Something scary and new
Pros
+ Extremely scary and creepy atmosphere. I play a lot of survival horror and FPS games and I honestly don't think I've jumped/gasped/let out startled yells this much since I played the Silent Hill series. It's also the first game I've played where I've never been so afraid of an enemy with a gun. (If an enemy has a gun, get to them as quick as you can and get it out of their hands. Not only will you live longer but you'll be able to pick up more bullets as they won't be wasting them on trying to kill you.)
+ Excellent ambient music and atmospheric sounds. Once again very Silent Hillesque with everything from whispered voices, screams, banging noises and labored breathing. The gun sounds are also very realistic. Do yourself a favor and play with all lights off and the sound turned up to fully experience what the game has to offer.
+ Brutal melee combat. The combat is unforgiving and violent. You really feel like you're fighting for your own life against your attackers. They're absolutely merciless forcing you to tap into a primal urge just to survive.
+ Insanely clever AI. Opponents will flank, use cover, gang up and outmaneuver you in any way they can. I've honestly never seen a game with enemies so clever it turns you into the poor AI that many games normally have.
+ Superb and realistic physics. The way enemies attack and react to blows is amazing almost to the point of disturbing. I'd flinch EVERY time an enemy hit me with a pipe or some other object as you could almost feel it.
+ Vast array of weapons or items to use as weapons. Everything from pipes, nail studded 2x4's, electrical conduit tubes, sledgehammers, fire axes and the occasional pistol or shotgun.
+ Great graphics especially the environments and character models. The graphics did take a slight dip when it came to facial close ups during cut-scenes however and could have been a bit smoother.
+ Hallucination scenes (very similar to those in F.E.A.R.) were tense and spooky. One in particular still sticks out in my mind which was in Bart's Department store. There was a sequence where you would hallucinate and constantly be surrounded by mannequins. It may not sound like much but it was incredibly creepy.
+ Decent voice acting. Greg Grunberg (aka Matt Parkman - the police officer from the TV show Heroes) does the voice acting for Ethan Thomas, the FBI agent you play.
Cons
- Character movement was a bit too slow even when you were supposedly sprinting/running. And when you'd hit a section of stairs you stopped sprinting and walked up them normally. It would have helped to be able to move a bit faster but perhaps it was the developer's intention to add to the tension of the game.
- No jumping or crouching. These two options seem to be an industry standard in any FPS game and Condemned had neither. It wasn't a game breaking issue but it was frustrating when you're being shot at or are trying to get over an object. It made the game feel a bit too linear for my tastes.
- Repetitive level design. Even though you may be in a subway station, office building or department store they all felt the same despite the fact they were totally different environments.
- Story became somewhat disjointed and confusing at times.
- Tool use to collect evidence felt a bit too forced. More freedom using these tools would have been preferable.
All in all this was a great game a something quite different for a change. In an industry plagued with plodding FPS' this was a welcome and enjoyable surprise. I would highly recommend giving it a try if you're into the genre's of Survival Horror, FPS or CSI style games. I do have to confess that it took me a while to finish this game because I could only play it in small sessions. The stress of the scare factor got to be a bit much at times and as I said I love survival horror games. Just keep in mind it's not for the timid or faint of heart!