Post by Altaïr47 on Dec 23, 2006 20:30:09 GMT 6
My review of condemned: criminal origins
it's a bit late for this game's review but this game rocks so much that i had to write it.
i didn't actually buy this game, i borrowed it from vinit coz i heard it was short and i felt it wasn't worth 2500 bucks. well, yeah this game is short and can be finished at a max of 5-6 hours(yeah, it's that short) and the unlocks don't provide enough incentive to make a second trip.
let's start with the story, shall we? you play as ethan thomas, an FBI agent, who's been framed for the murder of two cops. now, the police is on his trail. so he ventures out to capture the real killer and prove his innocence. simple, huh? well, it's not! the story is quite complicated and after the ending you're gonna say WTF just happened man. it's not much of an ending but how the story unravels itself is quite cool.
you are equipped with high-tech gadgets which you use to find clues at crime scenes and all. the clues are sent directly to rosa(the only one at the bureau who still trusts ethan) who deciphers them. some reviewers have said that the game holds your hand a bit too much at this stuff. i think it's better this way coz you don't wanna get frustrated searching for clues, do ya? well, atleast i don't.
next, the graphics. they are absolutely brilliant(i am one of the very few people in this world who hasn't been spoilt by the graphics of gow). the lighting is top notch. the only problem i have with the graphics is that character faces look weird in certain cutscenes. the animations of the enemies are excellent. their anger is evident from their body language. they wanna kill you.........brutally. speaking of enemies, their AI is superb. they panic when you have a weapon bigger than theirs or when you snatch their weapon from them. they go away and hide somewhere and ambush you when you get near them. they even hit and kill each other.
as you all know by now, this game is mostly made up of first person melee combat. there are some fire-arms lying around too but the majority of the game consists of melee combat. the melee fighting is extremely well done and you really feel like you are hitting the other guy to a bloody pulp. oblivion has similar combat mechanics too, but it's done way better in condemned. you can block, you can kick and you can hit with your weapon. that pretty much sums up the whole fighting mechanic which is strange considering your enemies pull off nasty combos. but on the whole the combat feels extremely satisfying.
the sound is the highlight of this game. you can only enjoy this game with the lights turned off and the volume turned up(it's a horror game after all). you hear all sorts of things around you. enemies accidentally pushing over trash cans in the distance, their heavy breathing when they are hiding from you and stuff like that. the sound plays a major role in immersing you in the game. you'll find yourself jumping when you push a bottle by accident.
oh yeah, this game is scary as hell. you're gonna need a lot of spare undies to play this game. the library and department store levels are the scariest imo. in the library level, the event that happens after you bust your flashlight is the scariest moment in this game. you feel totally helpless in that scene(i almost wet myself there). man, you people have got to experience that. well, it's the scariest game i ever played. it's even scarier than fatal frame 2 which for me was the scariest game before this. anyone who likes being scared to death should definitely check out this game.
all in all, i give this game an 8.8/10. i would've given it more if it was a bit longer.
p.s. if any of you ever plays this game, be sure to play it alone and in the night. this game is not so scary when you play it in the day with butterflies flying around.
p.s. again---why is it that you only get to carry one weapon at a time when you can carry a ton of gadgets with you??
p.s. again---one more cool thing about this game is that almost every cutscene is in first person. when you tumble down a set of stairs, it's in first person. when you vomit blood, it's in first person. these little additions to the game make you feel that you really are ethan thomas.
it's a bit late for this game's review but this game rocks so much that i had to write it.
i didn't actually buy this game, i borrowed it from vinit coz i heard it was short and i felt it wasn't worth 2500 bucks. well, yeah this game is short and can be finished at a max of 5-6 hours(yeah, it's that short) and the unlocks don't provide enough incentive to make a second trip.
let's start with the story, shall we? you play as ethan thomas, an FBI agent, who's been framed for the murder of two cops. now, the police is on his trail. so he ventures out to capture the real killer and prove his innocence. simple, huh? well, it's not! the story is quite complicated and after the ending you're gonna say WTF just happened man. it's not much of an ending but how the story unravels itself is quite cool.
you are equipped with high-tech gadgets which you use to find clues at crime scenes and all. the clues are sent directly to rosa(the only one at the bureau who still trusts ethan) who deciphers them. some reviewers have said that the game holds your hand a bit too much at this stuff. i think it's better this way coz you don't wanna get frustrated searching for clues, do ya? well, atleast i don't.
next, the graphics. they are absolutely brilliant(i am one of the very few people in this world who hasn't been spoilt by the graphics of gow). the lighting is top notch. the only problem i have with the graphics is that character faces look weird in certain cutscenes. the animations of the enemies are excellent. their anger is evident from their body language. they wanna kill you.........brutally. speaking of enemies, their AI is superb. they panic when you have a weapon bigger than theirs or when you snatch their weapon from them. they go away and hide somewhere and ambush you when you get near them. they even hit and kill each other.
as you all know by now, this game is mostly made up of first person melee combat. there are some fire-arms lying around too but the majority of the game consists of melee combat. the melee fighting is extremely well done and you really feel like you are hitting the other guy to a bloody pulp. oblivion has similar combat mechanics too, but it's done way better in condemned. you can block, you can kick and you can hit with your weapon. that pretty much sums up the whole fighting mechanic which is strange considering your enemies pull off nasty combos. but on the whole the combat feels extremely satisfying.
the sound is the highlight of this game. you can only enjoy this game with the lights turned off and the volume turned up(it's a horror game after all). you hear all sorts of things around you. enemies accidentally pushing over trash cans in the distance, their heavy breathing when they are hiding from you and stuff like that. the sound plays a major role in immersing you in the game. you'll find yourself jumping when you push a bottle by accident.
oh yeah, this game is scary as hell. you're gonna need a lot of spare undies to play this game. the library and department store levels are the scariest imo. in the library level, the event that happens after you bust your flashlight is the scariest moment in this game. you feel totally helpless in that scene(i almost wet myself there). man, you people have got to experience that. well, it's the scariest game i ever played. it's even scarier than fatal frame 2 which for me was the scariest game before this. anyone who likes being scared to death should definitely check out this game.
all in all, i give this game an 8.8/10. i would've given it more if it was a bit longer.
p.s. if any of you ever plays this game, be sure to play it alone and in the night. this game is not so scary when you play it in the day with butterflies flying around.
p.s. again---why is it that you only get to carry one weapon at a time when you can carry a ton of gadgets with you??
p.s. again---one more cool thing about this game is that almost every cutscene is in first person. when you tumble down a set of stairs, it's in first person. when you vomit blood, it's in first person. these little additions to the game make you feel that you really are ethan thomas.