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Condemned: Criminal Origins (XBox 360)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Horror videogames typically temper their bite with tongue in cheek--opting to soften the guts and ooze with mood-lightening, mind-numbing one-liners. Few shamelessly embrace the dark side and squeeze its blackened fruit for all its nectar. Even fewer allow their brutality the unbridled gusto of cinema. Well, fans of the grim, in the school of horror-flick-gone-interactive, Condemned: Criminal Origins is the disheveled kid in the back of the classroom with "Slayer" scribbled on his notebook.

Mannequins: You're Ethan Thomas, a forensics agent at the bureau who, for unknown reasons, has been tagged as the next big thing. During a routine investigation into a string of bizarre serial killings, the tables are turned and Ethan finds himself on the wrong side of the law, taking a grotesque romp through the mind of a serial killer with a mannequin fetish. His quest will take you through all manner of sewer and slum where you'll rub rebar with some of the city's most desperate.

Hand to Pipe: In fact, sledge hammers, 2x4s with nails, 2x4s with bolts, locker doors, fireplace pokers, lead pipes, and fire axes are all ripe for bashing against the skulls of bloodthirsty thugs overcome by rage. While the few guns you'll pick up have only one clip before they must be dropped, the environments provide ample blunt trauma fodder. You're never empty-handed when you can rip a piece of conduit off the wall one second and plant it between the eyes of a delinquent the next. The number-one rule of Condemned is: if it's not bolted down you can smack someone upside the head with it. In other words, there's little need for a rule number two.

The immediacy in this game--it's all set from a relentless first-person camera--leaves you little time to think. Enemies lunge from shadowsor hide behind pillars just waiting to floss your teeth with a road sign. The ferocity of the attackers is trumped only by the satisfying feeling of momentum when you land a blow or perfectly time a block, which is by no means easy to pull off. Groups will swarm your position, and your only recourse is liberal use of a taser to slow the onslaught. A shot to the chin will sometimes drop attackers to their knees where a snap of the neck or a punch to the temple will finish the job.

Foren-Sick: Well, sort of. To truly finish the job you'll have to use alternative lighting to find clues, snap photos of evidence, and otherwise be the forensics expert the FBI used to pay you good money to be. The good news is that a lab tech back at the bureau believes in your innocence and processes evidence through your PDA. The bad news it that your hand is so thoroughly gripped during all the forensics investigation that it ultimately becomes a distraction in a game that otherwise keeps consistently cranking it up a notch.

How nice can a sewer pipe covered in sludge look? If Condemned is any indication, pretty damn good. While the character models are a little awkward, there's no denying that the environments are wonderfully dressed for the macabre. Though you'll be exploring a haunted mansion, a deserted grade school, a dilapidated shopping center, and all manner of the run-down and dragged-out, the oppressive implementation of light and sound permeates every setting with a consistent feeling of dread. Voicing is solid, but unremarkable, yet it's never so stilted that it pulls you out of Condemned's haunting grip.

Just when you think Condemned is starting to become a squatter, the script is flipped, a new enemy comes traipsing up from the muck, or you perfectly time depositing the business end of a pipe into some mug's ear. The combat and weapon system are innovative, and when it seems they begin to wear out their welcome the game spirals to an abrupt conclusion. Many will say the game ends too abruptly with its nine-hour length, but there's no other experience like Condemned: Criminal Origins for those who can handle its savage disposition.

Cool, scary, challenging game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the first game I've played all the way through on the 360. Fun and creepy (some scenes will actually make you jump-- especially with a good surround sound system). Highly recommended for fans of Doom and the movie Seven.

Possibly the best game for 360?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was blown away the first time I played Condemned: Criminal Origins. This game is possibly Monolith Games finest masterpiece ever. The game is very dark, very creepy, and definately a game for mature audiences only. The scariest thing is when you play in the dark either with headphones or with 5.1 surround sound. The selection of weapons is vast and make gameplay interesting and fun. The fact that you don't always have a gun makes this game very different from others and should not be compared to the average first person shooter. The detective work will get you thinking and the game will keep you in suspense again and again. I recommend this game because it's fun, creative, and has replay value. Anyone of age with an Xbox 360 needs to buy this game.

This is a GREAT game don't listen to the one-star panseys below me

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 16
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

How dare some of U people give a great game like this a one star U guys wouldn't know a scary thrill if it hit U straight in the face with a burning 2x4. and to the people that said good things about this game I agree with U 100%. this is one of my favorites on the xbox360 (ok so I'll admit it is alittle over the edge in violence in some areas well not allittle ALOT over the edge. If ur below 15 years old or U have a kid below 15 I wouldn't suggest U get this game). What could be more fun than beating the crap out of a derranged sireal killer with alot of things like a 2x4,fire axe,gas pipe and more things like that(U get some guns too don't worry). the sudden attacks U encounter with ur enemies sometimes is gaurenteed to make U jump out of ur seat. so don't listen to the one star panseys below me they are too scared to play this game and games like this. I STRONGLY RECCOMEND this game to people who are 15+ first of all and second of all I strongly reccomend this game to someone who is looking for and/or likes horror games U won't be dissappointed. If U want a good scare this is the game for you.

