Condemned 2 for PS3, Xbox 360 News

Yay!!!!

One of the very best Xbox 360 game finally gets a well deserved sequel.

I hope you can still do the one frame high kick in the shadows.

Does Gary Knight really speak like that, or was it possibly a quote from a press release?!

Was the first one worth buying for on PC? How had the game is by the way?

I hope this one has

a) Better blocking. If a maniac is swinging a lead pipe at my head, I'd like to be able to block for more than a fraction of second.

b) An ending that makes sense. Just a little bit. Go on. Please?

I thought Condemned was a fantastic launch game for the 360, a bit repetitive maybe but terrifically atmospheric (it made me jump many times when I played it at night!) with great graphics and a story that would have done the X-Files proud. A sequel would be most welcome as far as I'm concerned! :)

great news... loved this game. They should make the forensics stuff a little less obvious though...

@sponge - first one was great on PC (and just €12.49@Play.com).

"They should make the forensics stuff a little less obvious though... "

Firstly: GET IN!
Secondly: Agree. The on screen command prompts ruined the atmosphere. Some visual and audio clues that the protagonists 'senses' something would be better. The player would then be left to search the area with a variety of tools to find the clue.

I hope they have something as fraking cool as the near last level where you had to trace that wierd handwriting all around the house with you UV light. One of the best gaming moments ever IMHO.

Hmm. I tried playing this but stopped and uninstalled it for some reason. I should probably give it another go I reckon.

@Overlush - Youve just made me shudder thinking about that level again.

I agree about the forensics it would be great for them to become more integral to the gameplay.

I dont think I really understood the ending either :)

@lennon

It's a bit like the premise of Revolver, I believe. The old "the greatest trick he ever pulled was making you believe that he was you" thing. The idea that we have demons and angels on our sholders and they influence our decisions, whisper in our ears. In Condemned the demons had 'convinced' everyone to become evil murdering bastards who needed clubbing with a piece of 2" by 4". I was happy to oblige :)

good to know this has a sequel but, they need to fix a few things too. They need to make sure that the gun stuff stays i.e. you actually look at your ammo to determine how much you have. I still haven't seen that in any other games. They need to expand the play areas so that you don't feel like you are the only sain person in the world.

And just what do they mean by NOW a broken man? Your poor guy was broken within the first 10 minutes of condemned 1!

What an awful subtitle.

@DanWhitehead
"a) Better blocking. If a maniac is swinging a lead pipe at my head, I'd like to be able to block for more than a fraction of second. "


The blocking was perfect. It was all about timing, and I certainly hope they don't make the blocking easier, it added to the tension, especially if you were on deaths door and trying to fend off two crazed addicts.
Really looking forward to the sequel.

"They need to expand the play areas so that you don't feel like you are the only sain person in the world."

@penhalion

I disagree with that mate. Part of what made Condemned so immersive was the feeling that you were the only sane person in the world. It helped create a feeling of hopelessness; every room I went into just filled me with trepidation because I was expecting to come face to face with a crazed maniac.

Who could forget the shopping mall level with the mannequins? The haunting Christmas music stuck in a loop, the body being thrown down the escalator with a sign saying "GO AWAY!".

Just made the game perfect for me. I don't want to start interacting with a load of NPC's just for the sake of it.

@Overlush - Ah that explains revolver as well then. Mind you I was completely drunk and think I fell asleep at the end when watching that although I cant claim that for the whole of Condemmned!!! :)

Thanks Trendyninja. I'm now having flashbacks about the bit that made me never play the game again now... *twitch*

Sodding mannequins... Ah well. Might force myself to finish the original so I can move on, or "get closure" as the shrink says.

"The blocking was perfect.

Perfect at providing a gaming challenge, maybe, but completely nonsensical within the semi-realistic procedural story. If a nutter is coming at you with a blunt object, you'd hold your weapon in front of your face, not briefly wave it in the air. There's no reason that you couldn't be able to hold your block without making the game stupidly easy. The longer you block, and the blows the enemy lands, the more your weapon deteriorates, or your energy starts to get chipped away at an increasing rate. That way you'd still be able to protect yourself from the initial blow in a way that made sense, but you'd be penalised in a realistic way for being a coward.

For me, Condemned had a superb first level - from the surveying of the initial crime scene through to searching the building for the killer - but it soon became a rather farcical mess of repetitive ideas ("Search the abandoned subway station. Search the abandoned department store. Now search the abandoned school."), clumsy boss battles and downright ludicrous supernatural elements. It also annoyed me that the game goes out of its way to teach you to rely on the taser, and then takes it away for the last level to make things harder. Lazy design.

It worked perfectly fine as a creepy realistic Seven-style detective thriller but the introduction of the Super Cyber Cenobite completely undermines that and makes it generic and videogamey. And did they ever explain what was up with that government folder that said you had special powers? The whole last act of the game is full of sloppy plotting and half-baked ideas.

Nah. It's got a great concept, but deeply flawed execution.

"And did they ever explain what was up with that government folder that said you had special powers?"

Theres a sequel!

Cool.

Condemned is one of the great 360 launch games that I haven't sniffed.

/is too scared

Condemned *could* have been outstanding, but the hand-holding through every bit of investigating ruined what, for me, was the clincher in deciding to get the game. I loved the atmosphere of the game and the fact there was a story to all the face-mashing, but it was robbed of its immersion factor by not letting you figure stuff out for yourself.

Hopefully it'll be fixed for the second game because I think Condemned has the potential to be an awesome series. Perhaps implementing a system like the Silent Hill games where you can choose both the level of combat and the level of puzzles?

Weren't there talks of a motion picture based on the original game?

Cooper, thank you for the tip!

Condemned now on classic? worth a bash?

"It worked perfectly fine as a creepy realistic Seven-style detective thriller but the introduction of the Super Cyber Cenobite completely undermines that and makes it generic and videogamey."

Totaly agree - it got off to a great start and then went downhill with all the supernatural crap.

I cant wait for that damn sequel since I finished the first one. Awesome game for its kind and somehow something new to offer. Hopefully they make the dont screw it up now. Its a tittle with a lot of potential of numerous sequels and a big success.

Why all the grumbling about the last boss fight? I viewed it as more of a metaphor than a bolt-on supernatural element, certainly didn't have any problems with it in the context of the (already surreal) plot. In fact, I liked the way the game got weirder towards the end - kind of life your character's sanity was eroding from all the horror :)

I'll be happy if they change nothing but update the graphics, balance the taser, maybe make the finishing moves less gimmicky and improve the CSI elements. Still one of the best X360 games IMHO.

Have to agree with Dan about the blocking, it's one of the few things that consistently annoys me with the game. It ended up feeling more like a QTE than any true representation of trying to block a lead pipe that was being swung towards your face. Also agree that there should be far less hand holding with the forensics.

I'm happy to hear there will be a sequel though. It's one of the very few games that's managed to make me actually physically jump, and has an atmosphere that any horror film would kill for. I really need to get back to it and get it finished at last.