Rating: 8 Out of 10

Condemned has returned with all of the original cast to bring you a more gruesome and fulfilling hand to hand combat game. This game has a good number of creative weapons to pummel your enemies with including some neat new finishers that are found within the environment. The visuals and audio are well done as well giving a grimy feel to the game. Lastly, the evidence gathering device has also been greatly improved and is a lot more fun. However, the multiplayer is really a waste of time, the gunplay isn’t as good as the melee, and there are some attempts in variety in the game but it still feels like you are doing the same thing over and over again. Overall though, if you liked the first game then you should probably want to try out the second.

Pros:

+ Gruesome and fulfilling hand-to-hand combat

+ A good number of creative weapons to pummel your enemies with

+ Excellent, grimy visuals and superb sound design

+ Evidence-gathering mechanics have been greatly improved over the original

Cons:

- Gunplay isn’t as good as melee

- With the exception of crime scene, the multiplayer modes are useless

- Some attempts at variety don’t work out too well

Extras:

# Condemned 2: Bloodshot Cheat Codes

# Condemned 2: Bloodshot Achievements

Vorgestern habe ich Condemned 2: Bloodshot entdeckt.

Nach ein paar Testberichten und Gameplayvideos stand meine Entscheidung, genau mein Spiel.

Also gut, auf Amazon.de gesurft und siehe da: Man sieht nichts.

Condemned 2 ist in Deutschland nämlich indiziert und somit auch nicht erhältlich.

Also gut, auf ins United Kingdom, im übertragenen Sinne natürlich. Amazon.co.uk hat mir schon aus so mancher Indizierungs-Patsche geholfen.

Condemned 2 eingegeben und schon werden die Ergebnisse aufgelistet.

12 Pfund, also ca. 13 Euro soll der Spass kosten. Ab in den Warenkorb damit und bestellen.

Glücklicherweise hat die Bestelung geklappt, denn viele Spiele aus UK werden auch von Amazon.co.uk nicht nach Deutschland verkauft.

Egal, nochmal Glück gehabt.

Bin jetz schon gespannt ob es meine Erwartugnen erfüllen wird.

Den Test und Videos anch zu urteilen aber auf alle Fälle.

Hier mal ein Screenshot aus dem Spiel.

Einer der freundlichen Genossen aus Condemned 2.

Hier der Link zur Offiziellen Homepage

Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Review des Spiels folgt sobald ich es habe.

Zum Abschluss noch ein Teaser.

A year after a ruthless serial killer had terrorized the city, special agent Ethan Thomas has deteriorated into a disgraced, alcoholic. Finding it difficult to tell reality from hallucination, he is one drink away from his own self-destruction. But the city needs him.

For evil is again is on the rise. And now Ethan must fight both his own inner demons, and the real demons of darkness.

Buy Now with Amazon – Xbox 360

Buy Now with Amazon – PS3

Nálam parásab ember… az vagy nincs, vagy már meghalt félelmében.
Elég annyit tudnod rólam, hogy én a Half Life 2-t sem vittem le a mai napig, és egy darab horrorfilmet sem láttam eddigi életem során (nem, a Fűrészt sem).
Szóval… én ilyen vagyok.
Ebből egyenesen következik az, hogy nem nagyon játszok túlélőhorror illetve egyéb parás, szörnyes, zombis játékkal.
Na de akit ezen tulajdonságok ellenére ültetünk gépközelbe?
Hát… a következő videók (belül) magukért beszélnek.

Fatal Frame: a legfélelmetesebb szoba.

Hát igen, van, aki már az elején bedobja a kulcsot.

Ribanc szellem paráztat

…avagy mi a legjobb a Pause gombban?

Holy Crap that’s a Bear! (Condemned 2)

A listából a legjobb videó, én szarrá röhögtem magam rajta.

Tükör

Én elsőre ki sem szúrtam, hogy mitől szartak be ennyire.

Óriás Ember Paráztat (Call of Cthulu)

Hát igen, nem csak a kinézettel lehet félelmet gerjeszteni…

A kerekesszékek támadása

No comment.

A srácokat amúgy 4PlayerPodacst (4PP) néven simerni, és felveszik, ahogy marhulnak játékokban, főleg Brad lett közölük híres, akit hallhattok a videóban sírni, vonyítani és üvölteni. ^^

Cali-Otaku: SS 01/02/09

2 Podcasts in two weeks? That’s what you call regular, baby! This week; Dave, Ally and Mark return to talk news, Batman, Final-Fantasy and Resident Evil 5. We also induce the most aqward silence ever and Ally makes a new podcasting low. Garbage Day!!