Best First person shooter on the Xbox 360?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 13
Date: November 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Nope. It is not even really a first person shooter. It is much more along the lines of first person hand to hand combat. This is where the game excels. Tons and tons of great hand to hand combat. YOu will pick up what seems like endless amounts of new hand to hand weapons like crobars and two by fours throughout the course of the game, all in an effort to whack the bejeebies out of the next 53 zombie like bad guys. This is pretty much the game. Is it scarey? Pretty Scarey. Is it fun? Yep. Pretty fun. IS it worth 60 bucks? Nope. But it will be a great bargain bin game or used ebay purchase in a couple of months. If you want a great first person shooter at launch, stick with Perfect Dark or Call of Duty.

Not for hard core FPS fans.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Good game if you are a fan of horror flicks. To be honest this game is more like Manhunt for the Xbox. But if your a big fan of FPS games like myself, swinging 2x4's and pipes at random punks gets old quick. You do get guns here and there BUT like 3 maybe 9 rounds of ammo so the thrill of blowing a someone away is very short b'4 you find yourself back to swinging a boring pipe.Dont get me wrong, if you like getting nitty and gritty with hand to hand combat or should I say face to pipe combat than this is hands down your type of game. The graphics are good and the sound is even better making for a good scary game. But personally there's nothing more reassuring and satisfying than watching your SMG making people breakdance. So if your looking for some good shooting action your looking at the wrong game.

This game repeats itself more than Bill Clinton claiming that he never had sexual relations with Monica.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: December 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

To be fair the only PROS I can think of for this game was that there were good graphics and great audio. Moreover, the game is full of creepy environments that will get your heart racing. That however, is where my praise ends.

Condemned Criminal Origins is one of the WORST games I have ever played and certainly, the worst I have played on 360! Do not get me wrong, plenty people out there are going to like this game. If that is what does it for you than all I can say is, you are a lot easier to satisfy then myself. I had high expectations for this game, and it could have been something special, but for me Condemned Criminal Origins fell way short of even being good.

This game is all about slashing! That is it! If you were expecting something more like me, than you will be sourly disappointed. This game literally consists of slashing some druggies in a room than two or three rooms later, slashing some more druggies. This is what occurs throughout the whole entire game! It is like a bad nightmare that you keep having over and over the same exact way. There is a bit of forensic work in the game that tries but fails horribly at giving you something else to do. The forensic work is so easy and so brief I think the developers just threw it in there on a whim. The whole reason I purchased the game was because I thought it was going to be a thrilling mix of forensics, cinematic action and intelligent minds hot on the trail of a serial killer. Instead, I got a slasher game that insults your intelligence and repeats itself more than Bill Clinton claiming that he never had sexual relations with Monica. The game's storyline starts out good than goes from worse to horrendous! I think Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are more realistic than this game. The fact that the FBI would act the way it does in this game is just down right impossible. I felt insulted for them!

Please, Please do not waste your money on Condemned Criminal Origins if you are expecting and more than slashing people in a creepy environment. If that is what you like than be all means buy the game I am sure you will enjoy it, but for the people who are looking for a game with a bit more intellect, and aptitude I would skip this one.

Most underrated 360 Launch game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have to say, this is one of the scariest games i've ever played. Not only do the characters scare you, but the atmosphere is so diverse. I have never had so much fun in a single player game before. I played through this game twice and both times were equally different and fun. I reccomend this game to everyone for at least a rent. There are tons of different weapons and not to mention many awesome achievments to earn. This game also has a very cool twist ending. So at least give it a rent. It's not short and given the right conditions: 3:00 in the morning, everyone asleep in the house, surround sound, this game is a lot of fun. So pick it up, it won't dissapoint.

It's a crime not to own this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First off let me just say that I have played videogames for years and I know the difference between a good one and a bad one. This one however is amazing, the graphics are top quality but the gameplay, story line even and controls rock. Basically you are a cop that goes in scary, dark and very bloody enviroments and kill hobos hopped up on crack that jump out at you from the shadows. Towards the end it gets really sci-fi but in a cool way. The weapons are sweet, i wish there were more choices but here are a few that you can grab by your choice: rebar stick with concrete at the end, 2X4 with nails, paper cutter, variety of pipes, fire axe, sledge hammer, shovel. The blood in this looks fairly fake, but there is quite a bit. It was also creative that you can grab almost any weapon you see and beat guys to death with them. I rate this game 5 out of 5.

If they ever made the film "Se7en" into a videogame, it would feel something like this...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game succeeds in creating such a moody atmosphere that it's hard not to appreciate it, especially if you're looking for something dark, disturbing and downright creepy. This is one dark but beautiful game. The graphics are really well done and still hold up even a year after its release. The surround sound in this game also works well both in creating a scary environment and assisting in gameplay. You'll be able to pinpoint exactly where your enemies are if they're making noise and sometimes you'll just hear them whispering around a dark corner. This is the kind of game where you'll see something scurrying in the corner of your eye and just as you turn to shine your flashlight on it, it'll be gone.

As your character, you'll be using forensic equipment to solve the strange case that you are in the middle of. It truly is a disturbing and violent game as you will find out soon enough. You'll have a gun to start with but more often than not you'll be using whatever you can find in your surroundings to defeat your attackers. Beating someone to death with something like a gas pipe or a 2x4 with nails sticking out of the end is the order of the day here, as well as ending things off with a neck snap or a crushing headbutt to deliver the final blow.

The game can get a little tedious sometimes since the character movement is a little slow and the environments in some areas are slightly repetitive. In all honesty, the story is a bit confusing but the experience of playing the game is well worth it. I would definitely put this bad boy in the top ten scariest games I've ever played. Now, hopefully we'll get a sequel!

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