Farewell
No, I'm not going anywhere; but this is my last review in the sense that I am no longer going to review every single game I play, or play a game with the review in the back of my mind. One reason for this is because I want get rid of the extra headroom used up by analysis and judgment, and start playing games just for fun. Another reason is because I want to have more time to pursue some personal engineering projects. Also, but least important, I dislike writing reviews. I'm impatient and all the planning feels overwhelming so my effort is lacking sometimes, especially near the end.
I initially started to review games to put the word out on bad games and keep a personal record of how the game was, but then it turned into something else. I actually tried to improve my writing. That wasn't easy since the English language is very frustrating, even as a primary language, due to its uncontrolled history. But at the end, I think I learned some good points that I have been able to apply to this review. And I hope some of you see the difference.
You'll see the full review here because I have already waited about a week for the author of the site to post the review. Now I'm tired of waiting, so enjoy.
Introduction
My interest in Condemned 2 started with the very first Condemned. Although I first overlooked it because it was a first person melee than rather than a shooter, the demo convinced me to play the full game. However, my XBOX 360 broke down before I had a chance to play the game. When I finally replaced my XBOX 360 with a PS3, I noticed Condemned was never ported to the PS3, but the sequel was soon to be released. Because its score at metacritic.com was in the green, I decided to rent it.
Condemned 2 is another one of those games that I didn?t feel like finishing. I quit about halfway through. Hopefully, you?ll understand why by the time you finish reading.
Story
It isn?t very compelling. There are cut-scenes that lightly develop some characters, but there isn?t much plot development. And much of the development seems to be an excuse to enter another area.
The main character deserves special mention due to his lack of appeal. Apparently, he?s such a drunkard that he hasn?t shaved or seen the light of day in years. This must be why he looks like a hairy zombie. Yet the FBI still thinks he?s sane enough for a job.
Gameplay
Condemned 2 is very dark and filled with a tense atmosphere. There are lots of gore, eerie music, and degrading comments from enemies. So much so, that I?ll often be afraid to explore a level. However, it can become monotonous because it is always dark and the tension never lets up. And the flashlight doesn?t help much because it barely lights up the environment.
Fight enemies with your fists feels intuitive and great when I punch people in the face. You can also perform combos. However, references materials for combos aren?t comprehensive enough, so I just rely on the old one-two. When the Chain Attack bar fills up, the game takes control of the character and times you to press three buttons in a row. This performs a combo that delivers more damage than normal. You can also perform fatalities on enemies using the environment. For instance, if there is a press in the room, you can take the enemy to the death icon that is shown on it and you character will press the enemy?s head until it explodes.
You can also fight enemies with weapons you pick up from the environment or from dead enemies. You can find various weapons to use such as a 2x4 with nails in it, a metal pipe, a toilet seat, and various guns. However, all these weapons can break, or run out of bullets. Thankfully, there are plenty of weapons lying around. Also, the game does a great job of letting you know how good a weapon lying around is compared to the one you have equipped, including its present durability. This makes it much easier to select a good weapon.
The enemies in the game are crazy drug addicts. I think there is little variety, but I couldn?t really tell because it was so dark and because of the tension in a fight. When an enemy notices you, he comes running at you, lifts his weapon and jumps slightly attempting to hit you with all his might. It?s a little intimidating. Even if you get the first blow, most of your hits don?t affect him, so he?ll keep swinging. And these guys can take 10 or more hits to go down, so it can be near impossible not to get hit. Fighting one guy will take at least a quarter of my life away. Fighting two enemies at a time can be especially difficult. One of the reasons why I didn?t want to play anymore was because the fighting was too difficult for me to care about completing the game.
Condemned 2 is somewhat arcade when it comes to completing a level. You get scored on how well you did, how many optional objectives you accomplished, and how well you did them. Optional objectives can range from destroying certain objects in the level, responding to all NPC comments, and doing some light forensic work on crime scenes. They are all kind of fun and challenging to do. The game rewards you with new permanent equipment, such as brass knuckles so you can do more damage when punching, or extra body armor, etc.
Other Thoughts
The graphics are clearly outdated, but can serve well about half the time, especially in the dark areas. You?ll see some low resolution textures and some special effect such as flames and the sky are pixilated.
Grade: D
Although Condemned 2 seems slightly influenced by Silent Hill and Manhunt, two relatively good games, it only succeeds in its haunting atmosphere and gory violence. The game isn?t entertaining enough in the other important aspects such as story and gameplay, to tolerate the unrelenting tension and difficulty.
