Condemned: Criminal Origins, a suspense-filled, first-person psychological thriller game, allows players to experience an unnatural level of psychological tension as they use their instincts, forensic tools to track serial killers and bring them to justice. Gamers will play as Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent in the Serial Crimes Unit (SCU), whose pursuit of relentless serial killers leads him through detailed urban environments filled with deadly sociopaths who lurk on the periphery of humanity. Condemned: Criminal Origins features brutal melee combat, photo-realistic backdrops, life-like physics, and highly sophisticated artificial intelligence. Weapons and ammunition are scarce, leaving the player to improvise against a gallery of mentally deranged criminals. Careful detective work and precision reflexes are a player's primary means of survival. Inspired in part by the films of the psychological thriller sub-genre, Condemned: Criminal Origins maintains an intense, focused pace.
A horror game done right.
You play an investigator hunting down a serial killer who kills serial killers. While at the same time running from the police who suspect you of murder.
You use various tools, as well as some psychic visions, to examine clues and evidence.
Your friend Rosa, a forensics at HQ, whom you are in contact with throughout the game analyses all the clues sent to her and helps you.
Game focuses on melee.
Combat is well done. You need to block, move forward and back and time your attacks. Certain melee weapons have secondary uses to break doors or locks (fire axe, sledge hammer, crowbar)
You may also find ranged weapons with limited ammo in them. Shotguns and pistols.
Unfortunately you may find sub-machine guns occasionally. And i wish the game did not have them. But they are rare, plus the ammo is limited.
Checkpoints are position perfectly. The game also has a quick save feature which i dont use since checkpoints are well positioned.
8/10