Direct Download Link (right click and “Save target as”)
i-tunes

Length: 1:24:36 (38.7MB)

Mark

Xbox 360 cover Condemned 2

Just bought Condemned 2 on ebay for 11 pounds which though was pretty good. Checked out the trailers and stuff and I think it looks like a pretty great game, it got high review scores and was praised for it’s atmosphere aswell so it should be worth the money.  The game is developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, I got the Xbox 360 version.   The game features bare-fisted hand-to-hand combat, combat with melee weapons, and first person shooting. The game also has adventure game elements in the forensic investigation of crime scenes. A demo is currently available on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace if you want to check it out.

Here is some in game footage rather than a trailer.

Faire le top/flop d’une console c’est toujours se risquer aux cris des hordes de fanboy et autres fans de tout poil. Mais tant pis, j’ose avec Neantderthal dresser le bilan de l’année 2008. Ici, petit retour sur les titres sortis sur la Xbox 360. Un retour critique purement subjectif.

La crème :

Ces jeux qui méritent des applaudissement, qui procurent tant de plaisir. Bref,  le haut du panier, les hits de l’année 2008 de la 360.

Army of two

Enfin du co-op local qui a de la gueule. Un système de customisation qui a de la gueule, des scènes marquantes, des blagues bien grasses, un tandem de bourrins et en toile de fond une critique pas idiote de la privatisation de l’armée. Un titre qui vaut bien plus que ce qu’on a voulu dire. Une bonne dose de fun.

Dead Space

Probablement le meilleur survival de cette année 2008. Malgré une fin “nanardisante“, on a la droit à une narration accrocheuse avec des environnements angoissants et très bien mis en scène. Les armes et la customisation sont des idées bien exploitées. Une nouvelle référence vient probablement de s’imposer.

Fable II

Grosse amélioration du I, cette suite est mieux pensée, mieux réalisée et surtout mieux narrée. L’évolution du personnage, ses interactions avec la société sont les points forts du soft. Certes, toutes les promesses ne sont pas là mais un pas a été fait, et un beau pas en plus.

Fallout 3

Une ambiance qui séduit dès le premier coup d’oeil, des quêtes annexes prenantes et le plaisir de se balader entre les décombres à flinguer de la racaille. Et puis, un Oblivion sans elfes, sans trolls et compagnie, ça fait plaisir.

Gears of War 2

Une suite plus dantesque, une mise en scène plus impressionante et à la clef une nouvelle référence du TPS. D’accord, on observe encore des défauts de jouabilité (couverture et compagnie), ok certaines phases sont en-deçà du reste et pourtant, malgré ça, GOW2 surclasse ses collègues en la matière.

Les bonnes surprises :

Jeux sympathiques voire pas mal du tout, ils leur manquent pourtant ce petit quelque chose que les hits ont et que eux n’ont pas.

Viking : Battle for Asgard

Une certaine répétition de l’action, un système de combat pas assez poussé et pourtant l’ambiance viking, les grandes plaines vertes (avant qu’elles ne rougissent par le sang de vos adversaires) sont autant de points forts pour ce jeu. Loin d’être un hit, il parvient cependant à nous offrir quelques heures agréables de jeu.

Dark Sector

Je craignais une pâle copie de GOW et compagnie mais il n’en est rien. Si on accepte le scénario nanar et qu’on oublie le manque du charisme du héros on se retrouve avec un petit jeu pas vilain du tout. Le principe du disque fonctionne plutôt bien et le gameplay est bien huilé. Sympa.

GTA IV

Trop répétitif dans ses missions, un principe qui ne parvient pas vraiment à évoluer, GTA IV parvient pourtant à s’imposer comme un bon jeu. Le scénario est intéressant mais pas assez exploité sur certains points, l’idée du portable et les quelques nouvelles idées sont les bienvenues mais il lui manque quand même un peu de grandeur pour prétendre à plus.

Battelfield : Bad company

Un FPS intéressant mais qui pêche sur plusieurs points. La liberté promise n’est pas vraiment là, la campagne manque un poil d’envergure et les ennemis se focalisent trop sur vous (on est un groupe pourtant). Des défauts certes mais des qualités surtout qui montrent une certaine maîtrise du sujet. Un à-côté de COD4 pas piquer des hannetons.

