Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Developer(s)	Monolith Productions
Publisher(s)	SEGA
Engine	Lithtech Jupiter EX
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	NA: March 11 2008 AUS: March 20 2008 EU: April 4 2008
Genre(s)	Action, Survival horror/Psychological horror
Mode(s)	Single player. Multiplayer

Condemned 2: Bloodshot (entitled simply Condemned 2 in Australia/Europe) is a video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Condemned 2 was released on March 11, 2008 in North America and is expected to be released on March 20, 2008 in Australia and April 4, 2008 in Europe. It is the sequel to the 2005 game Condemned: Criminal Origins.

Premise

File:Condemned2 ethanthomas.jpg

Ethan Thomas in Condemned 2

Condemned 2: Bloodshot takes place 11 months after Condemned: Criminal Origins. The game features a darker, grungier Ethan Thomas, whose life has descended into alcoholism and homelessness following the events of the first game. The game's plot features Ethan being recruited back into the FBI to investigate a call for help from his old mentor Malcolm Van Horn, and delves more deeply into explaining the mysterious phenomena causing city-wide violence and mass hysteria.

Greg Grunberg does not reprise his role as Ethan in Condemned 2, mostly due to the personality change. Instead, Ethan is voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo.

Gameplay

Single Player

Similar to the original Condemned: Criminal Origins, Condemned 2: Bloodshot is a first-person action game focused on melee-oriented combat. Unlike the original Condemned, Condemned 2 features hand-to-hand combat, with the left and right triggers controlling the player character's left and right fist respectively. Additionally, the player is now able to chain different attacks together for a variety of offensive combo moves. Enemies can also be killed with a variety of finishing moves controlled via quick time events. The game also features context-sensitive "environmental kills" (such as shoving an enemy's head into a TV or a spiked wall).

As with the original Condemned, Condemned 2 also features melee weapons and firearms. However, melee weapons now break after several strikes or blocks. Firearms are limited to the bullets in the current magazine, as the player is unable to carry additional ammo. An additional twist to the firearms combat is Ethan's alcoholism, which causes his aim to become blurry and unsteady unless he regularly drinks alcohol.

Condemned 2 also features more in-depth forensic investigation gameplay. Players are able to investigate and catalog different elements of a crime scene, and make statements about the nature of the crime. Correctly guessing the nature of the crime earns the player upgrade points, which can be used to acquire upgrades such as body armor or higher maximum health.

Multiplayer

The game supports 8 player online and features four multiplayer modes:

• Deathmatch - the player to reach the kill limit or the player with the most kills at the end of the time limit wins.
• Team Deathmatch - two teams of multiple players compete for the most kills.
• Bum Rush - a time based game of SCU Agents versus Influenced bums. The SCU cannot respawn, and must last as long as possible against the bums.
• Crime Scenes - another gametype putting the SCU agents against the Influenced. The Influenced must hide two cases of evidence, while the SCU agents must use their equipment to find the evidence before time runs out.

Several moves and weapons from single player are not present in multiplayer - these include the stun gun, kicks, chain attacks, and environmental kills.

Plot summary

Condemned 2: Bloodshot takes place 11 months after the end of the first Condemned. The mysterious phenomena causing insane violence and mass psychosis amongst Metro City's homeless population has only gotten worse, with massive riots breaking out across the city. Protagonist Ethan Thomas, having resigned from the FBI's Serial Crime Unit after the events of the Serial Killer X investigation, has been caught in a downward spiral and now find himself homeless, violent, and alcoholic. He still suffers from paranormal visions, and his alcoholism even manifests as an antagonistic alter-ego that taunts him during his hallucinagenic visions.

Under the orders of Director Farrell, Ethan is recruited back into the SCU to investigate the murder of his one-time mentor Malcolm Van Horn. He is aided by his old partner Rosa and commanded by the hostile and antagonistic Agent Dorland, SCU's tactical commander. Over the course of Ethan's investigation, he discovers that his arch-nemesis Serial Killer X is still alive, having been nursed back to health by his uncle Malcolm Van Horn after being shot in the head at the end of the original Condemned. Serial Killer X killed Malcolm Van Horn, as well as Metro City's Mayor Rachel Mars, and eventually kidnaps Director Farrell.

Ethan and Rosa also discover the source of all the city's troubles is a secret organization known as "the Oro", the cult hinted at in the first Condemned, whose members use painful metal implants to develop sonic powers that allow them to influence and control the rest of humanity. Rosa theorizes that they are the source of all humanity's crimes, wars, and hatred. Serial Killer X, having learned about the Oro, now wants to become one of them, and is currently killing and dissecting Oro members to discover how they work.

The Oro are much more powerful than previously thought; their members include many high-ranking members of society, including Mayor Mars, Director Farrell, and Agent Dorland. The Oro also control the SCU, and Dorland and his tactical teams attempt to kill Ethan when he discovers their secret. Ethan fights back with the help of Rosa and SCU Agent LeRue, and even Serial Killer X, who saves Ethan from the SCU, calling it "a future investment".

Van Horn, who has spent his life battling the Oro, leaves Ethan a videotaped message revealing the final truth; Ethan's parents were Oro members who defected from the organization and were killed for it. Ethan himself is "the Remedy", a long-prophecized being possessing "perfect" vocal chords capable of generating the Oro's sonic power without the metal implants the Oro use. The Remedy is destined to be "the voice opposing that of the Oro". As a result, Agent Dorland and the Oro want Ethan dead. Director Farrell, part of a splinter faction of Oro that wants to recruit rather than destroy Ethan, sacrifices his life to unlock Ethan's sonic powers after the two of them are cornered by Agent Dorland.

