Condemned 2

Finding the perfect balance between horror and action is a slippery affair in survival horror games, since more often than not developers end up either overpowering the protagonist to the extent that the game’s challenge level goes down immensely, nullifying the feeling of dread; or they make the game too difficult, to the point that you get ticked off and stop playing out of sheer frustration. In this respect, concocting a perfectly balanced formula has always been a fine art, one that developer Monolith has mastered through both F.E.A.R. and Condemned: Criminal Origins.

Both F.E.A.R. and Condemned took vastly different approaches to same genre (gameplay-wise), showing gamers that Monolith knows exactly what a horror game should play like in each of the two scenarios. The former focused on gunplay, with the slo-mo being an integral part of dealing with the enemy, while the latter was made ground-up around melee combat, where each enemy provided a fair amount of challenge. Condemned 2 takes what the first iteration did extremely well, and builds on it to form a solid experience that falters in only a few areas.

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The combat system in Condemned 2 has really evolved. The punches feel tighter, parries/counters are easier to execute and have a larger impact on combat, and the overall responsiveness of the controls have been greatly tweaked. All these factors, coupled with the new and improved combo system, make for a very satisfying melee experience that gives you the tools and the freedom to dispose of the gazillion hobos the game throws at you, in any way you want.

For those slackers who haven’t played the first game, here’s a rundown of how the combat works. You can whack with your right and left hands using L1 and R1, and block by pressing down both. To counter attacks, you have to time your blocks right – when your enemy’s attacks are about to hit you – and strike when he’s off-guard.

To add depth to the combat system, Monolith’s implemented a very extensive combo system. The way to execute a combo is to time your punches, hooks, and parries in the right sequence without being hit… and you’ll manage some really hardcore damage. Since there are a crapload of combos, the game even features a combo list in the pause menu for you to refer to.
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That said, with a combat system that always keeps you on your toes, requiring you to block, counter and time each hit to perfection, the gameplay can get quite involving – and therefore quite intense. This wouldn’t be a problem normally, but in a game like Condemned 2 where the enemies flow in quite abundantly (considering how well they’re doing, Monolith seems like they have an unlimited supply of hobos!), playing for longer than an hour or so can give you a splitting headache. Since the game relies on some rather cheesy ways to scare you, uninterrupted play can make you really annoyed.

In this respect, think of Condemned 2 as an extremely annoying kid that loves to hide in the closet, and pop out shouting ‘boo!’, every time you pass by. The first couple of times it might give you the jitters, but after a while it just gets annoying to the point that you’d want to smack the kid across the head. Maybe it’s a question of preference, but I certainly think that psychological horrors that play with less conventional terrors and more with the atmosphere and such (rather than rely on the ol’ creature jumping out of the closet trick) are far better. I only wish the game felt more like a horror game, rather than a first-person melee brawler.

That, along with the rather unsatisfying cliffhanger ending, are the only two things I didn’t quite like. Among the things I did like is the vast selection of melee weapons the game gives you. You have access to everything from the first game’s Electric Conduits and 4x4s, to new inclusions like Battleaxes and Broadswords. In fact, there’s a part where the game sends you to the medieval section of a museum that’s filled with ancient weapons ranging from Crossbows to Halberds and everything in between. The pure joy of rummaging through these ancient (yet deadly) artifacts to look for a weapon that suits your needs is truly fantastic.

At the end of the day, Condemned 2 is a great action game, but isn’t as scary as you’d like a horror game to be. For what it’s worth, the action is really satisfying and the inclusion of a Fight Club mode (which allows you to take on different challenges) adds a good amount of value. The multiplayer component’s not the best, but it’s unique enough to keep you busy for a while. Condemned 2 is not only a must play for fans of the franchise, but a great action game for anyone who loves the idea of beating the crap out of others.