Condemned: Criminal Origins

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Condemned: Criminal Origins
“Oh yes. The city’s full of them now, Thomas, Addicts, vagrants, psychotic individuals gone terribly bad – they come in all kinds but mostly violent. Be careful.” -Rosa warning Thomas about the dangerous criminals.
Protagonist(s): Ethan Thomas Genre(s): First-person shooter Psychological horror Survival horror Beat 'em up Platform(s): Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows Xbox One Xbox Series: X/S Release Date: Xbox 360 NA: November 22, 2005 EU: December 2, 2005 AU: March 23, 2006 Microsoft Windows WW: April 11, 2006 Xbox One (Also available for Xbox Series: X/S) WW: November, 2015 Engine: Lithtech Jupiter EX Developer(s): Monolith Productions Publisher(s): Sega Warner Bros. Games Series: Condemned Successor: Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Condemned: Criminal Origins, released as Condemned in Europe and Australia, is a first-person psychological thriller video game with survival horror and action elements for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. Developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega, it was an Xbox 360 launch title and was published in North America in November 2005, in Europe the following month, and in Australia in March 2006. The Windows version was released worldwide in April 2006. In November 2015, Criminal Origins was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility program, making it playable on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Monolith also released an online episodic flash game prequel, and there were plans for a film to expand the Condemned universe, with at least three additional games already mapped out by 2005. However, the film was never made, and the only addition to the franchise was Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which was released in 2008 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Condemned was well received by critics, who praised the combat mechanics, graphics, animations, AI, and, especially, the sound design and atmosphere. Common points of criticism included the game's linearity, a lack of variety in both level design and gameplay and what was perceived as a poor implementation of the use of forensic tools. The game sold well upon its initial Xbox 360 release, going on to become the fifth best-selling launch title on the platform. It also won multiple categories in both GameSpot's and IGN's Best of 2005 awards.

Plot

The game tells the story of Ethan Thomas, an agent with the FBI's Serial Crime Unit (SCU). In the fictional city of Metro, there has been a surge in both serial killings and assaults perpetrated by vagrants, and Thomas is convinced the two are connected. As he hunts a killer dubbed the Match Maker, Thomas is framed for murder and, pursued by his former Bureau colleagues, he finds his whole life upended as he stumbles onto something that goes far beyond any one individual killer.

Why It's Condemned to Be a Good Game

1. The gameplay is drastically different from Monolith's other FPS game F.E.A.R. as it focuses more on melee fighting instead of shooting which makes it unique, while also featuring horror elements, probably even more so than that game.
2. The combat itself is deep and challenging as you have to time your parry move every time the enemy tries to attack as this will result in the said enemy becoming stunned after each parry, giving you a chance to hit him, on top of that, you also got a taser that can be used for hard situations.
3. The enemies A.I are very smart as they will most of the time try to surprise attack the player, feign attack, they sometimes parry attacks, and they have fast attack and slower attacks.
4. There are lots of horror and scary elements throughout the game.
5. There are hundreds of weapons to use, mostly consisting of melee weapons, almost every environmental object can be used as a weapon.
   • Each of them have different stats, one has faster attacks but does low damage and the other does huge damage but has slow attacks.
6. There are four finishing moves to use if manage to knock out enemies to their feet:
   • Ram: This results in Ethan headbutting the enemy.
   • Slam: This results in Ethan head slamming the enemy to the floor.
   • Snap: This results in Ethan snapping the enemy's neck.
   • Punch: This results in Ethan replying: "Take this you f**k" while punching the enemy in the face.
7. The atmosphere is really supernatural, gritty and dark.
   • It helps that most of the environment is spent in the dark, which requires having the flashlight turned on.
8. The game makes use of FBI certain gadgets and tools to find certain clues such as: UV Light, Laser Light and Gas Spectrometer.
9. Despite most of the game is spent using mostly melee weapons, there are also three firearms to use mostly consisting to: Revolver, Shotgun and M1911 pistol, although these guns are rare to find and don't have much ammo.
10. There are collectibles that can be found throughout the game consisting of: Tapes, Birds and Scrapmetals, collecting them unlocks achievements.
11. The story and settings is very unique and interesting.
12. Ethan Thomas is a really interesting protagonist.
13. The graphics are a huge step up from Monolith's previous game F.E.A.R. as it uses an more improved version of the same engine, it also looks really groundbreaking for 2005 standards and still looks good to this day. It helps that this is one of the Xbox 360's launch title game.
14. The voice acting is brilliant.

Criminal Qualities

1. There are times when you will be forced into certain shootout sections which are not fun.
2. Parrying can sometimes be hard as most of the time it doesn't count properly.
3. The enemies carrying firearms are annoying and can instantly kill you in one or two shots.
4. The collectibles, aside from unlocking achievements are useless.
5. The cover art can be too unsettling.

Reception

Condemned: Criminal Origins received "generally favorable reviews", with the Xbox 360 version holding a score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 72 reviews, and the PC version holding a score of 79 out of 100, based on 24 reviews.

GameSpy's Will Tuttle scored the Xbox 360 version 4-and-a-half out of 5, praising the "highly atmospheric, downright disturbing environments" and the "brutally visceral combat." Calling the graphics "jaw-droppingly detailed", he also felt the game had "some of the best sound design ever to grace a video game." On the other hand, he was critical of the implementation of the forensic tools. Scott Osborne, also of GameSpy, scored the PC version 4 out of 5, calling it "a startlingly powerful experience." He praised the sound effects for creating "an unparalleled level of visceral violence," and also lauded the atmosphere, lighting, AI, and combat mechanics, although he was critical of the forensic tools.

Trivia

• At the end of the game, when not attempting to shoot the guy in the trunk he pulls out a gun and kills himself, the ending is mostly the same without any changes.

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