Beat On The Brat With...Well, Anything

I think everything I need to learn about having fun can be learned in Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Sega and Monoliths sequel to Condemned: Criminal Origins, for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Here is what I learned:
It’s fun to beat on the homeless.
It’s more fun if you’re drunk.
The only thing better than a burning meth head is two burning meth heads.
The cake is a lie…….um, no wrong game.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot continues the tale of now former officer for the Special Crime Unit, Ethan Thomas. It’s nearly a year later and Ethan has sunk into alcoholism following the events of Condemned: Criminal Origins hunt for SKX (Serial Killer X). Ethan’s not the only one worse off. Metro City has deteriorated, largely due to sonic emitters planted throughout the city which amplifies aggression and violent behavior, and the streets are teeming with enraged homeless and homicidal addicts. Ethan is called back to SCU to investigate the disappearance of his friend, and coincidentally SKX’ Uncle Malcolm Van Horn. The investigation uncovers a plot by a secret society known as the Oro as well as the truth behind SKX’ fate and Ethans own role to play in the unfolding plot.

The only way I can describe Condemned 2 is first person brawler. While firearms do play a larger role on certain levels (upon completion you can play through the game a second time as a shooter with unlimited ammo) the true hook lies in good old fashioned melee. Weapons are plentiful in the form of a 2x4 with nails, rebar, pipes, even a foosball stick or prosthetic arm. Pretty much anything you can use as a weapon is. Granted there is not as much flexibility as Dead Rising, and I found myself missing the rebar with concrete from the first game, but there are more than enough blunt instruments of destruction laying around. New additions to the combat system are chain attacks which if executed properly can bring on a world of hurt, and environmental kills that allow you to use your surroundings on a dazed opponent.

The AI seems smarter this time around. They will attack from a distance if possible either shooting if armed, or throwing bricks, pool balls or whatever they can get their hands on. They will hide and jump out or sneak up on you from behind when you least expect it. Your flashlight is your best friend and worst enemy as it reveals your foes while telegraphing your position. It is possible to sneak through levels, but why would you want to?

Forensic investigations play a larger role in Bloodshot, and the familiar tools are back. I didn’t find much use for the GPS, but the UV light, camera and spectrometer are used fairly often and in satisfying ways. The investigations are less linear and take more thought than in the first game and it’s easy to miss something or respond incorrectly leading to a less than perfect investigation score.

Each level grades you at the end based on investigation, timed responses, emitters destroyed and antennas (news reports) found awarding you with a bronze, silver or gold badge. Trust me, you want the gold as this means the best upgrades granted. Upgrades come in the form of taser shots, bullet damage, stealth ability, kick combos, health effectiveness etc. The game also keeps a record of successful combos and extends your chain attack meter as milestones are reached.

The storyline of Bloodshot ties well to Criminal Origins, answering some questions and creating some new ones while setting you up for the inevitable sequel. You don’t necessarily have to play Criminal Origins to enjoy Bloodshot, but since it’s a budget title, why wouldn’t you?

Graphically Bloodshot doesn’t disappoint, though there were some levels that were eye straining headache inducing nightmares. There is a lot of detail in this game and the character models are great and move well. Ethan looks like he’s about to start suffering from DTs at any time.

The control is much more fluid, and at first I thought the game was easier than its predecessor, it’s not. It is more reactive and in the long run a more satisfying experience than the first game. (which was no slouch – seriously, play the first)

There are several multiplayer modes, but I haven’t tried any yet. I did spend some time in Condemned Fight Club where you get to dictate which and how many enemies to fight as well as weapon selection. It’s a good way to hone combat skills and chase after some of the more elusive achievements if you are playing the game on an Xbox 360.

All in all I had a blast with Condemned 2: Bloodshot. The game is atmospheric, raw and engrossing. It’ll probably take you about 10-12 hours on normal difficulty so you may want to give it a rental. However, higher difficulty and the FPS mode alone offer some replayability so if this is your type of game there are worse ways to spend $60.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot is Published by Sega and was developed by Monolith Productions. It carries a mature rating for violence and language, alcohol, drugs and gore. It is available for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3

Hey Ubisoft Pay Attention!!

Mixing it up with Assassins Creed

First let me say that I enjoyed this game. If I break it down on a 1-5 scale
Graphics: 4
Story: 4
Control: 5
Sound: 3.5

So it looks good on paper, but the experienced gamer may have a bit to quibble about. First off Assassins Creed definitely suffers from a serious case of same crap different day. Altair the main character may as well be reporting to a cubicle to crunch numbers. There is a very precise order to everything he needs to do to perform an assassination.

Get to town.
Report to the guild.
Scout the town through viewpoints.
Collect info through pick pocketing, eavesdropping, intimidating and using informers who only have two kinds of tasks, assassination or flag collecting.
Report back to the guild for permission to kill.
Carry out your assassination.
There are also citizens who are being harassed that you can save to create helpful vigilante squads to delay pursuers or groups of scholars to hide among.