No, I'm not going anywhere; but this is my last review in the sense that I am no longer going to review every single game I play, or play a game with the review in the back of my mind. One reason for this is because I want get rid of the extra headroom used up by analysis and judgment, and start playing games just for fun. Another reason is because I want to have more time to pursue some personal engineering projects. Also, but least important, I dislike writing reviews. I'm impatient and all the planning feels overwhelming so my effort is lacking sometimes, especially near the end.
I initially started to review games to put the word out on bad games and keep a personal record of how the game was, but then it turned into something else. I actually tried to improve my writing. That wasn't easy since the English language is very frustrating, even as a primary language, due to its uncontrolled history. But at the end, I think I learned some good points that I have been able to apply to this review. And I hope some of you see the difference.
You'll see the full review here because I have already waited about a week for the author of the site to post the review. Now I'm tired of waiting, so enjoy.
Introduction
My interest in Condemned 2 started with the very first Condemned. Although I first overlooked it because it was a first person melee than rather than a shooter, the demo convinced me to play the full game. However, my XBOX 360 broke down before I had a chance to play the game. When I finally replaced my XBOX 360 with a PS3, I noticed Condemned was never ported to the PS3, but the sequel was soon to be released. Because its score at metacritic.com was in the green, I decided to rent it.
Condemned 2 is another one of those games that I didn?t feel like finishing. I quit about halfway through. Hopefully, you?ll understand why by the time you finish reading.
Story
It isn?t very compelling. There are cut-scenes that lightly develop some characters, but there isn?t much plot development. And much of the development seems to be an excuse to enter another area.
The main character deserves special mention due to his lack of appeal. Apparently, he?s such a drunkard that he hasn?t shaved or seen the light of day in years. This must be why he looks like a hairy zombie. Yet the FBI still thinks he?s sane enough for a job.
Gameplay
Condemned 2 is very dark and filled with a tense atmosphere. There are lots of gore, eerie music, and degrading comments from enemies. So much so, that I?ll often be afraid to explore a level. However, it can become monotonous because it is always dark and the tension never lets up. And the flashlight doesn?t help much because it barely lights up the environment.
Fight enemies with your fists feels intuitive and great when I punch people in the face. You can also perform combos. However, references materials for combos aren?t comprehensive enough, so I just rely on the old one-two. When the Chain Attack bar fills up, the game takes control of the character and times you to press three buttons in a row. This performs a combo that delivers more damage than normal. You can also perform fatalities on enemies using the environment. For instance, if there is a press in the room, you can take the enemy to the death icon that is shown on it and you character will press the enemy?s head until it explodes.
You can also fight enemies with weapons you pick up from the environment or from dead enemies. You can find various weapons to use such as a 2x4 with nails in it, a metal pipe, a toilet seat, and various guns. However, all these weapons can break, or run out of bullets. Thankfully, there are plenty of weapons lying around. Also, the game does a great job of letting you know how good a weapon lying around is compared to the one you have equipped, including its present durability. This makes it much easier to select a good weapon.
The enemies in the game are crazy drug addicts. I think there is little variety, but I couldn?t really tell because it was so dark and because of the tension in a fight. When an enemy notices you, he comes running at you, lifts his weapon and jumps slightly attempting to hit you with all his might. It?s a little intimidating. Even if you get the first blow, most of your hits don?t affect him, so he?ll keep swinging. And these guys can take 10 or more hits to go down, so it can be near impossible not to get hit. Fighting one guy will take at least a quarter of my life away. Fighting two enemies at a time can be especially difficult. One of the reasons why I didn?t want to play anymore was because the fighting was too difficult for me to care about completing the game.
Condemned 2 is somewhat arcade when it comes to completing a level. You get scored on how well you did, how many optional objectives you accomplished, and how well you did them. Optional objectives can range from destroying certain objects in the level, responding to all NPC comments, and doing some light forensic work on crime scenes. They are all kind of fun and challenging to do. The game rewards you with new permanent equipment, such as brass knuckles so you can do more damage when punching, or extra body armor, etc.
Other Thoughts
The graphics are clearly outdated, but can serve well about half the time, especially in the dark areas. You?ll see some low resolution textures and some special effect such as flames and the sky are pixilated.
Grade: D
Although Condemned 2 seems slightly influenced by Silent Hill and Manhunt, two relatively good games, it only succeeds in its haunting atmosphere and gory violence. The game isn?t entertaining enough in the other important aspects such as story and gameplay, to tolerate the unrelenting tension and difficulty.
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