Left 4 dead

Valve sait faire son boulot mais oublie d’apporter au jeu plus que les éléments de base d’un mod réussi. Résultat, on enchaîne les missions avec plaisir au début puis avec un brin de lassitude par la suite.

Mirror’s Edge

Le premier essai de cette nouvelle licence n’est pas totalement réussi mais les quelques éléments positifs qui s’en dégagent suffisent à nous procurer quelques heures de plaisir. Il n’y a qu’à espérer une suite avec une narration un peu plus surprenante et surtout l’éradication des défauts de ce premier opus, sinon…

Les petites déceptions :

Ils accumulent trop de défauts et d’imperfections pour prétendre à un autre classement. Il y avait du potentiel mais gâcher par des lacunes qui plombent le titre.

La mémoire dans la peau : Jason Bourne

Jason Bourne réussit plutôt bien son passage sur consoles de salon mais il lui manque pourtant quelques qualités qui lui vaudraient considération de ma part. Trop répétitif, trop scripté, on retiendra surtout un système de combat pêchu avec des actions dévastatrices localisées.

Les flops :

Les jeux ratés, les jeux honteux, les grosses déceptions. On essaie de les oublier vite.

Beautiful Katamari

Nouvel opus catastrophique. Réalisation plus que médiocre, maniabilité exécrable. Un vrai jeu de massacre.

Devil May Cry IV

Jeu plaisant au départ, devient rapidement redondant. On enchaîne les combos sans vraiment de plaisir et surtout on est consterné par l’aspect miroir de la seconde partie du soft. Un vrai calque à l’envers. Juste honteux.

Soldier of fortune : Payback

La série sombre de plus en plus dans le médiocre et ce n’est pas cet opus qui viendra me contredire. Laid, gameplay archaïque, que lui reste-t-il ? Pas grand-chose. Gardons en mémoire le premier opus et restons-en là.

Condemned 2

Après un premier épisode de qualité, cette suite joue dans la surenchère. Trop de tout, trop c’est trop. Les phases d’investigation sont ennuyeuses à mourir et surtout les combats à mains nus perdent de leur intérêt. On bloque, on tape, on bloque…la mécanique lasse, le jeu aussi. Et encore, je ne vous parle pas du manque d’originalité des environnements.

Ninja Gaiden 2

Un Ninja Gaiden qui ressemble à tous les autres avec ce défaut majeur d’accumuler les lacunes comme on empile les torchons. Une histoire soporifique, des combos pas super intéressants et surtout une caméra CATASTROPHIQUE.

Soul Calibur IV

Soul Calibur revient avec une esthétique douteuse, des personnages incongrus (Yoda ?!) et une jouabilité qui perd en vitesse, fun et simplicité comme c’était le cas avec le premier.

Banjo et Kazooie : Nuts and Bolts

Banjo n’aurait pas dû quitter nos souvenirs d’antan. Il revient avec des casseroles pleins les pattes. Un système de véhicules pesant, peu performant, peu évident et ennuyeux. Les missions se répètent et on s’ennuie ferme. Seul survivant du mythe l’humour du tandem…heureusement.

Mortal Kombat vs DC. Universe

La saga Mortal Kombat troque ici son “irrévérence” pour les lois du contrat commercial. Moins de sang, des fatalités globalement molles et ratées et des modes de jeu bien minces. Dommage vu le potentiel du titre…prions pour que ce ne soit pas le dernier.

Mes attentes :

Peu de choses pour l’instant sur 360, il faut dire que le calendrier est assez vide. Je dirais Fear 2 qui s’annonce bien nerveux mais c’est à peu près tout. J’ai bien peur d’être déçu par un certain Resident Evil 5 voire même par un Street Fighter IV.

Mes rêves :

Sur next-gen, je dirais un Killer Instinct comme Neantderthal mais également le retour de vieilles licences totalement désuètes comme une Earthworm Jim, un Duke Nukem Forever. Des choses comme ça…il faut bien rêve un peu.

A voir aussi : mon bilan Wii et le bilan de Neantderthal.

Ce midi je suis partie faire un tour à Antare pour trouver un jeux en occase , je suis tombé sur Condemned 2 (je le voulais des sa sortie mais beaucoup de personnes mon dit qu’il ne valais pas les 70€). Le jeu était dans les bacs à 45€ mais en demandant au vendeur il ma dit qu’il venait de baisser aujourd’hui à 25€.

