More impressive to look at than it is fun to play
Condemned has an interesting premise: you’re an agent who’s been framed for murder and you need to not only discover you framed you, but also stay alive in the process. The game starts out well, with and intriguing story and really impressive graphics. You’ll quickly learn all the controls as you walk through the first part of the game. The suspense builds and the plot thickens and you quickly find yourself in a life and death struggle to survive.
In terms of visual appeal, Condemned is very well done. The dark lighting and clear, detailed images are definitely worth checking out. If you like dark, mysterious movies or TV shows, you’ll appreciate the graphics in this game. The sound also really helps make you feel like you’re there. There’s great ambient sounds, appropriate music and very nice dialog and action sounds. The graphics and audio do a fantastic job of putting you in the scene.
The gameplay, itself, isn’t too tough. There are some tricks you need to get used to, but it’s not very complicated to control. What frustrated me was the repetition of it all. After the first few areas you explore, everything looks pretty similar, especially considering you’re always in the dark. The action, too, is pretty similar except for the little side tasks you need to complete here and there. It’s basically one deranged, drugged out thug after another and you’re left to fight them off with whatever you can find around you. Sometimes a lead pipe, or a 2x4, and every once in a while you’ll find a randomly discarded firearm (not sure why someone would just leave a shotgun on a table next to a soda can, but hey).
All in all, I couldn’t really get into Condemned. For one, in my opinion it’s just a little too dark and creepy. You feel very oppressed and fearful while playing this game. And since things really just kind of repeat over and over again, it’s just not all that interesting to persevere through. It looks really nice, and has a great overall atmosphere. But, that wears off quickly enough.