Ethan proceeds to the Penninsula, an artificial landmass where the Oro have a secret alien base from where they monitor and control the entire city. Using his newfound sonic powers, Ethan defeats the Oro members, destroys the Oro machinery allowing them to control the city, and kills Agent Dorland in a sonic duel. Ethan escapes in a helicopter along with Rosa and LeRue. Meanwhile, the President of the United States (himself an Oro member) collapses in shock after receiving the message "the Remedy is among us!". Finally, in a direct mirror of the original Condemned's ending, Serial Killer X is shown receiving Oro metal implants in his mouth.

Characters

• Ethan Thomas (Andre Sogliuzzo): A former investigator for the FBI's Serial Crimes Unit, Ethan resigned from the bureau following the events of Condemned: Criminal Origins, eventually spiralling downward into alcoholism and homelessness. As a result, he is a much darker, more violent character than in the first game.

• Rosa Angel (Angel Parker): A forensics lab specialist, and Ethan Thomas' old partner in the SCU. Rosa is once again assigned to help Ethan in the new Van Horn investigation, and the two of them eventually uncover the Oro conspiracy controlling mankind.

• Agent Pierce LeRue (Phil Lamarr): An SCU tactical agent assigned to help Thomas in the Van Horn investigation. Unlike Agent Dorland, LeRue expresses concern for Thomas' well-being, and remains loyal to Thomas after Dorland and other SCU troopers are revealed as Oro footsoldiers.

• Serial Killer X (Henry Dittman): SKX, the killer of serial killers. Ethan Thomas' nemesis from the original Condemned. SKX survived the gunshot to the face he suffered in the ending of the original Condemned, and was secretly nursed back to health by his uncle Malcolm Van Horn. Upon learning of the Oro, SKX decided to "seeking redemption through their power". He killed his uncle when he got in the way, and is currently killing and dissecting Oro members to "see how they work". SKX currently has a shaved head, is missing the flesh on the right side of his mouth, and has a large X carved into his forehead.

• Agent Dorland (Dave Mitchell): SCU's tactical commander, and Director Farrell's right-hand man, Agent Dorland is hostile and antagonistic towards Ethan from the very beginning. He is eventually revealed as an Oro leader, after attempting to kill Ethan and destroy important evidence. At the end of the game, Ethan defeats him in a sonic duel and sends him plummeting to his death.

• Director Farrell (Paul Eiding): The Director of the FBI's Serial Crimes Unit, and Ethan's former mentor and boss. After being kidnapped by Serial Killer X, Farrell is revealed as a member of the Oro. Unlike other Oro such as Agent Dorland, Farrell has been protecting Ethan, hoping to recruit him to the Oro cause. Farrell is eventually captured by Agent Dorland, who attempts to force him to fight Ethan. Farrell instead sacrifices his own life to unlock Ethan's special sonic powers.

• Inferi (Keith Szarabajka): A thug with Oro metal implants who confronts and antagonizes Ethan in the game's first few levels. Ethan eventually tracks him down and kills him viciously.

• Magic Man (Michael Bell): A former Oro member with a stage magician-themed appearance, who escaped from the organization and is currently hiding in an abandoned theater. Ethan finds him on a list of SKX's intended victims, and tracks him down to interrogate him about the Oro.

• The Alcohol Demon (Andre Sogliuzzo): A hallucinatory alter-ego of Ethan's with a mask-like face, the "dark side" of Ethan's personality and the manifestation of his alcoholism.

Critical Reception

Reviews and awards Compilations of multiple reviews
Game Rankings	80% (based on 16 reviews)
Metacritic	85/100 (based on 7 reviews)
Publication	Response	Award
Official PlayStation Magazine (Australia)	9 out of 10	Silver Award
Team Xbox	9 out of 10
XPlay	4 out of 5
IGN	8 out of 10
Official Xbox Magazine	8 out of 10
GameTrailers	8 out of 10

The April edition of Official Xbox Magazine review of Condemned gave it an 8/10, praising the strong points of atmosphere, graphics and sound for the game, and found it to be improved in almost all areas of the original (Condemned: Criminal Origins). The review did however find the ending to be weak and one of its major downsides.

The three reviewers in Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Condemned 2 an A-, B+, and B. They praised the atmosphere and improved combat system, but were not satisfied with the "laggy, unnecessary feel" of the game's multiplayer component.

Official PlayStation Magazine (Australia) gave Condemned 2 the Silver Award, with a score of 9/10. The magazine commented that the only minor problem was that the controls felt occasionally cumbersome.

Edge Magazine gave Condemned 2 a 5/10, stating that it had lost the first's tight storyline in favour of a deranged psycotic bloodbath, in which guns and gore "occur anywhere and everywhere to ever-decreasing effect" and had taken precedence over the tension and fear factors which the magazine had enjoyed in the previous title. In a caption the review expresses surprise that "you can [...] make enemy heads explode by shouting at them" and noted that they did not expect that "the ABC Warriors would appear in the game's final act, and that you'd take them down with a sonic crossbow and giant magnet."

External links

• Official Website
• Press Release
• Preview from GameSpot
• Condemned 2 Q&A from IGN
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot Trailer 2 from FileFront
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot Page from Gamepro
• Condemned 2: Bloodshot Launch Trailer