Je vais donc pouvoir avoir quelques frayeurs devant la télé , je me le met de côté pour un soir ou j’aurais rien à faire . J’imagine bien l’ambiance dans le noir avec mon casque sur les oreilles !! Je ferais un test des que j’aurais bien entamé mon nouveau joujou .

It’s been a while. I recently graduated from Michigan (score), had to move, and have been trying to figure out my life a bit, so I haven’t had a lot of time to write about games. But I’m going to try to get back on track and write here more often. We return with my review of Condemned 2: Bloodshot…

WHAT I LIKE

1. The game is scary. At a few points, it actually caused me to jump in my seat a bit. This is high praise for a horror game, as I am a fan of the horror genre, and it takes a lot to get to me. The chase scenes in particular are incredibly high-tension areas of the game. You haven’t felt fear until you’ve been chased down by a giant bear in an abandoned ski resort.

2. The up-close fighting system makes for intense, personal beatdowns, which can be quite gratifying. Most of the weapons have an appropriately hefty feel and help you feel like quite the badass.

3. Beating the hell out of homeless people is an instant win.

4. Fantastic sound and voice acting really adds a new level to fights. The sound of fist meeting flesh is perfectly brutal, and enemies yelling obscenities at you in the midst of battle helps drive you to finish them.

5. Gritty atmosphere with pretty tasty graphics over a large variety of situations. Even the challenges are mostly fun and help you hone your skills in specific situations.

—

WHAT SUCKS
1. Story? There was a story in this game? Something about a serial killer…

2. It’s really difficult to pick up weapons sometimes. You have to be aiming perfectly at the bastard for the game to acknowledge that you would like to grab it, and if you move an inch you have to find that sweet spot again. This makes it very difficult to pick up a new weapon during a fight.

3. *SEMI-SPOILER* The “superpower” that you get near the end of the game is cheap and unnecessary. However, it is hilarious, so it’s hard to hate.

4. Online play is really weak and incredibly unbalanced. I played a game for a half hour without anyone on my team getting a single kill. It was the cops vs. criminals mode, and the criminals had no real weapons or armor, while the cops had some nice firepower. Lame.

5. Power-ups are based on your proficiency with the game’s investigation system, which sometimes feels arbitrary. Oh yeah, and combos are a pain in the ass to pull off. I got through the entire game without learning more than perhaps three of them…

—

IN CLOSING

With one of the grittiest atmospheres yet to appear in a video game, Condemned 2 is really an adult game. While the story is a fairly weak excuse for putting the game’s various scenarios together, it is still fun to go through them. From a decrepit doll factory to an abandoned ski resort, the game makes great use of its environments to give you fun new things to do (using creepy exploding dolls as projectiles, running from a big-ass bear…). I recommend playing by yourself at night, though, because… what better way to play? The first person perspective brings a new twist on horror, and pulls it off very well, by forcing you to get up close and personal with your enemies via heavy emphasis on melee combat.
I would definitely recommend this game for anyone interested in getting a little scared, or who just want to let their frustrations out by beating on some (possessed) homeless people. But if you prefer your gaming colorful, happy, or gore-less, then Condemned isn’t exactly going to float your boat.

Esta tarde me he topado con el volumen 1 de Mondo Pixel y no he podido evitar hacerme con él. De momento he leído hasta el final de “Connotaciones culturales en Bioshock” y me ha encantado, es una visión totalmente distinta y nada cotidiana sobre el contexto y ámbito de algunos videojuegos, alejándose de los aspectos mas superficiales sobre los que se basan los análisis de los medios mas populares. Muy recomendado para aquellos que busquen algo mas serio y maduro. Encontraréis una genial crítica del GTA IV, reflexiones sobre lo retro, Silent Hill, Gears of war, Fallout, Condemned 2 etc etc, todo ello desde un punto de vista totalmente distinto a lo que podáis leer en webs o revistas de actualidad.

The Casualties
Okej, jag har gjort ett bakåtsteg. Jag har åter igen börjat lyssna på Casualties. Det var längesen jag konstaterade att Casualties dementa fylletjafs var precis lika intetsägande som Exploiteds fotbollskörar, men på något konstigt vänster så är dom så attraherande. Det är naivt och härligt, det är fylleromans och arbetarklassblaha.. På de senare skivorna har de till och med skärpt sig och gjort texter om seriöa ämnen som krig och politik (vilket egentligen bara är ett ämne, men ändå).

