Ethan Thomas returns from the original Condemned, but his life has gone considerably downhill. After the events in the first game, Ethan has become a homeless alcoholic, suffering from paranoid delusions and hallucinations. When it is learned that his old enemy, Serial Killer X is possibly still alive, Ethan is recruited to the Serial Crime Unit to investigate. What he and partner Rosa discover, however, goes far deeper than the twisted imagination of one killer.
GenreAction
Platforms ps3
DEVELOPER Monolith Productions | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Condemned 2: Bloodshot Reviews ps3
giantbomb.com review
No Synopsis Available
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gameshark.com review
In addition to the regular combat options at your disposal, you now have access to ‘chain attacks’. Once you’ve filled a chain meter through the infliction of pain, a quick double-tap of the left or right shoulder button will initiate a quick time event, ala Shenmue, where following the button-press prompts that appear onscreen trigger a cinematic beat down, with consequences ranging from heavy damage and stuns to instant broken necks.
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cheatcc.com review
No Synopsis Available
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gamingexcellence.com review
Essentially this game really just builds off of the framework laid by the first game but puts improvements in almost every area of the game. The focus of the gameplay is still the fast and brutal melee combat but now there are more options to be had. You can actually fight with your bare hands now, a feature that was glaringly missing in the original game. Adding on to this is the fact that you can perform a variety of combo attacks. Successfully execute a string of attacks, or a block and counterattack combo, and your next attack gains a large damage bonus.
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gamernode.com review
One of the two biggest complaints people had of the first Condemned was how limited the combat system felt. Now you can unleash a bevy of combos with varying degrees of damage and effects and engage in new quick-time events such as breaking an enemy’s arms and legs. They’re all very satisfying to execute but seeing a big "L trigger" next to an enemy’s face or a bold-faced 2X at the top of the screen detracts from the immersive experience they have so painstakingly built. I get it; this combo makes me do more damage. You don’t need to tell me. Actually pulling off the aforementioned is a mixed bag as some of the more complex combos require more time to execute, something you don’t find on the later levels and especially all of hard.
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gameinformer.com review
No Synopsis Available
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worthplaying.com review
As alluded to earlier, Bloodshot is heavily dependent on melee-style combat, with blunt objects or employing, with near as much, ahem impact, your fists. Perhaps incongruously, these parts of the game play a little bit like Fight Night. Granted, it’s a weird, often grotesque, sometimes outright disturbing version of Fight Night, but it works, works well, and it’s fun to play a game in the "Fight Club" vein that gets it right, as opposed to the abysmal movie-licensed effort released by Monolith’s former publisher, Vivendi, five years after the film premiered in theaters. It’s a good general rule in video games that movie versions of games show up long after their inspiration, not the other way around. The two-way adaptation path between movies and video games is perilous at best, and a long cooling-off period between theatrical or home video release and game doesn’t help — Rockstar’s The Warriors being the exception proving the rule.
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extremegamer.ca review
The weapons this time around are in the similar vein, but have been upgraded to more choices. Weapons will also play a slightly larger role in the game, but you will still be limited on ammunition and access to these weapons. In this respect I liked the pacing and shortage of ammo and firearms in the original a little more, although the riot shotgun is a blast. Condemned 2 also add the ability to upgrade your character with rewards depending on how well you do in a level. Graded on three levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold) you will receive rewards that help you in the game and make the character feel like he is progressing as well. A small sample of the upgrades include Brass Knuckles to do more damage, Rubber Boots for quieter sneaking, and Gun holster to store one firearm.
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gamespot.com review
The general anxiety is further enhanced by the most decrepit and decayed visual design in recent memory. You can taste the dust in the air as you traverse Metro City’s dank environs, and the rough textures make every wall and object look gritty and run-down. The lighting is evocative and creepy, sometimes even more so when you turn on your flashlight in the darkest areas. The stylized effects that indicate a paranormal encounter are sometimes overdone, but for the most part, they set the right mood and parallel Ethan’s battle with the bottle. The sound is even better. The slams of metal against flesh are conveyed perfectly, as are the grunts and cries of your opponents. Furthermore, moments of silence contribute to the sense of fear, making the high quality of the scuffles and creaks that break up those moments even more memorable. In addition, the voice acting is fantastic, and the eerie, understated musical score sets the tone without getting in the way.
