GC'07: Condemned 2: Bloodshot Preview

One of the few original highlights to pepper the launch raft of Xbox 360 titles back in November 2005 (yes, it really has been nearly two years), Monolith's Condemned: Criminal Origins positively oozed style and atmosphere, creating a truly edge-of-your-seat experience that sadly lasted for too little time, and failed to deliver on certain promises - most notably the forensics system, which wasn't quite as deep as expected. Pencilled in for release in 2008 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, TVG crawled through the dark and gloomy side-streets of the sequel, with a teasing look at the first half of the very first mission from Lead Game Designer, Frank Rooke...

Continuing the story of former Police Forensic Expert and Condemned protagonist Ethan Thomas, Condemned 2 begins in a near-pitch black back street, where the psychologically disturbed character is found wallowing in the trash, a washed out failure and alcoholic living on the streets. According to Rooke, Condemned 2 will feature greater emotional responses with NPCs during the course of the story, with Thomas' reactions and speech changing to varying degrees according to the proceeding actions of the player. In the demo, another street bum tries to get Ethan's attention only to be verbally rebuked; such instances will apparently feature throughout the game...we look forward to seeing how that pans out.

Rooke certainly acknowledged that the first title in the series was far from perfect, outlining three distinct improvements implemented in the follow-up. It turns out that the original instalment was one of the most popular Xbox 360 titles at rental, indicating in no uncertain terms that the main weakness of Criminal Origins laid in its incredibly short life span. With that in mind, Monolith is expanding the Campaign of Condemned 2: Bloodshot to over twelve hours in length; additionally the introduction of a 'Hobo Fight Club' mode that pits Ethan against other vagrants and street-dwelling vagabonds in bloody pitched bouts to the death will no doubt be welcomed by fans wanting to practice their skills with a lead pipe, brick, or fists. But perhaps what will end up being the most unusual decision when Condemned 2 is released in Spring 2008 is the multiplayer mode - whether this will just be an online equivalent of Hobo Fight Night is unclear, so too a final decision from Monolith to introduce a co-operative mode.

What is certain is that the studio has listened to the fans with its second distinct improvement, the Forensic system. A superficial experience in the first Condemned, something that disappointed many, Monolith has totally revamped and expanded the system quite dramatically this time around. Transporting Ethan to one small section of the city's sewer system where a dead body is found laying in a pool of its own coagulated crimson, it's already clear to see that the system has had some meat added to its previously thin bones. Players will be free to use the plethora of tools and gadgetry from his past life, from a UV blood detector to a trusty camera, without having to wait to be prompted first. Communicating with an ally back at the police labs, players are led through a series of objectives in order to identify the person, how they died, and whether the body had been moved. Various points and objects dot the area, some of which can help (like a badge close to the body's hand or identifying the sex of the person), while others are red herrings. Three are required to make an positive id, prompting players to move onto discovering the cause of death - in this case a gunshot wound is all too evident from the back - and whether it had been moved by using the UV blood detector around the room.

But whilst the multiple choice examples during the forensic examinations were just that - examples - we do at least hope that some of the clues will be a bit more challenging than identifying that a police badge with the number 46 on it is...a police badge with the number 46 on it (and not a Security Guard badge with the number 45). This is Condemned 2 after all, a mature game, and not a grisly episode of Sesame Street...

Back to the dangerous night-time streets of the unknown city, and Ethan's means of defending himself as he continues to struggle with his psychological imbalance. After being shaken by one of his fellow street-dwellers, Ethan breaks into a secure area to search some of the bins only to find himself encountering a few rivals - a prime opportunity for Rooke to show off elements of Condemned 2's improved combat system. Off course, Ethan's use of melee attacks with ordinary objects like bricks, pipes, and nail-tipped two by fours will remain the bread and butter against his enemies. But Monolith has also added fist fighting to the list, together with the ability to grab opponents and throw them into environmental objects - like a dumped TV.

Speaking about TVs, players will be able to uncover whispers of the storyline by actually tuning in some of the televisions Ethan encounters through the course of the game. Tweaking the old style antennae on top of the sets (no High Definition TV in the world of Condemned it seems) tunes into voices and a poor TV signal, but who is behind the transmissions? Thomas' world is further thrown into mystery when he slips into a more nightmarish version of the city, but is this alternate world 'real' or is it a delusion and a result of his psychological problems mixed with alcohol abuse? It's just another mystery that'll no doubt be explained as the game progresses. Despite brief glimpses of both versions of the city, it's clear that Monolith's knack for creating edge-of-the-seat atmospherics and tension-filled environments hasn't drifted far - everything from ambient noise to shadow casts and dim lighting continue to work together, forming a highly charged gameworld.

Besides evolving several features debuted in the original title, Condemned 2 marks the first time the franchise will make an appearance on PlayStation 3, something that poses the obvious question over whether potential gamers will have to play the original to understand the plot. According to Rooke, that's not the case, with Bloodshot featuring a standalone storyline to unravel - somewhat teasingly however, certain plot twists from the first instalment will be resolved. Additionally, the PS3 version of Condemned 2 will not utilise the motion-based functionality of the SIXAXIS controller. It's just another example of how not every developer is scrambling to take advantage of motion-control systems just for the sake of it, potentially resulting in a tacked-on and ultimately weaker experience - it's something that Condemned 2 is almost certain to avoid in every facet.