Whatever genre or sub genre name you refer to it as, it's this above all else....a truly awesome game.

User Rating: 8.5 | Condemned: Criminal Origins X360
So what is Condemned? Survival Horror? Action? Adventure game? A little bit of all the above, but whatever genre or sub genre name you refer to it as, it's this above all else....a truly awesome game. It's a game developed by Monolith of F.E.A.R. fame, using the same graphics engine to boot. Published by Sega, and available on X360 since launch day. Looking at it from the perspective of the launch lineup, this was easily the highest quality dedicated single player game available for the system.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is played from a first person perspective with the player assuming the role of FBI agent Ethan Thomas, a troubled agent whose star is falling in the FBI, as many of his case files have gone cold. The game starts with a call to the scene of a crime committed by a serial killer on his case list, at a time when odd violent outbreaks are occurring all over the place, and from the moment you duck under the tape, your strapped in for a heck of a roller coaster ride. Because the story has some intensely interesting twists and turns that make you think, and sometimes shock you a bit.

The story is supported by the excellent next generation visuals and audio. These are the graphics you paid all that money to see. The game has a default darkness that may be a bit too much, so you may want to adjust the brightness at first, but besides that the use of light and dark is really spectacular. With fog and even seeing intense amounts of dust particles in the pale amounts of light that may be beaming though a board that was covering a window. Everything looks smooth and detailed, as detailed as condemned building can get.

That's one of the few downsides, every area is a condemned building of some sort, it suits the theme well, but despite looking good you still can't help but want to see an area that isn't run down and otherwise messed up. The character models also could use a little more work, they look a little...chunky? I know Thomas is a bit hefty, because he moves pretty slow. The audio is likewise fantastic, especially if you play with a high end surround sound system. Creepy audio is used to great effect, including the popular sudden whispers in the dark to make you jump stuff, ala Silent Hill.

In fact, I'd say overall that's what this game feels like, Silent Hill in a first person perspective. Due to the emphasis on a persistently creepy atmospheric game world and story over gameplay. Not to say the gameplay is bad, just a bit one track and simple. You do a mild amount of investigative work with CSI like tools, to detect fingerprints, blood and sweat, etc. All to be sent back to the lab for evaluation by Rosa, who communicates her findings to Thomas via cellphone throughout the game to help move along the mystery. Very little work on your part, the screen resolution sharpens drastically and a blue tint occurs, that's your instincts kicking in.

When that happens you simply press X and the right tool is chosen automatically. Not much work at all on your part, it's just used to help you find pieces of the plot and put them together little by little. But now the real meat of the game, cracking skulls! Thomas is a tough guy, and can take and dish out extraordinary amounts of damage. (this is actually a part of the plot, just believe me, he's a tough hombre) He can grab and use many different melee weapons out of the environment, a pipe off the wall, a 2x4, a rebar with concrete on the end, locker doors, a lot of stuff. The combat is basic, you can swing with the R trigger, and block with the L trigger.

It's pretty satisfyingly gritty and in your face, with bruises and blood appearing on an enemies face, and you can even send their teeth flying. They aren't stupid either, if you go to block too early they may pull back and wait to whack you when your arm goes back down. You also get a few finishing moves on stunned enemies, just for flashiness really. You also have an equalizer, a taser. You can use it to stun enemies and take their weapon, or get a free hit. It has a recharge time between each use, so you can't over abuse it to make the game too easy. You also occasionally find sledge hammers and fire axes, which are mega powerful weapons that also play a role in helping you through certain obstacles in the environment, and finding the many hidden items in the game.

Because the game is packed to the brim with things to discover. It's interesting stuff to look out for, but I recommend more or less sticking to the plot on the first play through, and using a guide to find the hidden items and get achievement points on a second play through. Story before gamer score people! You can also on occasion use a gun or shotgun, but are limited to the ammo found in them, so they should be utilized wisely. It could get repetitive, but it only lasts about ten hours, so I feel it didn't quite get there, or at least to a highly annoying level anyway.

But that's Condemned for you, a great single player adventure/horror/action whatever game. Also available on PC. You may want to rent it, if it's not really your kind of thing, but if you love a good plot and want a boat load of achievement points, while also having a game that shows off the extra horsepower you paid good money for, here it is