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gamechronicles.com review
My final thought on Condemned 2 is that it was good but it could have been better. One of this game’s downfalls is the fact that the environments are too coincidental. For Ethan to have had to visit a doll factory, theater, and crazy bowling alley is a bit too much like a similar game I have played. Has anyone heard of Silent Hill? When you are putting together a game like this that is supposed to be creepy and have a horror aspect you have to make sure it doesn’t become cheesy.
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ztgd.com review
The story in Condemned 2 is fantastically told with a narrative that captivates the player beyond what most games even fathom. What is a bit disheartening though is that regardless of how well the game draws you into its world; it never seems to take a firm grip. What I mean is Condemned 2 is the equivalent of a huge summer blockbuster movie. The plot will keep you glued to your seat for the duration of the game, but you won’t find many a gamer discussing the plotlines at the water cooler on Monday morning. This can be looked at as both a good and bad thing. Games are meant as entertainment and as such Condemned 2 succeeds, but don’t expect anyone to conjure memories about the plotline when Xbox 720 and PS4 launches.
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gamingtrend.com review
The only real hitch in the graphics department carries a very familiar tune – framerate. Connected to a sound issue we’ll talk about later, the framerate occasionally drops below an acceptable level, pulling the veil of terror right off your head. It doesn’t impact gameplay a great deal, but it is there just the same. The game relies so heavily on immersion and suspension of disbelief that I am just amazed that the game shipped with framerate problems.
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videogamer.com review
Condemned 2 follows on from the events of the first game, which, if you missed out on the excellent Xbox 360 launch title, saw cop Ethan Thomas slipping further and further into an insane world, where demons walk among us and a Serial Killer X is slaughtering people. In this sequel you learn more about Ethan’s link to the almost supernatural goings on, deal with his burgeoning alcohol problem and beat up an awful lot of tramps – something that feels just as uncomfortable as it did in the original game.
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gametap.com review
No Synopsis Available
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gamer.nl review
No Synopsis Available
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wired.com review
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.
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ign.com review
Condemned 2 picks up several months after the first game ended. Ethan Thomas, our unlikely hero, has fallen on hard times since leaving his job as an SCU agent. The alcoholic stupor he lives in has taken its toll and this game finds him battling demons both real and imaginary. Things are bad for Mr. Thomas. Not quite Leaving Las Vegas bad, but the sauce has become such a part of his life that he can’t hold a gun steady without first downing a bottle. It’s a sad state of affairs, but an interesting gameplay mechanic to be sure.
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gametrailers.com review
Condemned 2 definitely provides a lot more mileage than the first game. The multiplayer is surprisingly good and the single-player is plenty long. We would have liked to see a few more challenges and something worth unlocking, but there’s still a good deal of content.
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psxextreme.com review
Visually, Condemned 2 is much like other horror-themed FPS games; it features a brooding color palette, complete with lots of blood-splats, carefully dark lighting, and gruesome imagery. Don’t expect to be blown away, or expect to see anything remotely new here. But Bloodshot isn’t a bad looking game. Unlike many first-person shooters, this one runs at a buttery 30 frames per second, rendering 720p, with very minimal issues. Furthermore, other performance issues don’t hinder Bloodshot, largely because it was developed on a game engine that isn’t Unreal.
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gaming-age.com review
The story is also a bit of a mess, mostly because of the supernatural elements scattered about. The main character, Ethan, becomes subject to strange hallucinations that introduce him to a nightmare world filled with a black ooze that resembles tar, and in these areas you’ll come under attack from creatures that look like the Tar Man zombie in Return of the Living Dead. These areas are all filled with strange visual effects that get more and more annoying as you progress, and they represent the weakest stages in the game in both gameplay and atmosphere. It doesn’t help that one of these stages makes up the first playable areas in the game, which will most likely be a hurdle for new players to get over. However, those areas are few and far between, and "real world" sections are incredibly satisfying.
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darkzero.co.uk review
In truth, you’ll probably end up being more shocked by the gore and brutality you see on screen this time round instead of jumping from your seat at the shock of one of the game’s set pieces. At times it seems to have gone down the route of films like Hostel and Saw, excessively revelling in gore-porn instead of sticking to the psychological horror of the original. As a result, it’s hard to call Condemned 2 a must buy.
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