Product Description

Condemned 2: Bloodshot returns with an all-new fighting system and for the first time, online multiplayer modes. As Ethan Thomas, the unstable and disgraced Serial Crimes Unit investigator, players will face horrifying enemies and endless heart-stopping surprises in the shadows of a strange and sinister world. Players utilize a new set of high-tech forensic tools and fight off violent enemies on the perilous hunt for Ethan's missing partner. Ethan will need to use anything and everything in the environment to survive as he unravels the mysteries shrouding the city in darkness.

• New vicious combo attacks and over-the-top finishing moves including bare-fisted combat, grappling, bone breaking and neck snapping
• Online gaming for up to eight players with three unique modes for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
• The arsenal is expanded to include items taken straight from the environment like tire irons, bricks, toilet seats, antlers, foos ball sticks, flaming 2x4s, mannequin arms and mop buckets
• Massive gunplay is made possible by powerful projectile-based weapons like the sub-gun, crossbow, shotgun, oozie, 9MM, and .45 caliber pistol
• Gritty environments with secondary objectives and multiple path solutions
• Smart and devious enemies featuring realistic AI behaviour...befriend them and they might fight on your side
  
  
  

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1975 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sega
• Released on: 2008-04-04
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Dimensions: 6.69" h x .79" w x 5.51" l, .28 pounds

Manufacturer's Description

The next chapter in the terrifying series. With an all new combat mechanic and online multiplayer feature. Prepare to be immersed in a world of psychological terror.

Summary - Condemned 2 is the next chapter in the terrifying series that began with the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Condemned. Featuring an all-new fighting mechanic and online multiplayer functionality, Condemned 2 is a first-person action thriller which immerses players in a world of psychological terror. Following a string of gruesome murders, players must use their deductive skills and brute force to track down a sadistic serial killer. Players will assume the identity of Ethan Thomas, the former Serial Crimes Unit investigator, who has been called back to duty to track down his missing partner. As Ethan, players will engage in visceral combat using a variety of firearms, blunt instruments and an all-new fighting system complete with defensive and offensive combo chains. To help track the killer and solve the mysteries behind Condemned 2, players will crack open an all-new set of high-tech forensic tools.

Customer Reviews

A brutal, mindless and inferior sequel
Condemned: Criminal Origins was a surprisingly scary launch game on X-Box 360 back in 2005.It mixed melee combat with CSI tools in the search for a serial killer. The game lost the plot towards the end, relying heavily on combat. But overall it was an original and tense experience.
Its sequel sadly picks up where the last concluded, throwing up an overwhelming number of enemies and strange locations.

The plot sees Ethan Thomas as a hobo, getting into bar fights and having hallucinogenic visions. Before long, he's called back into work, as Serial Killer X is back, and there is a link between them both.
For those that haven't played the original, the plot will make almost no sense. For those that have, it quickly becomes a confusing, overblown mess. It only serves as an excuse why Ethan is exploring a doll factory overrun with possessed toys; or a house of horrors complete with corseted, top hat wearing zombies.
As the locations become more random, the scares get fewer. The original worked so well because many of the locations had a recognisable feel (like a subway or an abandoned house). The sequel favours fantasy over urban squalor and loses much of what made it special in the first place.

The CSI investigations return, and are much more involving. Sometimes they do feel pointless, and used to drag out the game (like being asked questions about what just happened).
Levels remain very linear, but there are additional objectives and optional side quests which make extra use of tools like the gas spectrometer. Almost every level has a different task to complete, and is much more fun than the firsts `find every dead bird' approach.
The medal awarded from each level also unlocks an extra, like increased ammo or health. It's a good idea, and increases longevity.

An area Condemned 2 questionably improves is in the combat. The system is bloated with combos and special kills. A bit too much has been crammed in, and sometimes the annoying QTE's are activated at random.
The violence itself is brutal, made worse by the first person viewpoint and taser sidearm. Actual gun play still feels shallow, but bullets are in short supply.

Overall it feels like Condemned; the movement is still clunky and you can't jump or climb until an icon appears. That won't be enough on PS3, even with the new Fight Club mode and online play.
Considering Blu Ray's capacity, both games should have been included in this package.
Neither game is more than a few hours long, so as a standalone release, it just isnt good enough. Worth a rental.

First Impressions
After reading reviews I was of mixed opinion as to whether to get this game but after playing it for a few hours I knew I'd made a good choice.

Condemned 2 is a kind of first-person-shooter without shooting, you make more use of your fists, pipes, pieces of wood with nails in them, bottles of booze to beat down your enemies than guns - which are in short supply and carry very little ammo.

The list of weapons above should give you an idea of the gritty, brutal nature of the game, which is very combat focussed - but also involves brief breaks from the action in the form of forensic investigations of murder scenes, which - like the fighting - can be pretty grisly.

Also Condemned 2 works really well as a horror game, the levels are very atmospheric and good use is made of lighting, visuals and especially sound - which makes for a very creepy and sinister feeling on most of the levels, even when you're not being smacked about by a man spewing tar from his mouth!

I give the game four stars partly because I've not completed it yet, so a full five would be a bit unfair, and partly because of niggly little issues with the game such as the relative lack of manoueverability (you can't jump over obstacles for instance - sometimes you can move them but most times you have to go around), yet in all in all Condemned 2 is well worth it and a refreshing change from most games currently on the PS3 in terms of its brooding, horrific style and visceral, almost animalistic hand-to-hand combat.

Genuinley Creepy FPS
Before I begin, let me just say that I've only played the demo of Condemned 2: Bloodshot by downloading it from the US Playstation Store [which is easily done considering im in the UK] and might i say what a game.
Now, i don't know much about the plot but the actual gameplay itself is incredibly refreshing. The L1/R1 attacks work really well, not just using your fists but Electric Conduits, False Arms and Legs, Bricks, basically ANYTHING you can get your grubby mitts on! The enemies you'll be taking on range from strange oil like demons, to crazed tramps, hell-bent on beating you senseless in the dark, gritty alleyways.
It all works brilliantly together as the animations look incredibly realistic, even as you throw and kick your enemines about the place.
As for the graphics, absolutely top-notch lighting effects, to the painstaking detail of the environments all come together to create a truly creepy gaming experience.
Now, just from the demo, its clear that this game is an '18' rating and rightfully so. But DON'T let that put you off, even when the gore starts spraying, just sit back, enjoy, and scare yourself silly!

Bloody brilliant!