Title: Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC
ESRB: M (18+)
Rating: 4/5
The condemned games, is a series that is made by SEGA, and surprise surprise... It doesn't suck that badly. Give and take the "WHAT THE HELL?!" plot twists, and somewhat cheap dialog, the games are not all that bad. So let us start off our review of Condemned 2: Bloodshot, with a bang~
The game (you lost it) starts out with you, playing as ex SCU agent Ethan Thomas, a drunken brawler, facing his alcoholic demon, who looks like it can be Jigsaw's baby. Your stupidity starts off with a bar fight, and end up with you, neck need in mud hobos. After being tossed into the street, you meet up with a scruffy old bag of bones who wishes to treat you to some dumpster candy, but it turns out, that you are going hungry.
You piss off the people who ate the hobo's food, and are forced to take action on these bad ass thugs. This brings us to the main fighting style of the game; First Person Thwacking. What you lack in the firepower department, you boast in the "2x4" and "rusty pipes" department. Shortly after the fight, once again your addiction takes over your body, and tells you how to survive. (orly)
You learn that the city is infested with crime and riots, which are caused by metal plates that emit deafening sound waves, that can alter the beholders mind. In the game, it is up to you, to save the city by breaking these plates, and not letting your addiction, enemies, or mud hobos get in the way of your task.
Long story short. Cool Story; Weird twists. Gameplay; Cool and exciting.
You soon team up with your old team mates from SCU, who tracked you down, thinking you know the whereabouts of a Mr. Malcolm Vanhorn. You start off working with SCU again (Weather you want to or not) but end up focusing on the police force's corruption, and the ties to a mysterious group, called The Oro. (Plot plot plot plot)
Now lets take a look at the controls. I say it is a very basic setup. Using the shoulder triggers will activate your Left and Right hook, depending on which button you press, and pressing the bottom control sticks in control your kicking. This helps with a more realistic gameplay, which will open a huge set of combos, with fists, and the hundreds of other melee weapons you find (Toilet seats, pipes, planks, bricks.) My only issue is near the end, when you gain your "Hidden powers" it makes you hit both shoulder triggers rapidly, which can also confuse the game into "parrying" attacks. When in close quarters battles, you may be forced to do this, but you may accidentally use your hidden power, which leaves you vulnerable for a few seconds. NOTE: PUNCHES HURT!
The graphics are not amazing, but they are good. The mix of motion blur, bloom, and blood spatters make the environment around you seem a little more realistic, than the original Condemned, which kind of had a "No More Hero's/Team Fortress 2" look. The only issues are the NPC facial expressions (They have two :B) and the invisible walls. Get this; A small pile of bricks are on the floor. You step forward. You SHOULD be able to walk over them, right? Not in this game. Sometimes you will be stuck between a rock, and an invisible place.
The sounds are what really get this game going. Survival horror games are meant to keep you entertained, while making you pee yourself, in an embarrassing fashion. The sounds do just that. You will be walking around a dark hallway, and the only thing piercing the darkness, is a soft pant in your ear. While your nerves are racking up higher and higher, thats when the action takes place, and they drop hard, down your pant leg. The voice acting is decent, but is nothing short of a Resident Evil rip. Almost no emotion is put into them, unless you are watching a cutscene. The creators seem to put a little more effort into the CG, other than the GP.
Multiplayer isn't all that big in this game. There is the same old DeathMatch, and Team Play modes. Not very creative, right? The only highlight is the Crime Scenes mode. Each team is forced to hide evidence to a crime, and then must use the equipment in they're arsenal (UV, Spectrometer, Camera.) to try and track down the evidence before the other team does. It is fun, I grant it that much, but over time, you can pretty much tell where the goods are hiding, because of the limited locations, and maps.
The game puts out, and delivers, and is TOTALLY worth the $20 pricetag. Despite minor flaws, it makes up for it in solid gameplay, a great story, and graphics. Condemned 2: Bloodshot gets a 4 toilet seats to the head, out of 5.
Will be writing more reviews on some of the best/worst games I own. Feel free to pitch ideas (via pm) on rentals.
