Condemned features brutal combat, slick graphics, and a great storyline to boot! Definitely worth checking out!
GAMEPLAY: In Condemned: Criminal Origins, the focus is not on guns, but on melee weapons such as pipes and 2x4's. The melee combat in awesomely brutal and very well done. I found my heart pounding out of my chest quite a few times. Enemies appear seemingly out of nowhere, spewing out curses as they bash you with a pipe. The creepy atmosphere is also excellently done. The dark, gritty environments and strange hallucinations Ethan Thomas has are amazing. The melee combat is a lot of fun, but, as Gamespot said, it does get slightly monotonous. There is not much variety in the gameplay, even though what it does offer is great. Of course, there is also a CSI element to Condemned. As you progress through the game, you will collect evidence with numerous forensic tools. Unfortunately, this system isn't as deep as it could be. Really, it's just a way to break up the action. It does look pretty neat though.
GRAPHICS: The graphics in Condemned are really amazing. It is such a joy to be moving to the next generation. Character models look amazingly realistic, especially the thugs you face early in the game. The combat looks so violent and gritty. You'll see teeth flying out, chunk of flesh, you'll even see your enemies's faces get bloodier and bloodier with every hit. The same goes for you weapons. The environments in Condemned look spectacular, but it seems that Condmned suffers from the same problem as F.E.A.R. The environments are a bit dreary and getting lost is pretty easy. I also noticed a minor clipping error once or twice. But aside from these minor flaws, Condemned looks incredible.
SOUND: The audio is probably the best part of the whole experience. The sounds in Condemned are so perfectly done. The voice acting is great, even though there isn't too much of it. But the best part of the audio is the combat. The sound you hear when your pipe connects with your enemy's skull is so disgustingly realistic, you'd swear you just hit a person in real life. The sounds of enemies cursing and squealing in pain are so perfect. It really adds to the experience and to the overall creepiness of the game.
VALUE: Although the combat, the environment, the story, and the audio are all great, this game will only appeal for so long. This is because the combat does eventually get a bit dull and repetitive, since the gameplay doesn't really vary much at all. Even with all the dead birds and other goodies to find, you can only love it for so long.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Condemned: Criminal Origins is a spectacular, unflinchingly brutal game. The combat is so satisfying and intense, though it does get repetitive after a while. Even if it does get dull, while it lasts Condemned is an excellent game that is tons of fun. I have begun to love Monolith more and more for their horror games.