Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360, 2005)

I bought Condemned because I had played the demo awhile back when it was first released, however I forgot about it soon after. It didn't get as much recognition as it deserved and I had heard this from a number of sources. I decided to see how much it was on ebay and found it a reasonable price so I bought it.

The gameplay is creepy and fun, a lot of pop out moments and times where you're very on edge. Some of the scares are a bit obvious, but that may just be me. The game really does have some intense moments and you never really feel safe throughout every level.

It seems like you're being watched constantly and the constant waves of enemies always means you have some company.

The fighting can be a little challenging to get used to, probably the hardest part is blocking at the right time. Once you do get good at it, however, it can get a bit repetitive. The game focuses only on melee weapons and your tazer. You can find guns in certain areas, however I found myself not wanting to take it since they have such low ammo (I'm talking 2-6 shots usually). What would normally happen, is I would have a relatively good weapon such as a crowbar (which can be used to open up safes and things), I would drop it for a gun. I would use the gun to get maybe 3 kills and then would drop it, only wishing I had kept my crowbar. I could run all the way back to where I dropped it, but this can be very annoying and I would rather just have it throughout the level.

The tazer is a very cheap gadget you have that has infinite ammo but needs to recharge after each shot. It stuns the enemy you hit with it for maybe 6 seconds or so, and in that time period you can get a free wack or two on him. This can be a very easy way to kill psychos because all you have to do is keep backing up and strafing until you get another charged up shot of tazer.

The achievements in the game are a mix of easy and hard. When I say hard, I mean of course ones that take no skill, only a bunch of gameplay hours. This was a bit disappointing. One set of achievements for example is where you have to find 6 birds on each level. Birds are scattered throughout, kind of like the Cog Tags in Gears of War or Heart Pieces in any of the Zelda games. If you really try to sit down and find the birds it can get boring quick, especially since the first time through the game you don't want to be constantly tracking down birds, you want to play the game it was meant to be played. So you usually just end up looking up the bird locations on YouTube just for the points. I really see no satisfaction in finding the birds, so there really isn't anything driving you to find them aside from the Achievement Unlocked sign at the bottom of the screen.

Well, enough talking, I think I should just score it.

It was a very good game in the aspect of mood and ambiance, the scares were good and it kept me on-edge throughout. Being a singleplayer game made it even more frightening since you had no buddy to go through it with (co-op would have been nice). Overall this is a good game, however it doesn't have a great deal of replayability. I would recommend this for it's price and say you probably won't be disappointed since you probably don't have any of expectations.

This game does not get the respect it deserves. If you like survival horror type games you will love this one. First category: Graphics....simply amazing. There is no "repeating scenery" or illogical placement of items. There are bottles and cans, and old mattresses where hoboes live, just where you would expect them. Tiny details also add to the mix, such as the elementary school level, there is graffiti carved onto the old desks, the game presents a very dark, gloomy, yet sinister aspect that keeps the tension where it needs to be. These ARE the Next Generation grafics the 360 is capable of, and the graphics should serve as a lesson to the other publishers as to what they should be putting out. Second Category: Music, it plays when it needs to , and when it does it is for effect, like a horror movie. Perfect. Third category: Gameplay, I have heard some complain about the lack of picking up extra ammo, etc. Put it this way, it would ruin the game. The theme is about a guy who is just barely scraping by the levels with whatever he can find, pipes, bats, crowbars, maybe an occasional firearm with a few rounds left in it. Having extra ammo, or lots of firearms would ruin this game. The tension is right on the money where it is. The combat is ultra realistic. The hits and blows "feel" right, and the physics behave appropriately. The crime scene gathering evidence and whatnot is o.k. but could use a little polishing. Next category: Story/Plot, it could have used a little work, but it blends into whats going on. Without spoiling the end, it leaves plenty of room for sequels. It is not just the same old find out who frames, kills, etc, blah blah blah. This games designers are on the money. The levels flow into one another flawlessly, and its not just the same old tired mansion type settings. There are sewers, library, subway sytem, abandoned schools, factories, farmhouses, and even a department store. Bottom Line: Look, it is no Resident Evil, but it doesnt try to be either. This game is new and innovative, and fresh. The designers worked very hard to get the replay value into it as well. Unlocking different categories of achievements will require you to play through it a few times. Give Condemned a try, I did and am glad I did.

