Condemned 2: Bloodshot Preview

Condemned: Criminal Origins, originally released on the Xbox 360 and eventually ported to the PC, garnered a relatively positive response from both critics and the public. This controversial horror themed action game represented a co-project between Sega and Monolith and was hailed as one of the first Xbox 360 titles to hit the market, back in November 2005.

C'mon, it's just sunburn, you'll get over it.

Feel the wrath of my water-pipe!

Almost two years after the original, Sega and Monolith vowed to continue the franchise with Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Mind you, they are working simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

One of the first obvious improvements in this sequel is Monolith's effort to employ a highly modified version of the original Condemned engine, simply named, the Monolith engine. With this enhanced technology, the developers are determined to retain the creepy atmosphere from the previous game, while throwing in a variety of visual step ups.

If you're familiar with Monolith's recent releases, chances are you'll recognize traces from games like the eerie FPS horror game, F.E.A.R.. Coinciding with the F.E.A.R.-like ambiance, are elements that appear to be borrowed from flicks like Saw, in addition to a brand new C.S.I.-style forensics system. Theses were the key building blocks for setting the right tone and feel maintained throughout Bloodshot. Alongside these efforts, Monolith is also looking to make up for certain shortcomings, which the first Condemned game was criticized for. More precisely, they are adding a few improvements to the combat system, but we'll get back to that.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot picks up one year after the events of the original. Players are reintroduced to disgraced FBI agent Ethan Thomas, a broken shell of a man who appears to have a tiny problem with controlling his temper, on top of which he resorted to drinking. Even at this point, when it seems things couldn't get any worse, Thomas encounters a shady character who wallops him on the head with a brick - just your average day in the life of poor Ethan Thomas.

Regarding the gameplay, both Sega and Monolith were quick to acknowledge the somewhat repetitive combat system from the original. Condemned 2 features revamped gameplay mechanics, with the combat divided into different categories. For more personal, hand-to-hand encounters, your character can kick, punch and grab hold of opponents to twist their heads around and snap their necks (the neck-snapping thing appears to be catching on for some reason). Adding further to the game's combat, Monolith gave more use to certain usable objects and weapons. Instead of just being able to wield pipes, sledgehammers, axes, bricks and whatnot, you may also hurl any of these objects to weaken or slow down foes. Before enemies get closer, simply throw something at their legs and watch them stumble. After that, it will be easier to pull off one of the many finishing moves. Speaking of which, there's a number of ways to tackle opponents and execute different environmental finishing moves. Grab an enemy from behind, smash his head against a wall or straight into a TV set, after which you can stomp on his neck and, normally, break his back in the process. Monolith did promise plenty of finishing moves, albeit they were reluctant to say exactly how many are going to wind up in the final version.

Another combat innovation comes with the optional chain attacks, allowing players to perform combos with various defensive and offensive movies. Well, some of these combos can be ideal for disarming foes. Fair enough, you could also disarm enemies in Condemned: Criminal Origins, but in the sequel, you can further "entertain" yourself by dislocating someone's arm - when you do this, just watch the poor sob as he tries to pop the arm back into place. Sick. Cool, but sick.

With all this, you should remember that whatever you can use as a weapon, your enemies can use it too. So, don't be surprised if you step around a corner and see a brick or a bottle flying straight at your head.

He died a happy man...

Who wants a piece of me?

As we've mentioned earlier, Condemned 2 brings the aspect of forensic analysis into play. Granted, we've already seen this feature in the original too, except this time the system has been refurbished completely to bring a more realistic flair into the game, emphasizing aspects of crime investigation - again, in the spirit of the popular TV series, C.S.I.. Let's say you come across a corpse. When this happens, the usual procedure will follow such as keeping your eyes open for any clues that might reveal details about the crime. Also, you need to determine the stiff's age, sex and once you have all the necessary evidence, you'll be able to submit it for analysis. The trick here is to actually look for valid clues - something that a real detective might go for. Being lousy at forensics may not change the ultimate course of the gameplay, but it will change stuff to a degree.

Sega and Monolith also worked on a new aspect, to encourage friendly competition via online leaderboards - enter the so-called Hobo fight club mode. This particular mode drops players straight into a pit where they have to fight enemies to the death. Essentially, it's like going into a modern-day arena. As players fight, they get higher positions on the leaderboards, depending on how long they manage to stay alive. Opponents will come two at a time; once they are dealt with, they will be replaced by new opponents and so on.

With all the details known so far, it's safe to say this will be another decent horror action game, with even greater emphasis on Mature-rated content. Underlining detective work a bit more also appears to be a move in the right direction, as well as the increase of horror elements. Additionally, using the latest visual effects such as depth of field, HDR lighting, and bloom, Monolith was able to achieve a truly scary feel worthy of any modern-day horror movie.

Although the game is still far from release, we have a good feeling about it and are looking forward to updating our coverage as soon as more info and media becomes available. In any case, be on the lookout for Condemned 2: Bloodshot in spring 2008, on X360 and PS3 platforms.