Här har vi en promobild inför deras bästa skiva ever, For the punx:

För några dagar sedan fick jag hem deras turnéDVD Can’t Stop Us (en Mexicoturné och en Japanturné) och deras senaste skiva Under Attack. Skivan är förvisso från 2006, men jag hade som sagt lagt ner Casualties för många herrans år sedan. DVD’n var helt okej. Till och från var det uselt ljud, men överlag en helt godkänd turnédokumentation. Mexico är helt galet med “fans” som sätter eld på spelställen när de inte får gå in utan att betala inträde, kastar glasflaskor med stenar i på bandet och kallar stackars Casualties för kapitalister som tar $15 i inträde. Förvisso kan man väl nästan hålla med ifall nu pengarna går oavkortat till bandet (vilket det aldrig nånsin gör), men ändå.

Sångaren tog upp den person som hetsat mest, upp på scenen och ville föra en civiliserad konversation där de reder ut missförstånden men det gick inget vidare. Han försökte med “vi har familjer att ge mat och hyror att betala” medan killen han plockat upp bara skrek “KAPITALISTER!!!!!” utan att lyssna och själv tänkte jag som vanligt nåt mitt emellan.. Visst är det hutlöst att kräva typ 100 spänn per skalle när man är ett sketet punkband, men samtidigt måste ju resekostnader och allt täckas och som vanligt sitter det säkert några förbannade profitörer och roffar åt sig en del också. Men.. ett jobb vid sidan av hade kanske inte skadat, varför ska deras lyssnare betala deras jävla hyra och mat tycker man?

The spelen
Jag klarade av Shadow of the Colossus efter 9 timmars göttande, recension finns på cowa. Vad jag istället tänkte prata lite mer om är Condemned 2 som jag nyss påbörjat. Jisses, det är bättre på nästan alla sätt och vis. Man kan nu använda sina verktyg (UV-ljus, kamera, GPS osv) när man helst behagar istället för att bli tillsagd. Ett roligare fightsystem och ett överlag mer polerat utseende. Men det är åt helvete för mörkt, ficklampan är ett skämt och trots att jag har tvn på ljusaste och sitter i ljusaste vinkeln så är det ändå alldeles för mörkt. Det blir trial and error-varning på det hela då jag inte kan se några fiender förrän dom redan slagit ner mig i princip. Det är för tidigt att säga mycket mer då jag bara spelat de första uppdragen och fortfarande kämpar med att lära mig alla saker perfekt (får mycket stryk).

Fick även hem ett amerikanskt Super Nintendo häromdagen och en stepdown från Kjell & CO, så nu är det äntligen fritt fram för mig att spela Demon’s Crest! Men tyvärr är det ett jävla krångel att sätta i sladdarna (som måste dras ut efter varje omgång för att inte döda stepdownen) bakom tv’n och kräla runt att jag hellre spelar GTA 4 online med min lillebror. Just det, jag har börjat spela GTA online nu med. Roligt med små uppdrag man inte sett förut, och roligt med alla pengar man tjänar där. Dock har jag bara en nätverkssladd till mina stackars konsoler så då måste jag dessutom koppla om den varje gång det blir plattformsbyte – mellan PS3 och 360.

Övrigt
I övrigt är allt bra, vi är båda arbetslösa nu och det går dåligt på praktikfronten. Har inte lyckats hitta nåt alls. Om Ivan hittar nånstans att vara på ikväll så blir det en hel del alkohol för oss idag vilket jag inte skulle ha något emot. Men om det skiter sig blir det kanderade jordnötter och spelkväll för oss själva vilket inte heller låter dumt. ^^

Condemned 2: Bloodshot happens eleven months after the original story “Condemned: Criminal Origins”. The game features a dark, grungy drunk by the name of Ethan Thomas.

The plot is that Ethan has been recruited back into his old SCU to investigate a call for help from his old mentor Malcolm Vanhorn, and discovers why the wide violence and mass hysteria is tormenting the city.

Now, I never played the first game but it felt like a Resident Evil style game, which equals suspense and zombies and this was all I could see. I thought what the hell, let’s try it.

Story: Bit confusing without knowing the history.