Okay, here is the real low down on this game. The game play description on the cover would have you thinking this is a scary action adventure game where you get to investigate and find clues to lead to a serial killer. Well first for the scary part. You aimlessly wonder through buildings with no power where everyone wants to give you a beat down with a pipe or board or something. The only thing that makes the game scary is that for some reason just before you get the beat down your flashlight always seems to get very dim limiting your view, so you barely see it coming. Weird how the flashlight is so bright when no one is around, and then it starts to flicker and go dim, and wham! some pumped up bum is trying to kill you. Now the action; If you like frantically hitting buttons on your controller while watching your character do nothing you really, really, reallly, going to love this game. I actually thought the batteries were going dead in my controller before I realized it was trying to simulate a delay in swinging larger objects verses smaller ones, so for an example if you are swinging an axe at an attacker you get to swing once, and then count to 10 before you get to swing again. Relax, the other guy is just beating your health away while you wait. Better make sure the next swing hits him. Maybe find a pipe to swing next time and then you only have to count to 5 before another swing. Now for the adventure! You aimlessly wonder through dark buildings solving stupid locked or blocked door type puzzles just to find more of the same on the next floor. Best part is the investigation. Not only do you get to wonder around, but occasionally you will get a message that pops up to tell you to investigate an area. No, the programmers for this game could not make an area look interesting or add something to catch your eye, they just had to program a pop up to let you know you are near something, so pull out your investigative tools, and have a look-see. Don't worry they also tell you what tool you should be using to find the clue, and the tools always have a way of pointing you straight toward the clue. That way you do not even have to think or anything. I must have missed something in one of the cut scenes, because somehow I kept winding up collecting dead birds as clues to a murder. Never got far enough in this game to figure out the dead bird thing, or I missed a cut scene or something. Graphics do look good, but that is it. Trust me any reviews this game has that are above average are from people who still can't get over how good games look on the 360, and so every game is good no matter how week the storyline or how poor the game play is.

Complete darkness, crazy people, blunt trauma and a flash light. If I had to describe Condemned: Criminal Origins in just one sentence, that'd pretty much be it. It says a lot but not a lot is really going on.

Condemned starts you out as an FBI agent who is investigating a series of murders by a killer known as "The Match Maker". This serial killer constructs gruesome scenes with his female victims. They're displayed with creepy looking mannequins like some twisted Macy's window display. Your initial job is to scout the crime scene to find clues using your array of gadgets. Scanners, Gas sensor, black light, PDA and digital camera. Unfortunately you don't get to use these at will. The game has specified scripted areas that activate the option to use them in a predetermined order. No fun in that. During your first investigation, you're alerted that the killer may still be in the building and chase ensues.

At first Condemned gives off the movie Se7en kinda vibe. But it all dissipates rather quickly when more of the quirky plot is revealed. But you could tell the movie was an influence. I only wish they stuck to that concept rather than go completely pitch black and paranormal. That aside, the graphics are really good, atleast what you can see with your flash light. The sound is equally as good. You'll hear all kinds of eery stuff coming from different directions. The gameplay itself was fairly solid with virtually no bugs.

Occasionally you'll find a gun, but don't expect much ammo to come with it. Three rounds maybe, five if you're lucky. What seriously pissed me off is when you do find another gun you can't just pick up both, you have to decide which to walk away with and which to drop. You can only carry ONE weapon at a time. So if you've been holding on to that shotgun for dear life and happen to find a handgun. Time to make a tough choice. I usually kept the one with the most ammo. And if that isn't bad enough, you can't even take similar ammo from another weapon. So if you have a shotgun and find another shotgun, you can't combine the ammunition.

There was one point in the game where I had two .45 cal pistols and a shotgun sitting on the floor and there was nothing I could do about it. What a friggin waste. Sometimes you'll need a certain weapon like an ax to break down a door or sledge hammer to bust a lock to move on. This means you'll have to go back and find the specified weapon, drop your gun and trek back to break in. And if you want your gun back, you'll have to back track again. Very frustrating and very impractical. You can't see it but I'm giving the game designers the middle finger.

The other problem is with this game is it's sheer repetition. As I said before, this game boils down to beating up crazies in dark rooms and hallways with various blunt objects and a flash light. After a few hours it'll seem all too familiar. Whether it's in a sewer or an abandoned shopping mall, it's pretty much the same set up every time. Go in and get attacked by nut jobs while trying to gather "evidence". Speaking of nut jobs, as detailed and scary as they looked, the character models were used over and over again. But don't be fooled. This game has some serious scares. The last hour of play was completely nerve racking. My body ached because I was so tense from the anticipation. This is fine, but it doesn't carry a game.

You never been really scared, till you sit in the pitch dark alone playing condemned on your HD TV with surround sound on.
What makes it scary – no scary monsters/zombies, just real criminals. Great graphics, interesting
story line that match those of Hollywood greatest. Think CSI horror.
The sounds when you turn around the corner of tins falling gives you some heart attack moments.
Knowing you don’t got an arsenal of weapons at hand, make it a survival game. Getting weapons like lead pipes and axes to keep you safe.
This does push the thrill factor higher, when will the next army of criminals attack you from behind and you don’t got any weapons.
Seeing your friends screaming and jumping while you play is priceless. This game will give you sleepless, scary nights.


Title Graphs Sound Play Story Thrill Replay Total
Condemn 90 90 85 85 95 75 87%