For every step forward, the game takes about an equal step backwards and I can't say that it's better than the original.
Boy does Ethan look like he's fallen on some hard times. All is not bad for him though. When he was an uptight agent, he looked like he was in his mid forties, in Bloodshot; Mr. Thomas looks like an early thirty year old bum. The change in voice really wasn't noticeable to me; it was just the change in looks. Maybe I'm mistaken but I don't think so.
Speaking of voices, the person that voices Ethan makes the only flaw in the sound department. Sometimes his lines are delivered way too dramatic to the point where I thought in my head that he really needs to calm down, he's flipping out over nothing. At one point, Ethan is getting questioned and the replies were damn near yells. I didn't see the need for the hostility; a frustrated voice would have worked a lot better. Serial Killer X's performance easily stole the show in both voice acting and plot wise.
The story of Bloodshot answers certain questions about this and the previous game such as who the freaky bondage guy at the end of the first one was, and why these bums were going crazy. However, that's not to say everything is good in this story. I'd say the last quarter of the game jumps off into the deep end of absurdity. The story for the most part is a good one but it's just the one part that just made me think "What the hell were they thinking?"
Another thing that I disliked about Bloodshot is that it seems guns take a front seat in the action while melee weapons hop in the back. In Criminal Origins, guns were almost like holiday fruitcake, they were nice ideas but weren't that good. In the sequel they are bountiful and powerful meaning that, unless you like to bash heads in, for the most part you'll be upgrading that toilet seat for a shotgun.
Those are the negatives and they're out of the way. Let me start off the positive by saying that they are many more variations in enemies and the glossiness of the characters is gone. Overall, everything in the graphics department has been improved. The different foes, while they may not behave that different from one another, are a welcome addition. Lighting plays a significant role once again and the locales are as dingy and run down as ever.
The crime scene investigations are vastly improved and more emphasis is placed on perception this time around. The gadgets unfortunately are utilized less this time around though. Overall, Condemned 2 does a good job of keeping things varied whether it's from the melee to firearms changes, the quick time events from a foes assault or the investigations themselves.
Another improvement is that the developers seemed to have made Bloodshot much more visceral and melee combat much more satisfying. Ethan can now perform combos, and environmental kills along with good old fashioned bludgeoning. I would like to have seen weapon specific finishers or at least weapon specific power combos but I guess they can throw that in Condemned 3.
In closing, Condemned is a mixed bag. Ethan's character is much improved but his voice and look is confusing. The story answered some serious questions but got seriously goofy at the end. The combat improved in everyway except now there's less emphasis put on melee and more on firearms. For every step forward, the game takes about an equal step backwards and I can't say with much certainty that it's better than the original.