What do you get when you cross an alcoholic homeless man who runs around slashing at street junkies with lollipop-shaped razors and spends his time shooting at exploding girly dolls that just can't seem to die? Condemned 2: Bloodshot, of course! The first game in the series, Condemned: Criminal Origins, was hailed for its amazing first person horror style, giving gamers many shocks and scares, superb visuals, and an overall frightening environment. But does the sequel to this fantastic first person horror game really stack up to the original title?
You bet your ass it does.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot takes place 11 months after the original game ended. The game follows Ethan Thomas, who we see has turned into an alcoholic hobo since we last saw him, being recruited back in the SCU, rather quickly, to investigate a call for help from his old mentor Malcolm Van Horn. The plot also follows the struggle Ethan faces as he must also figure out just why exactly the city is turning so violent and going into such deep hysteria.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot managed to scare using a series of setups and scripted events, which is something I found very impressive. Instead of having a body spewing blood and random organs from every hole it had, Monolith Productions used deranged versions of real people to surprise you, such as an extremely disturbing looking druggie, or a mask-wearing rioter. I've jumped in my seat on more than one occasion while playing this game. There are so many random events that you do not expect to happen at all, it'll make players want to play more carefully, though it always, in the end, ends up still surprising. I think everyone will have a certain favorite setup scene during gameplay, as many of them are memorable because of the surprise factor.
The environment, of course, helped an enormous amount for each setup. The dark and gritty city alleys and buildings gave the chill effect, while the pop-out enemy would always send shivers down the spine. My favorite moment while playing the game would have to be opening a medicine cabinet, taking the health that was inside, then closing the cabinet and seeing in the mirror that a meth addict was loudly charging at me with a needle, totally unexpectedly.
Usually with each one of those kind of attacks, surprise or not, you will feel the impact. Combat in this game is top notch first person fighting. Players will be using the top triggers on the controller to deliver a left punch, or a right punch, to each enemy. Combos can be performed for more effectiveness and points. Players can even break necks, bang enemies into the environment for easy kills, and perform button combinations for brutal take downs. It is guaranteed that you'll feel the impact of each punch or kick you land on your opponent, and vice versa. The hard-packing sound of each punch is similar to those in the movie Fight Club. Fighting is especially brutal.
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