Now Playing: Condemned: Criminal Origins
by Enisi_ on Comments
Condemned: Criminal Origins, or Condemned, as it's know here in the United of K, is definitely one of the 360's few horror titles. This is attributed towards the many elements which ramp up the tension and the apprehension in game, but the main cause of such unashamed terror is the first-person perspective, which leaves you immersed in the character of Ethan Thomas, all while blindly stumbling through the dark with nought but a taser, a torch, and a variety of improvised melee weapons which have to be employed to take down the game's various crazed maniacs. The mall - or shopping centre, as it's known in the UK - is where you find me, currently scrutinising a room full of mannequins, all grouped suspiciously in a dark corner. This - with close competition from the infamous locker scene later on in the game - is probably the scariest moment in the game, as you debate whether or not to go into the dark room with those somber, unflinching mannequins perhaps hiding something grislier, or move on, with unsettling doubt in your mind. Always curious, I slowly make my way into the little box-room, brandishing my improvised melee weapon in front of me in a display of false bravado. Holding in my breath, I survey my mannequin friends, knocking their respective heads off to make sure they're not more than simple mannequins - the mall's populace is clever, and they've fooled me once or twice by posing as mannequins, until they sneak up behind you and start laying waste to your back, sending a jolt of pure fear up your spine. And guess what? My mannequin friends are nothing but that - stiff, unflinching sculptures which I nonetheless devote a wary eye to.