Sega has published new screenshots of Condemned 2: Bloodshot for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The release date still remains unconfirmed at this time.

Check the link to view more images.

"SEGA expects Condemned to engage the game player with visceral, in-your-face, urban combat and an unparalleled level of unpredictability," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, SEGA of America. "The atmospheric tension and cinematic qualities of Condemned offer consumers the rich experience of a psychological thriller; something that has not been accomplished on previous hardware platforms."

"New leaps in technology are allowing our teams to create immersive game environments that are incredibly realistic," said Samantha Ryan, CEO of Monolith Productions. "Monolith's goal with Condemned, is to combine a disturbing atmosphere with realistic physics, devious AI, and a sophisticated combat system."

Not much information has been revealed, but expect more information later down the road. Condemned is slated to ship in Winter 2005 for the first next generation console (which has not yet been announced) and the PC.

The launch of the Xbox 360 saw mostly the release of sports and racing games, but Sega and Monolith Productions gave gamers an alternative to the repetitive launch titles with Condemned: Criminal Origins. In Condemned, players assume the role of FBI agent Ethan Thomas, who is on the trail of a serial killer known as the “Match Maker”. Once you complete the first level of the game, Thomas finds himself to be the hunted as he’s accused of killing two of his FBI partners. Now it is up to you to clear his name and catch the ultimate killer by digging through the slums to find him.

Probably the most important aspect in every first-generation title on a next-generation console is its graphical presentation, and thankfully Condemned doesn’t disappoint. This is no more evident than at the beginning of the game when you head to the Match Maker’s latest crime. You could very well think you’re watching TV as you go into the scene of the crime which looks ultra realistic as you climb under police tape and wander through dingy hallways to get to the scene. Once you’re there you’ll see the victim on the floor with the Match Maker’s signature markings: faceless dolls surrounding the body.

Here is where the game starts as the serial killer is still on the premises and everything heats up. As you wander through the building and subsequent levels, you’ll see some of the best lighting effects seen in a recent game. Most of the game is played in the dark as you are forced to use a flashlight to find your way. The intense visuals make you look twice at your environment, as you’ll see shadows of enemies circling you and preparing for the kill, which is extremely unnerving.

In relation to the actual graphics, there is a nice variety of environments you play through including a shopping mall, school and more. The levels are gritty, featuring flickering lights, and the game even sports semi-destructible environments, enabling players to tear pipes and conduit off walls to use as weapons. The enemy models are very well done and overall the AI is quite smart as junkies and homeless enemies move very realistically as they attack you and each other.

Just as important as graphics for any horror title is the game’s audio elements, which add even more depth and fear. In Condemned, the music keeps you on the edge of your seat as it is very suspenseful during every turn. The sound effects in the game are also stunning as you’ll hear enemy footsteps coming toward you along with other random noises including items you’ll be stepping on and knocking over. All of this makes the game that much more jumpy. One other important factor related to the audio is the voiceacting, which is solid especially from the characters you interact with, but there isn’t a lot of variation in the voicework from Ethan, which is rather surprising as you would think he’d get scared and react a little more.

One important factor to every game is its control scheme, especially in relation to combat. Controls are easy as you can simply pick up weapons, push the right trigger to fight/swing, left trigger to block and push in the right analog to kick. There are also a handful of finishing moves related to the D-pad if you really want to knock off an enemy. Overall the control scheme is very simple and quite intuitive although it can get slightly repetitive.

As for the combat, Condemned gives players the ability to use a variety of weapons, including axes, conduit, pipes, tasers, random guns and more. Each weapon has different attributes; if you use an axe it’ll take longer to swing than if you used a piece of conduit. A nice change of pace from many other first-person shooters on the market is the fact that the guns in Condemned are pretty realistic, as a clip doesn’t feature many bullets and because of this, Condemned is a very confrontational game, forcing players into hand-to-hand combat with enemies, which adds to the terror and fun.

Finally, besides weapons players are given the ability to utilize a handful of forensic tools as well. All of them are very interesting and the graphics in relation to these are very impressive as you see the black light effects on the bodies or ground, but sadly the ability to use these tools is very limited because it’s scripted with the storyline.

There are just a handful of problems in Condemned, the biggest of which is how short the game is. Condemned features just 10 levels, and although they’re long they’re certainly not many. Total game time clocks in at about 5-10 hours, depending on how quickly – or slowly – you proceed through the game’s scripted points.

Another issue related to this is the fact that the game causes you to follow a very strict storyline. This was no more evident than in the beginning of the game when I was out of ammunition, but at the end of the level the killer took the pistol from me and then fired two “imaginary” bullets.

Though I felt the dark and gritty level design was stunning, I did feel that walking through the levels at times became tedious and occasionally I found myself getting lost, especially when I had to backtrack as everything looks the same. Additionally, the surreal lighting provided nice graphical touches to such dark environments, but in other aspects things weren’t quite as finely tuned, as in how bodies lie on the ground. Most of this was probably overlooked by the fact that the dark environments hide many of these slight flaws.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is a nice alternative to the mostly repetitive offerings on the Xbox 360 by combining first-person action and a deeply disturbing horror theme. The sound and graphics are jaw-dropping as they combine to add amazing depth to the game and push fear to its limits. The gameplay is also solid with a great combat system that is easy to pick up and play and supported by a wonderful variety of weapons. The only thing that drags the game down is how short it is with only 10 levels and in turn this results in just about no replay value. Condemned probably isn’t worth the $60 price tag because of its length, but is definitely worth a rental for every 360 owner and when the price drops it’ll definitely be worth picking up. Condemned: Criminal Origins makes for a great experience while it lasts and should give players nightmares for weeks.

