Condemned

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Game Information

Developed by Monolith Productions, Inc.
Published by Sega
Platform : Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows
Genre : Action & Adventure, Shooter
Age Rating : 18+
Players : Single Player
Additional Contents Provided : None
Release Date - Xbox 360 : (NA) 16 November 2005, (EU) 2 December 2005, (JP) 31 August 2006
Release Date - Microsoft Windows : (NA) 11 April 2006, (EU) 13 April 2006

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Synopsis

Condemned is a psychological thriller in the style of a first-person survival horror adventure. Players take the role of Ethan Thomas, an F.B.I. agent in the "Serial Crimes Unit" ("SCU"), who ventures through dark, dangerous, urban environments to track down homicidal sociopaths. Just as he begins to believe that there might be some unusual connection -- some shared criminal origin -- between several of his recent serial killer suspects, Thomas is separated from his support team and left to fend for himself in a forgotten part of town that seems filled with mindless, murderous vagrants. Condemned was developed by Monolith Productions, known for its effective use of narrative in first-person action games such as No One Lives Forever and Tron 2.0.

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Gameplay

Condemned has been around for a quite a while now but I can still remember the days clearly when I was running around with my weapons recklessly decapitating enemies left, right and center. This was definitely adrenaline rushing and scary at the same time. You play as an FBI agent that tries to track down some homicidal maniacs. These maniacs are really hard to defeat especially if you are carrying any good weapons. Sometimes this can be quite frustrating and really repetitive. However, when you're not running into a psychopath every couple of levels you will have time to explore your surroundings, look at various dead bodies and try to make a judgement on what you think has occurred. You will be able to take forensic evidence by taking pictures with a UV ray cell phone which is quite cool and something I haven't seen before. You will be scared out of your wits if you decide to play this game in the dark with no-one at home or if they're sleeping. The developers also developed the FEAR franchise later on and they are an even better scare. But it's nice to be able to play the roots and see where it all came from. Weapons in the game are pretty decent and the enemies in the game are fairly easy to kill so you shouldn't have too much trouble. But you're by yourself, so watch your back and don't turn off your flashlight. The campaign does have various missions that require you to find evidence, defeat psychopaths and explore the world around you. Your health in the top right hand corner is quite small so if you're playing on a high difficulty then you might want to be witty and plan what you're going to do when you face enemies otherwise you going to keep dying and restarting. Which is boring, repetitive and pretty silly. The game does have lots of hours of game time and it is definitely enjoyable if you like getting the scare from video games. This is definitely one of the games I'd recommend for the storyline however others have their different opinion on how fun the story line is.

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Graphics

Graphics in this game are pretty underdeveloped. This game didn't come out in 2005 so it's pretty much a classic but it would have been nice to see them alter some of the graphics in it. Weapons in this game look okay and you should be able to tell what weapon you have in your inventory if you inspect them. There's not much detail applied to them are they aren't textured well. The lighting, ambiance and atmosphere of the game are really dark, eerie and makes you feel as if you're right there with the Detective. The flashlight in the game looks great and provides that bright light you need to locate enemies and evidence alike. It extends quite far so you may be able to see an enemy before they see you first. Your clothing isn't amazing but it's suitable for the cause and for the role that you are playing. Guns in the game look good as well and if you know about guns then you'll definitely know what guns you have and you'll know which ones pack a punch and which ones are better to throw away. The hand to hand combat looks pretty good and is really responsive. The blood that comes out when you're mauling an enemy to death looks pretty realistic as well which is a factor that I enjoyed.

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Controls

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Overall this game is quite decent and if you've played F.E.A.R and you love it then you might want to pick this up and experience this game. It's really frightening and has that scare factor that we love. You can pick up the game on the Games on Demand marketplace but I'm sure you could find it cheaper if you looked around. Campaign can be completed in a couple of hours so it isn't that hard, unless you're playing on a high difficulty.

Game Rating : 6/10 (Gameplay is really thorough and has that scare factor, graphics are way too underdeveloped however it was released in late 2005, basic controls, they work well with the gameplay and if you like being frightened then check this out)