The atmosphere and tension this game is able to induce is extraordinary. It doesn't have many jumpscares, but the ones that are in the game have been executed masterfully with fantastic buildups.

It doesn't have the mechanics popular in horror games right now where the protagonist is completely helpless. The protagonist can actually fight back instead of just hiding and running. The player is given access to a plethora of melee weapons from metal pipes to wooden boards all of which have a similar moveset with different stats. There are numerous types of guns available but they are very rare. Fighting the enemies is quite satisfying. At it's best it feels like a brutal dance between the enemy and the player as you block the enemy at the right moment and attack them when they are stunned. The combat does get a little repetitive by the time you reach the last 2 levels though and some weapons with low block rating feel iffy.

Now the bad part : The story. The story in condemned is complete dogshit. The writing is incomprehensible and the voice acting is just as atrocious. You can pretty much ignore most of it as the strong atmosphere itself is enough to carry you through 90% of the game. Condemned completely shit the bed in the final level unfortunately. The last level is completely in the dark, out in the open, filled to the brim with tanky enemies and completely throws everything condemned had established up until then in terms of game design out the window. I hated it. Oh and the last boss is trash as well.

Overall I'm positive about the game.

Monolith was really in their bag back in 2005. Between this and FEAR they released two of the best horror games on the Xbox 360. Although this is definitely the weaker of the two it’s a great launch title and it’s amazing how well it holds up today. Sometimes less is indeed more.

The biggest pro of this game is how incredibly immersive it is. The first person perspective is actually perfect for this game and the environments and lighting still look shockingly good today in 2023. The atmosphere is top notch all the way through with no weak points. You make your way through abandoned buildings, back alleys, a library and of course the stand out abandoned department store. Every single area is oppressively dark and grimy with each one feeling like it was once lived it before it went to shit.

The sound design also elevates the game with some incredible surround sound work where you’re constantly looking over your shoulder hearing footsteps surround you and cans and other debris roll across the ground. Murderous addicts mumbling to themselves and panting as they try to get the drop on you never stops being eerie giving high levels of tension as your character SLOWLY explores the environment.

The level design is linear with just enough exploring to keep it fresh. You can find collectibles, secret rooms and staches of health or guns to give you the upper hand.

The main gameplay loop is the brutal 1st person melee combat which is very simple but always feels meaty and deliberate. Everything in the environment can be used as a weapon with each having unique stats. Large items like desk tops and locker doors are slow but deal more damage and block more effectively. Smaller items like pipes and 2x4s swing quicker. You’re also equipped with a taser that recharges. This is a great tool for crowd control. It never stops being fun tasing a maniac and then grabbing his fire arm while he’s stunned and then blowing him away with it.
The AI is excellent as well as they will retreat when they are disarmed and seek out items in the environment to wield. They will also retreat when you get the upper hand and hide behind corners or pillars to get the jump on you. They will also fake like they are swinging to throw off your block timing. Really good stuff even if it’s simple it’s always satisfying. I’m glad the game doesn’t get too deep and bogged down in extra mechanics.

Last thing to touch on is the detective aspect of the game. All in all it’s pretty weak as it holds your hand for the most part. The correct forensic tool will be auto selected for you and there’s no real agency or way to mess up. There’s a few sections that you have to follow clues or trails with a UV light that are pretty good but overall the detective sections are bare bones and a missed opportunity albeit being nice at breaking up the pacing of the combat and making you feel pretty immersed.

I definitely love the simplicity of this game and the dark grungy atmosphere much like the movie se7en hunting down serial killers even if the plot kinda jumps the shark in the 3rd act. The gameplay is straightforward but fun and it wraps up at the perfect time just under 7 hours.
8/10

Such a cool-ass game with nice, little details that give it a survival horror feel. I love how you have to check your ammo manually, rather than it just being on the HUD. I love how it can be really creepy and daunting, even without any enemies present. Doing actual crime-scene work that was (probably) realistic was a neat mechanic too, using all the gadgets was so cool.

