Condemned 2: Bloodshot is horror thrill ride you won't soon forget
So now comes Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Condemned 2 picks up several months after the original ended. Ethan Thomas is now more troubled than ever. With the events of the first game still remaining in his mind, he has turned to drinking to solve his problems. When a old friend of Ethan suddenly found himself in danger, he tries to contact Ethan by calling the agency where he used to work, the Serial Crime Unit(SCU), and tries to warn Ethan that "its not over".
The whole city is going mad, and the SCU now needs Ethan to help figure out what is going on. The story is mixed with horror themes, the paranormal, and Ethan's personal battle against his own demons. The horror in the game is still mainly what you will see out of all of these, and its because its what Condemned 2 does best. The atmosphere is fantastic, is gives you the feeling that something is always after you. It fits nice into the stories main themes. So the overall story is good, but it is a bit confusing at times. And it doesn't answer as many questions as you'd hope.
For the game play itself, has been greatly improved over the original. The melee combat now has a variety of moves. The melee combat works similar to how it worked in the first game. You still pick up objects to beat down your enemies. But besides the random item throughout each level you can use, Ethan can now use his fist. The fist combat feels as brutal as many of the objects you can use. I sometimes found myself avoiding weapons because I wanted to beat down enemies with my fist. There are now new chain attacks, Which you activate by taping the right trigger twice one the bar is full, and you are then in God of War like mini game where you press the button on screen, to pull off a brutal attack.
There are also new environmental finishing moves. Now once you knock someone down to the ground, if they remain on their knees after they go down you can grab them and bring them to over to a object marked with a skull. Once you drag the enemy over to the skull, Ethan violently uses the object to kill off his opponent. Some examples of this are using newspaper press to crush their head. Or slamming their head into a toilet seat. Each one feels brutal and satisfying.
Besides the melee, you can also fight by using guns. And I admit this part of the game has been slightly improved, but not by much. The twist to the shooting is since Ethan is now a alcoholic, if he doesn't have a drink, he can't aim straight. This adds a interesting twist to the gun play, but overall the guns still aren't very fun to use, and unless you are in one of the games later stages where you need it, you will most likely pass up the guns for one of the much more satisfying melee weapons.
Another thing that has been greatly improved over the original is the investigation segments. Once again, you are a crime scene investigator, and you will have to use your tools to figure out what is going on. Instead of the game choosing for you what have to use, and point you in the right direction. The player now has to choose what they think they have to use. This makes investigating more challenging and it feels more like its a part of the game instead of just a way to tell the story.
Condemned 2 is filled with unforgettable moments. There are a couple in game scenes where your heart will immediately start pounding when it happens. Each one of these moments has a way of warning you that its going to happen. But that doesn't prepare you for whats going to happen. They are moments like you've never experienced before, and you won't soon forget them once they happen.
Condemned 2 also has a multiplayer this time around. The game modes are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Bum Rush, and Crime Scene. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch just plain don't work very well. Fighting other players with fist fights and melee weapons just doesn't work very well. Bum Rush is a mode where a couple players take control of SCU agents with guns, and a large amount of health. The rest of the players take control of the influenced bums, who can only use melee weapons, and have a low amount of health. The SCU agents goal is to simply survive the whole time, because they cannot respond, while the bums can. And Crime Scene is a mode where the influenced must hide two cases of evidence, while the SCU have to use equipment to try and find and scan it before time runs out. Both modes have their moments of being fun, but none of them will keep you coming back for more.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot is a fantastic game. It's filled with great atmosphere, unforgettable moments, great and brutal combat, and well improved investigation segments. Its only brought down by its gun play, and its very mediocre multiplayer. If you are a fan of the first game, or a fan of horror games in general, you owe it to yourself to play Condemned 2: Bloodshot.