*
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
- is not the sequel that I, as a fan of the original, wanted.
Don't get me wrong: This creepy, bone-chilling first-person horror title for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 successfully addresses just about every last one of its predecessor's shortcomings. With polished gameplay and deliciously freaky visuals, Bloodshot has a lot going for it.
It just doesn't feel like Condemned anymore.
Bloodshot
picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first game. Chasing down "Serial Killer X" has left main character Ethan Thomas a bitter and angry man who now spends his days getting cozy with the bottom of a bottle. But Serial Killer X refuses to stay dead, and Thomas is soon dragged unwillingly away from his barstool. Drawn back into the conflict, he's soon fighting against all sides: Agitated thugs, former colleagues, and his own inner demons -- literally.
The most immediately noticeable change to Bloodshot is its overhaul of its predecessor's clunky combat. The original gave the typical first-person action genre a healthy kick in the shins by almost completely abandoning guns in favor of fisticuffs. But the fighting was never much more than hitting a single button to swing whatever was at hand.
The combat in Bloodshot is much deeper and more refined. You control your left and right fists with the trigger buttons, and your foot with the analog stick. Stringing together combos increases the damage done with each blow, and powerful chains can be linked together for maximum effect. If you manage to bring your opponent to his knees, you can grab him by the neck and finish him off with a gruesome environmental kill.
You can even sneak up on your enemies and put them down, stealth-style.
As well-done as the combat is, it detracts from the game's atmosphere and tension. The Ethan we knew from Condemned
was fallible, fragile and scared out of his mind, but determined to put away bad guys. The new Ethan is a pissed-off badass, and while that lends itself to a more satisfying combat experience, it makes his situation less threatening and therefore less scary.
Even if you ignore the differences in Ethan's character, it's tough to stay in the moment when a giant red "3.0x" pops up in the middle of the screen to let you know you've pulled off an effective combo.
Further ruining the atmosphere are several instances of annoying die-and-retry gameplay. The most blatant example of this takes place during a scene in a remote mountain lodge. As you pick your way over the shredded remains of what used to be several police officers, you hear something bellowing from somewhere alarmingly nearby. The tension increases as you search the house, finding a smear of blood here, an arm or leg there, with the howls of that enormous thing drawing ever closer.
By the time an enormous bear finally crashes through the wall next to you, you're well and truly terrified. But that terror almost instantly turns to annoyance and frustration as you die repeatedly. There is exactly one way to escape, and unless you get extremely lucky, you'll need several attempts to learn it.
Fortunately, Bloodshot's forensic investigation sequences do an excellent job of putting you back into a gruesome state of mind. The original game's forensic scenes, in which you take a break from fighting to examine crime scenes, were pointless fluff. The only way they could have been dumbed down any further would have been for one of the developers to come to your actual house and hold your hand.
Bloodshot's forensics, on the other hand, are quite clever. You don't have to simply find evidence: You have to examine it, interpret it, and make logical conclusions based on what you know. Is that gaping hole in a victim's back an entry wound or an exit wound? Is this the crime scene, or was the body moved? Pay attention to everything you see and hear, because there will be a quiz later.
Unlike its predecessor, Bloodshot has various multiplayer modes, but the game's melee combat doesn't translate well to deathmatch. Almost every online game inevitably degenerates into members from one team ganging up on a single member of the other team. The Crime Scene mode is more creative -- your team of agents must use scanners to locate hidden cases -- but still not much fun.
The original Condemned scared me more than just about any other videogame. Condemned 2: Bloodshot has plenty of creepy moments, but it favors action over atmosphere. To that end it performs very well, and even throws in some juicy plot twists and a cliffhanger ending. But I miss the tension of the original, just the same.
--Susan Arendt
WIRED Vastly improved combat system, smart forensic investigations, some truly creepy scenes
TIRED The entire first level, too many atmosphere-destroying moments, weak multiplayer
$60, Sega
Rating: 
Read Game|Life's game ratings guide.
*Images courtesy Sega
*
