Despite some quirks, Condemned 2 is a solid addition to the horror genre.
You play as Ethan Thomas. A former agent who has degraded into a alcoholic bum following the investigation of a serial killer during the events of the first Condemned. Metro City's crime problems have escalated with pyschotic rioters and strange apparitions causing chaos in the city's streets. Ethan is recruited back into the SCU following the death of his close ally, Malcolm Vanhorn. Ethan must overcome his paranoia and hallucination problems and try and deal with the strange riots running amock across the city.
Condemned focuses on hand to hand combat. You can choose to fist fight an enemy by using combos, or by using a variety of weapons available in the world. Smashing skulls, breaking bones and murdering thugs has never been this satisfying in quite a while. Environmental kills also add to the fun factor and will keep things fresh as you proceed. Quick time events are also used in the form of takedown kills. Guns can be used, but are generally not quite as entertaining as disfiguring a bum's face with a brick. The very few running and gunning sequences you do encounter are rather frustrating to play and will have you longing to return to melee combat fairly soon. Another apparent problem is that some enemies can take too much of a beating before they can be forced into submission. This can make fighting multiple foes a real challenge.
Being a detective, Ethan has access to several cool gadgets. A GPS can be used for navigation, while cameras can be used to take pictures of crime scenes. Another gadget can be used to detect devices that emit irritating sonic waves. The last one contains a blue ray light, which can detect traces of blood on certain surfaces. Ethen can also investigate and guess the nature of certain crime scenes and puzzles.
Visually, the game looks pretty good. The dark and gritty locations you can traverse in Condemned add a spooky tension to the environment, which is something that Monolith has always done perfectly. Sadly, the game doesn't do a very good job when it comes to the actual horror. Some scenes did make me jump, such as a adrenaline pumping escape from a rampant bear inside a winter lodge for example. However, the game uses very predictable methods to creep you out that become more and more bland as you progress.
Another flaw is the atrocious level design. Questionable design choices throughout the game will leave you confused and frustrated during certain missions, ranging from piss poor mission co-ordination to flat out "I don't where the hell I'm supposed to go." Some levels in the game will literally be a nightmare for claustrophobics.
Unfortunately, no one seems to be playing the multiplayer component at this current time. However, there are some challenges that can be played outside of the campaign. These include holding off against oncoming psycopaths or engaging in arena stand offs with street thugs. While some of them are exhilirating, they don't add anything groundbreaking.
Condemned 2 has a very good melee combat system and a fairly interesting ten hour campaign to go hand in hand with several cool aspects of the game. Unfortunately, some of the game's design flaws and weak horror sequences may disappoint those looking for a fully fledged horror title. If you just want to beat the living crap out of a bunch of psychopathic bums, Condemned is the perfect game for you.
7.5
:)
Great melee combat
Fun environmental kills
Decent plot
Gritty visuals
:(
Underwhelming level design
Boring gunfights
Not very scary...at all