Horror Showcase -- Condemned: Criminal Origins

Nearly four years after its release on the 360's launch, it turns out Condemned: Criminal Origins is still a pretty scary game.

No, this isn't some clever way to lead into talking about how badly the game's character models have become with age, like some sites around the internet. They have, sure, but it's precisely what you'd expect from a game released in the earliest time of the console generation. But what matters with the game is how engrossing a game that prides itself in being the first current generation horror game stands up to the test of time. Playing it now, Condemned is still an enjoyable game; unless you're that fastidious about said models.

Actually, that unintentionally adds to the mood it presents. Here's a game whose itinerary is to be anything but pretty, and the majority of the character models you see are of enemies that are either trying to beat you to death with any inanimate object lying around or shoot you. The character models are horrifying, but seeing them run after you incredibly quickly is enough to have your blood pumping enough to fend them off efficiently. In other words, you're now experiencing the game in a way that's better than what the developers intended.

Condemned weaves together the tale of a man named Ethan Thomas, a SCU agent on the trail of a mysterious criminal known as the Match Maker. He's initially acute enough to make it far into the building - with your help, of course -- where another murder of the Match Maker's has taken place, but it's a pity that he slips up and loses his gun to a criminal. Said criminal shoots and kills two of his partners with a weapon that has his fingerprints on them. This leads to Ethan, though some spurious leap of logic, being branded a traitor and a fugitive of the law. No one ever said video game narratives had to be works of art, and Condemned is pretty average in that department. That doesn't stop it from being entertaining, however.

Thankfully, the focus on the story itself is a tertiary concern compared to the act of venturing though a moody, harrowing atmosphere. Condemned may be a first-person game, but it differs from a lot of titles in the genre by placing a primary focus on survival. Guns are pretty effective, but they're rather sparse and stocked with little ammo. You'll occasionally stumble upon them as you travel though numerous dreary locations; they're the most effective weapons in the game, which you can especially tell when you're being shot by them. You'll mostly be relying on melee combat to fend off enemies, which requires mastering how to block and counter effectively. You can tell Monolith wanted to keep things realistic while maintaining the identity of a video game: sometimes you can die quickly, but it'll rarely happen in a way where it felt unfair.

In the event that you find yourself suffering from your injuries, health kits are spread around to help mend your wounds. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to jump headfirst into this expecting your wounds to automatically regenerate after taking a few hits. It's a pretty old-school kind of way to do it, but it doesn't do much to ravage its achievement of verisimilitude. Though, like a game, it frequently takes liberties with reality, which is perfectly fine.

Your enemies aren't completely brainless, though. Sometimes they know the way around how to attack you, and they'll get smarter as you get further in the game. But it's not all roses for them either, as you'll occasionally see them fighting upon themselves. You can feel free to wait for them to finish each other off...well, unless one of them has a gun you want.

Ethan is regarded as being especially acute when it comes to investigating clues, and you can use this sensibility to keep track of enemies though each level. Your findings are sent right to the forensics department of the SCU, as one of the investigators, Rosa, decides to stick with you. There's actually quite a bit of variety in the evidence analysis you'll be doing throughout the game, and some levels are even built around it. It also never feels like it breaks into the action and is forced down your throat.

Condemned is frightening in a purely psychological way, not in the Resident Evil SURPRISE style that wore out its welcome about three games in. The game tries to psyche you out with numerous ambient sound effects that will make you question whether it's actually safe to go on, because it constantly isn't. Admittedly, it's much more frightening when you haven't gotten a grip on how combat works just yet, but the game does a good job of easing you in to learn the ropes for combat, and learning not to get too trigger-happy whenever you happen upon a gun.

Unlike many launch titles from any period, Condemned was one of the few games that didn't need launch goggles in late November. Anyone who purchased the game knew they had something that was quality, which is why is one of the only games mentioned with minimal criticism these days (the other game being Call of Duty 2). It's still worth playing too, and you can still find it around for a very cheap price.