Going through this horribly run-down part of town and exploring these abandoned buildings riddled with hobos trying to kill you was so enthralling, I couldn't get enough back in the day!

Even with all the jank of getting it to boot and how stiff it moves, condemned starts off on a strong foot.... then fumbles it all away.

It plays the same during its whole tenure you wield one weapon, either a gun or whatever sharp or blunt object you can get your grubby hands on. You swing your makeshift weapon or block, guns can't be reloaded even with similar guns which is stupid considering Ethan is an FBI agent, it doesn't even gel well mechanically since you'll be leaving behind a weapon of choice for a sluggish weapon since you need specific hammers or axes to proceed.
The combat loop doesn't change at all, enemies slightly change but not nearly enough to carry the combat. Plus the investigation aspect is a mindless point and click.

The reason I decided on it is because of its well regarded atmosphere, which it IS there but the devs apparently didn't recognize it as a strong suit to utilize it further. I've had moments of tension where the room layout, lighting, and music were on point only to pay it off with a crackhead or two running at me. It was a big sore fault not to lean into its unnerving atmosphere. I wished so hard for at least one level to be horror oriented, and some were so close to that but I am disappointed.

The story is a piece of shit except for a few good beats. Weaponized crackheads make up most of the goons you'll be fighting, who get ramped up in their depravity as the plot progresses. The general synopsis is you've been framed for killing 2 cops by an anonymous fugitive and have to conduct rouge investigations to clear your name, anything after that was unceremoniously horrible. Almost a half or more of plot points don't get solved or even recognized later in the game. You've got mass bird deaths, rampant crime and a lot of dehumanized drug fiends, like really a lot... A LOT. It doesn't explain what's happening to the birds or the addicts, or what's happening to your MC, both physical and supernatural elements are at play and the game ends with one of the blandest anticlimactic and confusing wrap ups I've ever played. The story is nonsensical without the sequel's knowledge, and even after skimming through its plot it's embarrassingly disappointing.

After 17 years I finally played Condemned: Criminal Origins for the first time.

As you can probably tell from my star rating, I didn't think very highly of this game, which is a shame. I almost feel guilty for giving it such a low score because this game does some truly great things. Lets start with the good.

Atmosphere is (figuratively) the name of the game here. I wouldn't call this game scary, but it was definitely creepy. The environments consist of dirty, nasty buildings, abandoned schools, offices, back alleys, etc. Even 17 years after its release, the environments are still very easy to get immersed in.

Much of this immersion and spookiness comes from the game's sound. The weapon shots sound absolutely brutal. Throughout the game you hear your enemies walking around in different rooms, or on different floors. You really need to pay attention to the sound because not only does it add to the creep factor, but hearing which direction the steps of your enemies come from can really save your life. There were some instances where I freaked myself out because I was no longer sure if the steps I was hearing were my enemies, or my own. Please do yourself a huge favor and do this game justice by playing it in the dark with headphones on.

Now on to some of the things that really bothered me...

First of all, this may be an unpopular opinion but I did not like the combat. 99% of the combat in this game is based around melee weapons that you find all around you. Pipes, shovels, axes, sledge hammers, wrenches, etc. Maybe its just me, but throughout the entire game I was really struggling with depth perception. It was very hard for me to tell if my weapon swings were going to hit my enemy or not. Same thing with the weapon reach of my enemies. Time after time I felt that I was far enough back, and I could clearly SEE my enemies not connecting with me, but I was hit regardless. I also could never master blocking, or even get good at it. In this game you hit the "block" button and you do a brief blocking animation, with a second or two until you can do it again. Basically you don't actually block, but parry instead. I just couldn't get the timing right, which became extremely frustrating at the end of the game where you fight waves of enemies where good blocking is absolutely crucial.

