, strangle you, and throw you, all in first person! They react very well in combat and block when given the chance. The game is overwhelming in only a few areas, especially on Hard, but everything is beatable on Hard.
The animation in this game is the best I have seen in a game. Ever. The enemies feel so raged and angry. It really seems like they drugged someone, put a mo-cap suit on them, and hit them with pipes to get the animations.
The sound is also phenomenal. There is little music in the game, which is great. It makes every little sound tense you up. From someone breathing, to something falling off a shelf, to crazy people yelling in the other room, it makes everything extremely intense. The weapon sounds are also some of the best and most brutal I have ever heard.
The story is great. I love the whole serial killer stuff. I don't get why people say the story is a let down, when it's really amazing.
All in all, this is the best game I have played on the 360 so far. That is, until Dead Rising comes out .