First off let me say, I've never played the first Condemned. I understand that it is a great game and a "must play" but when it was released I was taking a hiatus from gaming. Maybe after posting this I'll go see about getting a copy to play through.

What I did play however was Condemned 2: Bloodshot and what I was treated to was a bloody disgusting good time and a great game. If you haven't played this game don't worry, I'm not going to fill this post with spoilers or any of that crap, although Atlas is Fontaine (seriously, will that ever get old?). Instead what I will do is rate the game based on my opinions and play through. I'll even include some pictures to keep it interesting.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot: (Played on the 360)

Graphics: GREAT! Compared to other games out there right now this one can definitely hold it's own. Everything from the clothing materials to the reflections on the various alcohol bottles look fantastic. The bad guys are quite varied throughout and the urban surrounding feels very dark and decayed, as it is supposed to be.



Story: GREAT! No really, the story was actually GREAT! It's so often nowadays that you either get one or the other. Either a game looks good or it has nice eye candy, it's refreshing when a game can actually have both.

Gameplay: Pretty Darned Good! Now I didn't give this a GREAT! because there were some obvious problems with certain parts of the game. Often I would find myself stuck in a doorway or trapped in a corner having to fudge with the controllers to get myself out. One thing I particularly enjoyed about the controls though was the aiming when using a gun. If you hadn't had a drink in a while your aiming was quite poor to say the least, how do you rectify this? Why, drink some booze!! This was a nice little addition that just added to the story and characters.

Characters: Pretty Darned Good! The first thing that I didn't like about Ethan Thomas was his voice, for the way he looked I felt like he should have sounded "darker" or more "gruff". The other characters throughout were pretty good. Your sidekick Rosa is decent, she never gets overly annoying or anything and the interactions between her and Ethan were very well written.



Other GamePlay Elements: GREAT! So what else is there to Bloodshot besides killing? Investigating crime scenes of course. Now from my understanding the original Condemned was more heavily reliant on crime scene investigations, in part two they are few and far between. The good news here though is that the investigating, when you do come across one, is very story driven and rewarding for the player who pays attention.



Blood and Gore: Lots of both which is always a plus in my book. I feel every game should have some blood and gore, even games like Babyz or Poneyz or any of the other "yz" games out there. The more blood and ripped open sternums equals a higher score in my book.



Final thoughts and impressions etc. So it took me a month to finally put this game in the ole 360 and actually play through it and boy am I glad I did. I know I didn't really embelish on the story to much but I just don't want to really give anything away. If you are looking for a solid first person game with a great story and a more than fair share of violence then you could do a lot worse than Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

8/10 Buy It!