I mentioned atmosphere earlier. This game really tries to go for immersion and realism, which more often than not it succeeds with. Unfortunately there are many simple things that break the immersion of this game over and over again.
As I mentioned earlier, melee weapons is the main way you do combat in this game, but you do have access to guns from time to time. Shotgun, pistol, rifle. I was walking around with a pipe and I found a pistol, figuring that although the ammo will likely be rare, a pistol will still come in handy at some point. So I picked up the pistol, only to drop my pipe. I thought that maybe I pressed the wrong button, so I picked the pipe back up, but dropped my pistol... In this game you can only have one weapon on you at any given time, no matter what it is. The game tries to put you in situations in which you grab wooden planks, water pipes off a wall, and locker doors off gym lockers in desperate attempts to defend yourself, but it immediately breaks that immersion by not allowing you to put a pistol in your pocket or in your waist. Also, why can't I have a pipe in each hand? Surely in real life I'd be able to carry them around.

Next example, I had a shotgun with 3 shells in it. I killed an enemy who also had a shotgun with 5 shells in it. In the next room there was another shotgun in a locker with 4 shells in it. In a real life situation you'd take all those shells and use your shotgun wisely, but in this game you can't do that. You must decided which ONE of the three identical shotguns you'd like to keep because for whatever reason you can't carry ammo, transfer ammo, or even reload any of the guns in this game. Silly.

Lastly, I finished a level by walking through a door with a sledge hammer in my hand. The next level began IMMEDIATLY in the room that I just walked into, but my sledgehammer was nowhere to be found. I needed to search for a new weapon. Also, when you carry your weapons, you're hold them in front of your face. So a shovel, which is one of the best and most useful weapons in the game, will block 1/3 of your view because you carry it in front of your face the entire time.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why the developers made these design choices. You carry the weapons in front of your face so that as the player I know at all times which weapon I have on me. I can't pile up a bunch of shotgun shells because 12 shells would easily clear out an entire level without a challenge. Not being able to carry multiple weapons around at a time or having a side arm keeps the game from being too easy. I get it, but it really broke the immersion and made me roll my eyes more than I'd like to.

I'm glad that I finally played this game, especially during this Halloween season, but its hard for me to recommend it to everyone. I almost feel like this game would be more fun to watch than to play.

This is the game that got me into horror. I first played this game when I was younger at my mom's friends house. I got scared, nearly shat my pants and made the mistake of selling it when it was given to me. I later felt regret and decided to give this game another go and oh boy I loved it!! It was great, granted it's hard to get scared at things anymore but trust me. This game's great, the atmosphere was fantastic, the story is a bit mixed here and there but much better here than in the sequel, the music was great, the combat was tight, I loved it. I can't say too many bad things about the game, though I thought that the game would take a lot longer than 5 hours and that's with me taking a break to do something. I don't know but trust me, this game is tight. It's worth it, I love it. Excellent horror game though the scares might not be as scary.

From Steam Reviews: https://steamcommunity.com/id/gamemast15r/recommended/

Condemned is a jubilant, evil-grinned celebration of twisted crime thrillers, and even when the story is muddled and the movement can feel sluggish, it still excels with its great combat, astounding sound design/music, and striking visuals, creating an atmosphere and overlying tension that feels absolutely decrepit and putrid, in the best way possible.

Combat is not exactly on Sekiro levels or anything, but those latent senses I formed during my time with that game were coming out with this one. It has some surprising depth to it with blocking and counters, with a very minimal focus on guns considering their scarcity, but when you pick them up, you always have the upper hand. The focus on melee combat with a touch on devastating guns is a great yin to the yang of F.E.A.R. 's focus on gunplay with minimal focus on the hilariously over-the-top melee system. Bouncing off of that, instead of F.E.A.R.’s array of heavy military weapons, the array of weapons in Condemned, if you could even call it that, helps the game imbue its squalid and low-class environment, where everything and anything scattered around seems like a weapon. Some of my favorite examples of this were both detached locker doors and school desk tops in the school level. I will admit that the taser basically works against everything great about the game’s combat, but I had the best experience possible in that I accidentally forgot about the taser and spent the vast majority of the game not using it. However, I still cannot force myself to ignore it and it being one of the worst parts of the game. Enemy AI is just as engaging as the actual combat, where they stalk you and take cover and hide to try and get the jump on you as much as they can. When you get to overall movement though, it sounds good on paper, but in actual practice it’s a total nightmare, and not in a good way. The deliberate slowness could help with pacing if the game was strictly linear with no puzzles, but it is such an insane pain in the ass when you’re backtracking or trying to look around for supplies/weapons, and the sprint button has such a fast disposal and slow recharge, creating this sludgy loop of fast, slooooooow, fast, slooooooooow, fast, slooooow that can make progression just garbage. However, the movement and stamina actually works pretty well for combat, adding a lot of weight and strategy into the process. I understand that having faster movement would make this game even shorter than it already is (the game’s length is not a problem, trust me, I’ll get to that shortly), and there’s okay ideas in its implementation, but it seriously needed some reevaluation in its final form.