The game is easy to pick up and play and is very similar to n FPS. Straightforward plot.

The environments, lighting and player models are all very well detailed, but repetitive.

Great ambient sounds for a horror game, with realistic and creepy footsteps and random noises.

The fear and combat style is intense, with a variety of weapons and a solid storyline.

Short with 10 levels and about 5-10 hours of gameplay, so when you’re done, you’re done.

]]> Sat, 31 Dec 2005 15:24:00 -0600 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_condemned_criminal_origins_3601 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_condemned_criminal_origins_3601 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_condemned_criminal_origins_3601# This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Of all the Xbox 360 launch titles, Sega’s Condemned: Criminal Origins is perhaps the most intriguing and confirms the company’s commitment to “western” entertainment. Developed by Monolith Studios, Condemned is presented as a psychological thriller that follows the story of Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent and forensics specialist who is called to the scene of a very strange, very disturbing homicide. Upon arrival, Thomas proceeds to the gruesome corpse and is quickly separated from his team, which results in his being framed for a murder that he didn’t (or apparently didn’t) commit.

Gamers are tasked with clearing Thomas’s name by investigating a series of brutal, horrific slayings, most of which somehow relate to a single killer and the reason for why the number of murderous lunatics has so dramatically, and suddenly, increased. Some of the storyline is revealed through typical cutscenes while other bits are displayed as flashbacks; a few key events are actually shown as premonitions, as Ethan has been “gifted” with the “curse of the sight” made popular in Millennium and The Profiler: he can observe horrendous scenes that are either occurring right now or have yet to transpire.

To set Condemned apart from the Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Siren franchises, Monolith opted for a realistic world populated by “normal”, human enemies. The majority of the bad guys are vagrants – traditionally harmless hobos more concerned with finding their next meal than smashing in poor Ethan’s skull. Ethan’s arsenal only reflects that: at the beginning of the game, he’s got nothing but a mere pistol; as the hobos turn to murder, however, players quickly lose the pistol and resort to grabbing anything potentially harmful in the environment that they possibly can. This includes wooden planks, pipes, sledgehammers, crowbars, table legs, and any object with a really pointy end. Guns, while available in the form of shotguns and rifles, are a powerful rarity with very sparse ammo, and when you’re out of clips you can firmly grasp the gun and start whacking opponents on the head.

Most of Condemned’s combat takes place in very close-quarters, shocking the player with its directness and sudden assault. The game utilizes a first-person perspective throughout, sometimes even during cutscenes, and this perspective only heightens the terror of having a diseased, insane human thing three inches from your face battering you with a baseball bat. Condemned’s combat is strongly based on a blocking mechanism, so you take a swing, block a swing, and then attack again while an enemy is unbalanced. Anytime Ethan takes a hit the camera is spattered with blood and the player becomes disoriented and vulnerable for half a second.

For further realism, opponents don’t just stand there and allow you to shoot their brains out; they slink around the room, cower behind corners, run for cover, pounce at you from a shadowy area, or run up and get physical. They also showcase some smart AI, momentarily pausing to ditch a weaker weapon for something more deadly if they think Ethan’s active arsenal has got them bested. Weapons feature damage, speed, and blocking ability statistics, and whenever Ethan spots a potential replacement stats from both weapons display on-screen so players can decide if they’d rather switch or keep what they’ve got.

A lot of the game’s content is paced between fighting off psychotic derelicts and tracking down serial killers, and for the latter action Monolith included a slew of high-tech gadgets: a UV light, a gas spectrometer, and a camera are just some of the forensic tools Ethan uses to hunt his madmen. The gadgets help him locate clues that he can relate back to base via his cell phone or video PDA, which the team in turn uses to offer the player advice and give case updates. The real difficulty in developing Condemned has more to do with balancing its pace and keeping gamers’ attention than just making the game pretty (or in this instance, gruesome); however, all reports indicate that Monolith has done a fantastic job – Condemned lures you in with its bloody intrigue and keeps you there with packs of insane, attacking hobos. It’s a strange formula, but it works.

Condemned’s sinister presentation – a significant factor in any psychological thriller, game or cinema – is ominous and intense a la Seven (or Se7en if you’re really hardcore). The game features dark, morbid environments that usually consist of condemned buildings, old department stores, abandoned subways, and one really intimidating library. Monolith occasionally displays a light grain filter on-screen to unsettle the player, while the detailed, gritty environments smothered in shadows and teaming with fiendish crazy people take care of the rest. The game’s dynamic lighting only adds to the intense atmosphere as it softly illuminates a room or brightly shines from the beams of Ethan’s flashlight into the mauled face of a killer.

The crisp, disturbing visuals are enhanced by Condemned’s superb, spine-tingling audio. Opponents release blood-curdling screams as Ethan slaughters them with one of his four grisly finishing moves; thuds or cracks from Ethan’s pipes beating flesh and breaking bones resonate firmly; and the minor ambient noises – footsteps, rustling, etc., - alert the player to an enemy presence. The voiceacting is very well-done and, most importantly for this genre, believable. You can sample a piece of Condemned’s prequel, including its dramatic atmosphere and heightened sound quality at the game’s official site, and it's definitely worth a look.

As November 22 draws near, fans of the psychological thriller genre presented on both the videogame and cinema stage will be clamoring for Sega’s dramatic, foreboding action game. Condemned: Criminal Origins is the most unique title in the Xbox 360’s launch line-up, and the only game that warrants an immediate 360 purchase. If you’re sick of stupid zombies or otherworldly creatures but love that dark, twisted Silence of the Lambs atmosphere, you’d better grab a copy of Condemned – those serial killers aren’t going to put themselves away, and it's unlikely that another game like it will soon release.

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