Controls: Only really annoying feature or lack thereof was the crosshair. What kind of first person shoot ‘em up has no crosshair? You do get it for guns but not when throwing the vast array of objects that you can pick up. So targeting is a bit unnecessarily frustrating.

<spoiler section ======== Plus there is a “special” power that requires the use of both left and right triggers continuously and to also aim using the analog stick… I mean, come on!!! ======== spoiler over>

Weapons: Quite a fun range of items to use in your quest for mangling, so enjoyed those.

Baddies: A bit easy to kill, so veteran game players max the difficulty level before playing if you want the game to last a bit longer than two days.

Hidden gems: There was a portion of the game that required you to deduct causes of murders using a nice range of gadgets; based on your accuracy you got rewards. Glad all my CSI watching has finally paid off I did enjoy this portion, but there wasn’t enough for me

Graphics: Excellent!

XBOX points: Very poor point giving; in an attempt to get you to play the game again all the online points are locked in other modes that you cannot get until you play the game once, and some of the points require you to play the game several times :|

Online play: Yet to try this.

Blood & guts level:  There’s a reason it’s rated 18 :|

Overall: A fun and nice game that I would give a 6/10 but not a replayable.

Trop de jeux violents? Réequilibrez votre Karma en jouant à “Pony Heart Quest” ou à “Lollipop Gift Parade“.

Laissez vous surprendre par un peu de douceur dans ce monde de brutes!

“You killed a hobo with an iron baaaar smashed, his head through the window of a caaaar”

Encore?

Agence: Clemenger BBDO Sydney

www.OffsetTheEvil.com

(le site mérite vraiment une petite visite!)

Enjoy!

It’s been a nice surprise to have found such an involving game as Condemned 2:Bloodshot & as I mentioned previously, this was the first title I picked up for the PS3.

Thankfully I managed to complete the Doll Factory level – which had me struggling at the end with the clown girl(see forensics & clowns).

The SCU building level(5/11) is a total contrast to the dark & gloomy levels from the first half of the game. Brightly lit as it is, this is a shorter level than any of the 4 before it. Saying that you don’t want to miss out on what is to come in this level as there’s a nice twist to the gameplay which I didn’t see coming.

[possible spoilers follow!]

The autopsy scene of Vanhorn didn’t live up to what I had imagined it might be like but Rosa did point out some interesting discoveries surrounding Vanhorn’s vocal cords – I know this is a prompt towards a significant gameplay element that is used later in Condemned 2.

After the X-Ray scene, that Rosa prompts you into, comes the hallucination section of the level that is played out exploring what seems to be the now abandoned SCU building. I found it one of the most eerie moments of gameplay that I have gone through in a long time – the sound & visual effects go a long way to build some great tension, in what turns out to be The Alcohol Demon’s (Ethan’s alter-ego) toying. Once Ethan awoke from the hallucination, back in the X-Ray room, I felt that I had just played through one of best moments of game immersion in Condemned 2 so far. It certainly left me with a chill but also a wry smile that I had totally fallen for it.

The rest of the level is taken up with the debriefing that Farrell, the SCU Director, gives Ethan. There’s a nice touch during this scene too, as Farrell asks 6 questions surrounding the events leading up to & discovery of Vanhorn’s body – I didn’t get a perfect score here, as I guessed at a couple of the answers which I had a hazy recollection of. The questions caught me by surprise & it showed that maybe I have missed some of the details of the back story that I had a first-hand experience of – not great for a forensic detective!

]]> http://sweetflag.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/game-diary-forensics-clowns-in-condemned-2bloodshot/ Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:39:43 +0000 dmosbon http://sweetflag.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/game-diary-forensics-clowns-in-condemned-2bloodshot/

I have yet to complete Condemned 2:Bloodshot & am currently stuck slugging it out with the clown girl at the end of the Doll Factory level – when did they make girls so hard to take down & so annoying? What I’d give for a shotgun!

Unique & sometimes frustrating as it is, Condemned 2 hard-sells you melee combat throughout the game. Guns just don’t feature as they normally would in an average FPS, sure a few are placed into the game(from what I have seen of the first 4 levels) but the main damage you can cause in the early part of the game, is your increased proficiency with melee & combo use.

This is some of the reason why I still go back to Condemned 2(my first PS3 title) over all the other titles that I own. It’s an adjustment to the way I would normally approach a FPS & requires a little more thought when approaching your target. So, yes I am beginning to love the melee combat – it brings back those first impressions I got when watching the FIght Club movie. Who needs guns eh!? Am just a little curious how the voice attacks, used later in the game, will effect combat and the overall balance of the game?

