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Criminally Original
When Condemned launched alongside the Xbox 360 last November, you would have thought it would have been the stand-out title of the launch lineup, with its cutting edge visuals, thick atmosphere and some fresh gameplay. For whatever reason early adopters of the Microsoft's new console were more interested playing a stripped down version of the past summer's Madden release, and Condemned was overshadowed. Now Monolith's gritty horror title comes to PC and it couldn't be a better fit.
 Condemned is scary. Not like Resident Evil scary, or Wes Craven scary. It's really scary. Monolith seems to be digging on the creepy themes lately with their Japanese-horror inspired F.E.A.R. and now the vaguely se7en-ish thriller that is Condemned. But where F.E.A.R. only creeped me out, Condemned scared the piss out of me like no other game I've played. Between the intense action, the amazing atmosphere, and twisted story, it was downright uncomfortable to play at times. The uneasy tension was almost a love-hate feeling, leaving my heart pounding and my breaths short, but at the same time it completely sucked me in.
You assume the role of Ethan Thomas, an ace detective for the FBI's Serial Crimes Unit. Your adventure begins with a routine investigation for Mr. Thomas, examining the latest work of a madman known as "The Matchmaker" who leaves his corpses in intimate poses with department store mannequins. The investigation is disrupted when they find the suspect still on premises. Their killer gives chase and proceeds to disarm Ethan and uses his gun to kill the other officers before tossing him through the nearest window. With two slugs from his firearm found in his fellow officers and no witnesses, Ethan is on the lamb out to clear his name by finding the guilty party, chasing his trail through the parts of the city ordinary people dare not tread.
But Ethan's problems are just the tip of the iceberg for the nameless metropolis that is Condemned's world. It seems those predisposed to criminal activity have gone into a blind psychotic rage, and the city's underbelly is crawling with rampaging crackheads, thugs and bums. These guys are still quite human, but are consumed by violence, and want nothing more than to kill everything they find (including each other, often times). It's a far cry from the usual zombies and ghouls that inhabit most horror games and the combination of intelligence and animalistic rage make them genuinely frightening.
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