The greatest horror game experience since Silent Hill 2.

User Rating: 8.5 | Condemned: Criminal Origins X360
By chex81 | Review Date:
Have you ever heard your heart pound so loud, it felt as though it was going to rip right out of your chest? Have you ever had to take a break from playing a game because it was just too scary? Have you ever had the joy of grabbing a shovel and having the fulfillment of beating someone so badly with it, it felt ⿿great⿿?! If you answered ⿿No⿿ to all these questions, play Condemned. If you answered otherwise⿦still play Condemned!

Gameplay:
The game primarily revolves around melee combat, some puzzle solving and a lot of action. At times it feels slow paced, but it will only be your fault if you get too comfortable. BAM! It⿿s the unsuspected blow to the head with a metal subway sign by a psychotic killer. You can pick up many weapons scattered throughout the levels, that it be they are ripped off the walls, recycled from other materials or dropped by an enemy. You have a taser at your disposal and it⿿s a great tool to take advantage of, especially if the enemy is using a long range weapon against you. The long range weapons come as .455 mm, shotgun (sawed off, 2 barrel) and Machine gun. Very little ammo is available, so use these powerful weapons wisely. The more you further in the game, the more weapons become available⿦so don⿿t get upset if you notice on the first level the variety is a little low. The R Trigger is used to swing or fire your weapon (action), L Trigger is used to block. You cannot hold the block button and maintain a consistent form of proof, so make sure you learn to block well because it will come in handy as you progress. The play mechanics of the game are very original and work extremely well. The game truly gives you a sense of ⿿being there⿿, as the whole game is from the first person prospective. You're a detective that tracks down serial killers, so you will also get to use tools that will help solve puzzles and find clues to the murders. Although you can't use them freely (only in certain areas) it still gives the gameplay a nice change of pace. Oh, did I forget to mention you will have chairs and other office appliances thrown at you? It may seem linear, but the levels begin to open up more as you progress⿦see a trend here? Everything came together well and it goes to show developers aren⿿t dead just yet. 9.5/10


Graphics:
Stellar visuals, the cut scenes and gameplay are sharp, and deadly. You can tell Monolith (Fear) worked very hard to give the player one of the greatest atmospheric designs ever. It⿿s difficult to explain, but the world created is so dark and scary⿦it⿿s beautiful. Many objectives can be kicked around, knocked down which gives the world a life like experience. The attention to detail throughout the game is jaw dropping, that it be disturbing or visually stunning. At time⿿s there will be some odd texture issues, but I hardly noticed them. This right here is the best looking 360 game, period. 10/10

Audio:
You can hear the sound of a bucket⿿s drop to the floor echo from a distance; this will hint you⿿re not alone. Some of the objects in the environment do not make a sound, for example when I kick or bat a pale off a table. Although this seems picky, it⿿s definitely an area that could use work. There isn⿿t much music, but what is there adds to the experience. The sound effects when hitting an enemy are striking enough to ⿿feel⿿ it. 7.5/10

Controls:
Overall the controls work well. The analog sticks are treated much like any typical FPS, the face buttons are used to interact with the world. The biggest mapping was to make the right (or left) analog click the run button. It⿿s just too difficult to run away when you⿿re trying to hold the click of the analog, the same button you use to direct where you⿿re going. However, aside from the running it⿿s great. 8.5/10

Replay:
There may not be a lot of incentive to go back. Throughout the game you can collect birds or metal pieces, hidden treasures, and eventually collect gamescore points. There are different difficulty settings, so that may be enough reason to return a second time. There are leaderboards, if that⿿s your fling. And when you consider the game runs at about 10 hours, without Xbox Live support the replay value is limited. 6/10

Overall:
The game is incredible, plain and simple. Every Xbox 360 owner must at least rent this title. It does start off somewhat slow, but quickly begins to pick up the further you delve. The story is one of the best I⿿ve ever experienced in a game, even if it des borrow from some popular horror flicks. The action is intense, exciting, disturbing and very scary. I recommend you do what I did, play at midnight with all the lights off and your speakers full blast. It⿿s quite an experience no one should miss, even if it is on the short side.

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