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The original Condemned was a standout 360 launch title; a dark first person brawler with plenty of cheek-clenching moments. The atmosphere was soaked with a permanent sense of dread, and the often-hectic combat was incredibly intense. The sequel, Condemned 2: Bloodshot looks to expand on the success of the first by giving the protagonist, Ethan Thomas, some more brutal hand to hand moves and plenty more up close and personal threats to his well being. The additional complexity, however, is not all for the best. Some of the original's visceral, desperate feel is lost among the new features.
The sequel picks up where the first one left off, and then ratchets it up tenfold. The opening level features now former SCU Agent Thomas navigating cautiously through blood soaked halls, strange creatures tormenting his every move. It quickly progress from that lunacy to batshit crazy. Of course, the madness of the story won't really mean squat to those unfamiliar with the series, but if fans pay attention, it will fill in some of the gaps. It's a rocky ride for sure, with shadow organizations, betrayals, and other such wackiness. By the end, it feels like a whole lot of set up for a third title.
More often than not, Bloodshot is one step forward and one step back.
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The up and down moments of the plot really is something that spills over to the game as a whole. It's constantly one step forward and one step back. Take the new combat mechanics for example. The sequel adds to the moves in your arsenal, allowing combos and gruesome finishing moves. The combat complexity is a welcome addition that helps to vary the sometimes repetitive hand to hand battles. However, it doesn't work 100 percent of the time, especially when you have to deal with multiple enemies. You don't always feel in control. The result is a system that feels more button-mashy than skill based.
Gunplay has been expanded as well, but it sometimes ends up putting the clamps down on the atmosphere. Putting a gun in a player's hand is a reassuring, safe feeling. Not what you want for a game looking to put a scare in you. Most of the time ammo is limited, but as the story progresses, guns play a larger and larger role. In fact, there are whole levels that would feel much more appropriate in FEAR. It's almost as if developer Monolith cherry picked them out their paranormal shooter and dropped them here.
The cumulative result is an interesting oscillation between frustration and safety at a time when dread should rule. I almost never got that same urgent feeling of desperation that I did all throughout the first title. It felt like there were just less frantic searches for weapons and almost no need to play with the lights on. And it still doesn't make sense that only certain items can be used as weapons. You can only grab certain pipes of certain boards to wield. You can rip a pipe of the wall, but can't pick up a chair to protect yourself. It's a constant reminder of that you're in a manufactured world; a fun house of doped out bums.
For all so-so additions, there are plenty of changes for the better. The best one by far is the expansion of the forensic aspect of the game in the evidence collecting. Where the original held your hand through the murder investigations, the sequel leaves it largely up to you. You must utilize the proper tool in order to answer a series of questions surround a particular piece of evidence. Upon answering the questions, you receive a rating for your work. Correct answers yield a better rating and some additional background information.
The forensic rating also provides additional benefits at the end of each level. The completion of each level brings a rating: gold, silver of bronze. And with each rating comes a reward, like the stun gun for example. For that particular bonus, the higher the rating, the more battery power your stun gun will have. All the rewards have a direct benefit on gameplay. It provides some real incentive to track down all the collectibles and complete optional mission tasks.
You're likely to find the multiplayer a little less rewarding, if not for the content, then for the lack of players online. It's often difficult to get a game going, in what amounts to a virtual ghost town. It's likely due to the fact that the control really breaks down with more than four players on any given map, in any given mode. As in the single player, you can't properly defend yourself against two or more attackers. The result is often a herky-jerky, frustrating deathmatch experience. Team deathmatch is much the same story. Thankfully, there are two modes worth checking out: Crime Scene and Bum Rush.
Both Crime Scene and Bum Rush feature just enough variety to mix things up, and bring a bit of teamwork and strategy to the multiplayer arenas. In Crime Scene, the Influenced (also known as the Bums) carry two pieces of evidence that must be scanned by the opposing teams, comprised of SCU Agents. The Influenced can set the evidence down anywhere they please, and there are plenty of dark corners to stash them. In order to track them down, the SCU Agents must bring up a PDA, leaving them vulnerable to attack. With friends, this cat and mouse game type can be a lot of fun.
Bum Rush again pits the Influenced against the SCU Agents, although this time the Influenced have very little health but outnumber the Agents. The Agents must survive the set time limit without dying. The experience is even more dependent on having a good group, or playing with people you know. The Influenced have to work together, or they stand no chance. And constantly dying and respawning is not a whole lot of fun. Molotov cocktails are a bum's best friend in this mode.
More often than not, Bloodshot is one step forward and one step back. For every progression, there is a setback that shines some light on the dark atmosphere and spoils the unique sense of dread that permeated its predecessor. Still, there's a lot to be said for a game that will let you beat someone to death with a filthy toilet seat. It's too bad that aren't many moments that will make you play with the lights on.
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