One other area of game mechanic that makes the Condemned 2 experience that little bit different, is the forensic gathering you are required to complete, periodically. From what I have read elsewhere, as the storyline progresses, this gameplay element eventually drops off. Now if that’s true, it’s a great shame. The forensic gathering offers the player a puzzle element to what is otherwise a fast paced action game & it really is a nice change of pace – I’ll be keeping my eye on that as I get deeper into murk of Condemned 2.

The examples of the forensic gathering, in the first 4 levels at least, fall into areas like – examining murder scenes(the one pictured above allows you to discover who the officer is & location of initial attack), taking crime scene photos & even performing some emergency rewiring. The experience has been varied enough to add a nice mixed gameplay feel to the game & I can only imagine how the autopsy scene, which I am sure is to come, will play out.

Everybody loves Hobos. Call them what you will, winos, bums, derelicts, social parasites, at one stage or another everyone has fantasised about what it would be like to be a vagrant. Metallica wrote ‘wherever i may roam’ about the life of a tramp, the proclaimers had a song about walking 500 miles which was obviously an indirect reference to being sans housing. Hell we even let itinerants box for us in the olympics from time to time and then get a cheap laugh when they lose. And thus begins Condemned 2: Bloodshot, with you playing as a loveable tramp named Ethan Thomas, forraging for some booze in a dumpster.

As we all know tramps spend most of their days wanking in a pair of soiled trousers and drinking as much petrol as they can from the nozzles of pertol pumps  before being chased away by the police. Ethan Thomas is a different breed of hobo, having survived the thrilling, pychologically affecting horror of Condemned: criminal origins, he’s now gone completely batshit mentalist. Now living on the streets and off the force, Ethan is forced to spend his days drinking dutch Gold from a discarded shoe, and being plagued by nightmarish visions.

Ethan Thomas, yesterday

Hobos are apparrently a vicious and warlike race of people, much like a Klingon, or Eskimo, as Ethan spends most of his time pummeling the faces of other hobos. And so goes the next 8-10 hours (depending on how unlucky you are) of Condemned 2. Apparrently the developers were bored with the psychological horror of Condemned 1 and wanted to branch out in a new direction, that direction being ‘trying to cause as many facepalm inducing moments in a single game as possible’.
Condemned 2 runs the facepalming gamut of everything from half arsed mini games of trying to use magnets to pick up giant metal…robot…monsters (?) to watching a news channel whos female presenter will irritate to a point where you literally try and sodomise yourself with the game box just to take your mind off how irritating her voice is.
Core gameplay consists of beatign the living shit out of societies most vulnerabe people, and performing crime scene investigations. Or, being held by the hand and walked through some retardedly simple crime scene investigations. This revolves around looking at say, a dead body, and answering questions that are sent back to the lab. I.E. ‘is the suspect male or female?’ um. Well HE looks like a guy so im going to go out on a limb and say hes a guy. *facepalm*. ‘whats his name?’ well his nametag says ‘johnston’ but the game is giving me 5 different options to choose from so maybe ill need to take an hour to think about it and get the boys from the lab to look into it’. *facepalm*

The violence is the one saving grace of Condemned 2, it’s bloody, its brutal, and its more fucked up than a middle class Emo kid with a packet of razor blades. However after spending 10 minutes pummeling the face off a woman dressed in a harlequin outfit while she pirouetted around the room, then crushing  the shit out of her head in a vice, i had to question the direction the developers were going here.

While i could go on in great detail about the many facepalms of condemned 2, (the grizzly bear who’s saliva tendrils make it look like hes just eaten someones trainer, the retarded ‘fixing a fuse’ section in an elevator thats on fire, the magic man section) ihowever the entire games experience can be summed up iin the following sentence: I played condemned 2 right up to the end. I got to the last boss, and then traded in the game before even bothering to kill him. I just didn’t give a flying fuck at a rolling donut what happened in the end, unlike the sublime Condemned 1. This game is a massive shitstain on the good name of condemned 1, which you can pick up cheaper, and is a far greater game than this pile of tramp wank. And you wont have to listen to that fucking australian twat on the TV’s either.

FINAL SCORE
Condemned 2 recieves an unprecedented 4 Picards out of 4

There’s a small patch available for Condemned 2:Bloodshot, to version 1.01, now. Originally, it had got me all excited but in the end it only fixed some minor problems(see details below)…no extra multiplayer elements this time!