While this may sound like a lot to do it’s not. Ubisoft could have had a stellar game here instead of an above average game. Knowing there will be a second installment, and the amount of potential this new franchise has, I am hoping they fix some problems in the next part. Here is a breakdown on the city missions and what I would like to see done to improve them.

Get to town – You have to visit each of the three main cities 3 times each. Each time you enter a city you blend in with a group of slow moving scholars to get past the guards. I’m not giving anything away here, it’s pretty obvious. It would have been much more interesting if you had to find a different way into the city each time as city security plugs the hole you exploited last time.

Report to the guild – this is important to the story and not too much of a bother, but you shouldn’t need to return after collecting info on your assassination then again after you were done. It slowed the flow of the game down for me. Altair already has permission from the head of the guild, why should he need middle managements approval? A carrier pigeon occasionally summoning him back for side quests/jobs would have been good.

Scout the town for viewpoints – this is fun, and jumping from your perch into the hay gave me a lurch in my stomach each time. The drawback is after climbing your first viewpoint all other viewpoints show up on your map. Make us hunt for them; we’re up for the challenge.

Getting info: This is where Ubisoft dropped the ball. While the mechanics of getting info were tedious, using the info correctly during your assassination instead of charging in really benefited the gameplay. It would be great to access the info you’ve collected during assassinations without going through 3 menu screens.
Here’s a breakdown on info gathering.

Pick pocket – why does each mark walk slowly and alone through the city? You can usually pick a pocket within seconds after the setup scene. Mix it up a little. Vary the speed your marks move in. Give some of them an entourage. Imagine starting a disturbance by causing a street fight or tossing a beggar into the marks protectors and slipping in while they’re distracted, or getting the entourage to chase you so you have to lose them and double back before they do.

Eavesdropping – sitting on a bench, using your ears..really? In a game with this many vertical surfaces the eavesdropping missions could have required you to hang on walls over people’s heads or just under them while hoping a guard, archer or snitch doesn’t see you, blowing the surveillance. If you’re busted, the eavesdropping opportunity should move to another location on the map.

Intimidation – guards won’t stop you if you start a fist fight. There really isn’t a need to do this stealthily. Give the intended some followers you need to take out as a group or one by one, non lethal and without attracting the guards. Then you can lay the smack down on the target. A little leg breaking would not be frowned upon either.

Informers – the informer assassination jobs were fun and difficult as they were timed and usually took place around beggars, drunks and madmen who could botch it for you. No problems here. I didn’t even have a problem with the pointless flag collecting except there are already flags all over the place to collect and it’s easy to go after the wrong one. Send me to get some artifact or save a particular person in a heavily guarded area with a time limit instead.

Save the citizen – this was also a lot of fun, but it also showed the lack of enemy AI. You kill a dozen guards and no one notices you standing there since the location reregisters. If some of the citizens were actually being dragged away and you had to keep up with them it would have been more of a challenge. Since saving the citizens aren’t necessary for the story they shouldn’t show up on my map. Make me find them. This would cause you to be more aware of the city around you instead of free running the rooftops from task to task.

Since I used the info collected, I had a great time with the assassinations. I even got panicked when something went wrong with all my careful planning. The dialogue between Altair and his dying targets is a fair enough trade off to move the plot forward. Again, I don’t see the reason behind revisiting the guild when he should be getting out of dodge with the guards in high alert.

Here are a few other points that bugged me.
He’s a kick ass assassin. He can’t doggy paddle two feet when he lands in the water next to the boat he was aiming for? The only people who die when they hit the water are quadriplegics. Why this still happens in games amazes me. Of course wet robes could slow him down making it harder for him to jump, run or move with stealth.

The subplot could have waited till mid game. I don’t want to give anything away, but they shot the wad a bit prematurely. It will be interesting to see how it all works out in later installments.

There were a few graphical glitches and my game froze 3 times, I’ve read worse on message boards, but the game does have a great autosave feature so if you’re collecting flags and carrying out side missions you shouldn't lose too much. Considering the quality of the graphics and the fluidity of control, I’m surprised it ran at all.

There is a character with the voice and likeness of Kristen Bell, (formerly Veronica Mars, currently Elle on heroes) but her character model needs a lift. I’m talking to you Jade Raymond, get the girl a bra. She’s hanging in grandma territory. A boob job didn’t hurt Lara Croft, and it won’t hurt here.

Just as an aside, if Jade Raymond and Kristen Bell want a catfight in the next game, I won’t complain.

Ubisoft Producer Jade Raymond

All in all I enjoyed my time with Assassins Creed and would recommend it. If they fix some of the problems I’ve listed above, or just add more variety to the missions the second installment will kick butt and take names. You are going to want to play that game and you’re going to need to play this one to have a handle on the story. At the least give it a weekend rental.