The story is not really a huge part of why this game excels, because at its core, it’s pretty vague, nonsensical, and seems like a mishmash of several murder mystery movies, most notably Se7en but also Minority Report and Oldboy to a lesser extent. However, it serves as a good catalyst for its levels, and does a lot to create this coherent carnival of amazingly creepy and offputting locations. I think all the people saying the game quickly loses its footing are smoking loud (or just referring to the story, most likely), because in my opinion the game starts good and keeps getting better and better, with the last few levels all feeling standout. The game is impressively short, beaten in only 6-7 hours, but not one level feels like it takes away from the upwards-accelerating haunted phantasmagoria it feels like. I’m a big fan of when games just have a seeming apocalypse going on in the background of the story that is mostly irrelevant to the central plot/conflict (we learn this is sadly not the case in the sequel). In terms of atmosphere, progression, and setpieces, the department store level is an absolute masterpiece and sets an insurmountable standard for the rest of the game (as great as what’s left is).

Sound is such a huge part of why this game excels, and even when this is mainly in reference to the game’s incredible sound design, it’s also like jazz, in how it can be about the sounds that don’t get played. There are so many subdued and drawn-back moments of terror when music is not there to make it more tense. All you’ll hear are footsteps, breaths or rattling chains nearing you, and that is so much scarier than hearing le scary music or le shock sound effect, just you, silence, distant noise, and your brain to make of that what you will. This unseen terror is very deliberate in tying into the game’s “background horror” where the world seems to be ending around the protagonist while he’s preoccupied with other things. Especially great is the game’s forgoing of an in-engine reverb system and uses what I could call “pre-rendered reverb” to get the echoing of people’s voices and noises in a much more realistic manner. Voices in another room absolutely sound like voices in another room, and it really puts you off-guard the first few times you hear it, adding to the overall immersion in a fantastic way. In continued regards to sound, the score is great at its shining moments, but as explained earlier, is used sparsely in order to let the sound design shine.

To me, Condemned feels like a combination of two games among my all-time favorites: Cry of Fear and BioShock 1, which both happened to release after Condemned, and while it shares similar flaws to both of those, the terror and atmosphere is still clamoring at me weeks after I beaten it. It is simply psychotic to me that Monolith managed to release both F.E.A.R. and this game in the exact same year. Thoroughly unbelievable; The absolute cooking that was going on in that studio between 2004 and 2005.

very original horror game, interesting investigation mechanics. lighting, atmosphere and sound-design are superb, compelling plot and voice acting, melee and firearm combat feels crunchy and satisfying, Monolith was cooking some serious heat back in 2005/06.

there is some ocassional jank regarding the blocking and investigation mechanics though, my first few hours were a bit frustating because of these two things.

unfortunely the game does get repetitive rather quickly, the combat while enjoyable falls into the strike/block loop, movement speed is slow considering the often large levels, the level design itself doesn't offer enough variety to keep the player entertained after a long while of play.

I still recommend giving an shot, I miss when Monolith was still around to create these original games with good gameplay, influences and technical prowess instead of being stuck with estabilished IPs, shame that the sequel is not on PC but I will definitely try it once I get the chance.