Be on guard when you get the message to install new content, as I experienced & by the looks of it a few others did too, some PS3 system lock ups(be sure to be logged into the PSN before attempting the update!):

Hi all,

Good news! The PS3 patch is now live on PSN in both Europe and the United States.

This will fix a Blu-ray audio problem, and includes a couple other small code fixes.

Note: Some users have reported that pressing buttons during the patch process will cause the system to hang or reset. Once the patch process has begun, please do not press any buttons on your controller.

There may be 30 to 60 seconds where your screen is black and the PS3 appears unresponsive. This is normal – please be patient and allow the patch to finish.

If you have any questions or need personal assistance, please contact us directly at help.sega.com .

Happy gaming!
-Max at SEGA Support

Happy gaming indeed!

Ok i’ve just changed the theme of my blog, I haven’t decided if it’s permanent yet so bear with me the next few days if i keep on tweaking things.

Ok this is going to be pretty short as COD 4 is simply a brilliant game. What’s there to say? the fps gaming is rock solid fun and the graphics are really good (note: I’m reviewing the ps3 version). I can’t fault the actual game in any real way (apart from perhaps a 5 minute cutscene where you really wanna shoot something but that’s just really if i had to nitpick). It’s a shame the game is so short; I played continuously for what felt like 5 hours and I completed story mode although looking at the stats I actually played for twice that long (time flies when your having fun). To increase its longevity COD 4 has an online multiplayer, at times it is quite addictive however its mainly just your standard: get shot in the back, shoot someone in the back or both hold the fire button until someone falls over; I suppose it’s probably better on PC with mouse-controlled guns. If you own a ps3 and you like first person shooters it is probably a sin not to own Call of duty 4 so you should go to amazon and buy it now!

Condemned 2 is an awesome game; the atmosphere is shit scary it truly brings honour to the term ’survival horror’. Unlike certain survival horror games like Resident evil 4 where everything’s scary until you realise a shotgun blast can take an enemy’s head clean off in one shot (at which point the game becomes a merry fun-fest) the enemies in Condemned 2 are creepy, brutal and skilled. You can get away from most scrapes unharmed but you’ll allways focus on strategic fist fighting. For this game i wholeheartedly recommend a High-definition tv as standard definition really can’t capture the truly pant-wetting atmosphere and that is what horror is all about. I let my friend play Condemned for about 30 minutes and heres what he had to say: http://liamki.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/condemned-2/ – I think he describes it better than I do. So why is this only a first glance? well i didn’t finish the game – I found myself getting either stuck or lost every 20 minutes (10 minutes of which was just random exploring or fighting bloodied hobo’s) I had it on rental so I sent it back due to accumulative frustration. Despite this I do recommend Condemned 2 to almost any gamer I actually give it a thumbs up.

P.S. if you do read one of my articles please leave a comment, according to blogspot 17 people have read my blog in total. I really want to feel like somebody is actually reading what I’m spending my time writing.

Game play footage of Duke Nukem Forever running in its new form has surfaced on the first episode of “The Jace Hall Show” and it looks pretty promising. While I’m talking about Duke, I may as well talk about “The Jace Hall Show” at the same time. After the break.

For those of you who don’t know, Jace Hall is a video games industry wunderkind most notably known for founding Monolith Productions Inc. which developed games such as No One Lives Forever, F.E.A.R., and Condemned. He now has a web show which promises to go deeper into the games industry than most other video games shows.

I think that the first episode is pretty good. Although I don’t particularly care for the show “Heroes”, at least actor Greg Grunberg’s interview doesn’t feel like all of his lines about video games are scripted. Most times when game shows interview celebrities they go after people like Johnny Depp or Liv Tyler who say something stupid like “Oh yea I love video games. Especially Solitaire and sometimes Minesweeper.”

During the second part of the show Hall interviews the founders of 3D Realms, who of course make games like Duke Nukem and Prey. After discussing the game for a bit in person, some footage is shown of Hall playing a build of Duke Nukem Forever. It’s good to see that Hall is able to deliver some really hard hitting reporting on the first episode. I hope that his show continues to go on scene and get the news that G4 can’t because G4 is abysmal mess that has no idea who their target market is.

Here is the first episode (including the Duke Nukem Forever footage) for y’all to see for yourselves.