Awesome game
visceral fighting and great story continues from the original game. this time the framerate is perfectly solid throughout the entire game, and the MULTIPLAYER IS SICK! as of 9/19/08 a lot of people still play online. while theyre is noob mode deathmatch / team dm, CSI mode is really strategic and fun for experienced players and never gets old. get this game!

20 BUCKS????
How can this game be only 20 dollars new? This is the greatest game ever made! WTF. This is completely ridiculous. And what else I don't get is how the "official" reviews are mediocre at beast. 7s and 8s? REALLY?

Talk about having no clue. The average critic clearly has no idea how to recognize greatness. This game is a PERFECT 10. Period. Buy it now!

Ehh..
This game is pretty good but it doesn't live up to the standards of the first condemned game. I think the reason the first one was better is because it didnt have any ghosts like condemned 2 did which weren't really fun to fight... Also the environments were more scary in the first game then the second and the plot wasn't very good.

Still wailing on my fun-sense with a piece of bent rebar!
This is the last title I got to play before my 360 broke down and died at the ripe old age of 9 months. (I know, pathetic, isn't it? Heck, I still have my Sega Master System from 1984 and it works GREAT! ...yeah, so I still play it sometimes.) Luckily, it was a really, really title to end on. At least for the time being. Until I fix it.

Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks. Bloodshot.

Creepy, creepy, creepy--that's the name of the game here, Bubba.

Different in subtle ways from the original Condemned. How so? A bit more depth. I loved the added element of receiving rewards based on how well you perform in each level. You can accumulate all sorts of (permanent!) goodies, such as brass knuckles to increase your punching power, a kevlar vest to halve the damage you take from gunshots, and--my absolute favorite--the holster.

In the original Condemned, you could carry one (1) weapon with you. It added tension and not a few frustrating moments when you found yourself with a single bullet and had to decide whether to toss the pistol for a 2x4 with rusty nails in it, or keep the firearm, knowing that--placed correctly--that one bullet could dispatch an enemy at range with no risk to yourself.

This time around--providing you perform well enough--you can be granted a holster. This'll let you tuck away a pistol for later, and pick up a second weapon to wield in the meantime. There's at least one level where I know I made it through because I had that backup saved.

The story, alas, alack, has become akin to Lost: rather convoluted and confusing. (For example, some people in the world have a very special ability: they can explode your body by yelling at you. Yeah, I know. I was thinking, "Huh?" too) Still, the atmosphere hasn't changed at all. I focused on that and had no problems.

There are changes to the crime scene investigations, too. Now you actually have to look at the evidence and infer what happened based what you, the gamer, see on the screen. You have to be good at this to get those rewards I was talking about. I suppose you could get by on trial and error--the inferences are multiple-choice--but where's the satisfaction in that? I enjoyed studying those vicious, creepy crime scenes. Take your time. Soak it in.

I have to admit I also enjoyed the personification of your character's inner demons. Twisted versions of yourself, they show up from time to time and represent different fears and vices--read the scenes for cues as to which demon is there at any given moment. Most screen time is devoted to Alcohol, the demon that seems to be the strongest.

And speaking of alcohol, I'd watch your young, impressionable kids around this game. Just like the questionable morality of showing plumbers eating random mushrooms in order to grow big and strong, this game causes you to sate your character's addiction by chugging bottles of liquor from time to time. Without it, your hands shake badly, and you can't aim a weapon to save your life.

Was there anything I didn't like? I'm not sure I liked the survival of an important evildoer from the original (not spoiling anything with names). I would have been much more satisfied with him having died. It just doesn't seem likely that he wouldn't have.

And there also seems to be an overabundance of firearms in this title as opposed to the original, which gave it less tension and worries over your character's health.

Still, those are very minor things, and should not in any way dissuade you from giving this title a shot. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tremendous improvements over the original Condemned
Every complaint I had about the first Condemned has been addressed on the second release. Great controls and game play. Graphics are good and the sound is incredible, very creepy and sets a mood for the game that keeps you on edge of your seat. Definetly check this game out.