Platform(s): Xbox360, PS3, PC
ESRB: M (18+)
Rating: 4/5
The condemned games, is a series that is made by SEGA, and surprise surprise... It doesn't suck that badly. Give and take the "WHAT THE HELL?!" plot twists, and somewhat cheap dialog, the games are not all that bad. So let us start off our review of Condemned 2: Bloodshot, with a bang~
The game (you lost it) starts out with you, playing as ex SCU agent Ethan Thomas, a drunken brawler, facing his alcoholic demon, who looks like it can be Jigsaw's baby. Your stupidity starts off with a bar fight, and end up with you, neck need in mud hobos. After being tossed into the street, you meet up with a scruffy old bag of bones who wishes to treat you to some dumpster candy, but it turns out, that you are going hungry.
You piss off the people who ate the hobo's food, and are forced to take action on these bad ass thugs. This brings us to the main fighting style of the game; First Person Thwacking. What you lack in the firepower department, you boast in the "2x4" and "rusty pipes" department. Shortly after the fight, once again your addiction takes over your body, and tells you how to survive. (orly)
You learn that the city is infested with crime and riots, which are caused by metal plates that emit deafening sound waves, that can alter the beholders mind. In the game, it is up to you, to save the city by breaking these plates, and not letting your addiction, enemies, or mud hobos get in the way of your task.
Long story short. Cool Story; Weird twists. Gameplay; Cool and exciting.
You soon team up with your old team mates from SCU, who tracked you down, thinking you know the whereabouts of a Mr. Malcolm Vanhorn. You start off working with SCU again (Weather you want to or not) but end up focusing on the police force's corruption, and the ties to a mysterious group, called The Oro. (Plot plot plot plot)
Now lets take a look at the controls. I say it is a very basic setup. Using the shoulder triggers will activate your Left and Right hook, depending on which button you press, and pressing the bottom control sticks in control your kicking. This helps with a more realistic gameplay, which will open a huge set of combos, with fists, and the hundreds of other melee weapons you find (Toilet seats, pipes, planks, bricks.) My only issue is near the end, when you gain your "Hidden powers" it makes you hit both shoulder triggers rapidly, which can also confuse the game into "parrying" attacks. When in close quarters battles, you may be forced to do this, but you may accidentally use your hidden power, which leaves you vulnerable for a few seconds. NOTE: PUNCHES HURT!
The graphics are not amazing, but they are good. The mix of motion blur, bloom, and blood spatters make the environment around you seem a little more realistic, than the original Condemned, which kind of had a "No More Hero's/Team Fortress 2" look. The only issues are the NPC facial expressions (They have two :B) and the invisible walls. Get this; A small pile of bricks are on the floor. You step forward. You SHOULD be able to walk over them, right? Not in this game. Sometimes you will be stuck between a rock, and an invisible place.
The sounds are what really get this game going. Survival horror games are meant to keep you entertained, while making you pee yourself, in an embarrassing fashion. The sounds do just that. You will be walking around a dark hallway, and the only thing piercing the darkness, is a soft pant in your ear. While your nerves are racking up higher and higher, thats when the action takes place, and they drop hard, down your pant leg. The voice acting is decent, but is nothing short of a Resident Evil rip. Almost no emotion is put into them, unless you are watching a cutscene. The creators seem to put a little more effort into the CG, other than the GP.
Multiplayer isn't all that big in this game. There is the same old DeathMatch, and Team Play modes. Not very creative, right? The only highlight is the Crime Scenes mode. Each team is forced to hide evidence to a crime, and then must use the equipment in they're arsenal (UV, Spectrometer, Camera.) to try and track down the evidence before the other team does. It is fun, I grant it that much, but over time, you can pretty much tell where the goods are hiding, because of the limited locations, and maps.
The game puts out, and delivers, and is TOTALLY worth the $20 pricetag. Despite minor flaws, it makes up for it in solid gameplay, a great story, and graphics. Condemned 2: Bloodshot gets a 4 toilet seats to the head, out of 5.
Will be writing more reviews on some of the best/worst games I own. Feel free to pitch ideas (via pm) on rentals.
