MovieChat Forums > Condemned 2: Bloodshot (2008) Discussion > Tell me it doesn't get worse. (Maybe Spo...

Tell me it doesn't get worse. (Maybe Spoilers)


So I completed the original a couple of days ago and it was amazing so i decided to try this one. I am only on the opening level and am already kacking my pants. I've got into the building where Vanhorn is and I just saw him get jumped by one of those sludge monsters and now I have to climb through the window and go after him... damn, this is just the first level and it's already made me turn the console off and take a break,

I don't mean that it's bad, it's absaloutely fantastic, I just didn't expect this magnitude of atmosphere from the first level. I can see that this game is gonna be up there on my all time faves list (along with the original) if I can steady my nerves for long enough. And I just have to add that I absaloutely love the improved combat system.

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Well i'm in the doll factory now and to be honest, I haven't really been scared at all since the first level with the sludge monsters which is kind of dissapointing because in the first game I found myself scared pretty much all the time for the entire game. The game is still great but i am just not being scared. The first level tantalised me with eery music, dark corridors and terrifying monsters and since then it just hasn't delivered. Please tell me that this lack of scares is temporary.

The main thing that I find scary in games is the anticipation of the unexpected, in the context of this game that means that the parts that I find scary are the parts that don't include crazy bums with rusty pipes. Sure, stoving in peoples faces with rusty pipes is alot of fun but, for me, it just isn't scary. So I suppose what I am trying to say is that I hope there are more scares later that live up to the sheer pant-wetting atmosphere of the opening level. Please don't take this rant as me saying that the game is crap, it isn't, it's fantastic, but I just find it's scares slightly dissapointing so far (with the exception of the opening level).

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The SCU offices... now thats more like it, we're back in the swing of things, sludge monsters FTW. Now that my thirst for scares has been thouroughly quenched in the dark goo-stained corridors of the SCU offices I can finally start enjoying what is undoubtedly one of the most atmospheric and genuinley terrifying game series that I have ever played (not forgetting the first game... I seriously can't decide which of the two I prefer more).

On another note, the first sentence of this post marks the first time in my many many years of internet message boarding that I have ever used the abbreviation "FTW" or any other of those horrendous abominations to the english language for that matter. Anyway, uh... great game.

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Okay, I know that I've been going on about how I want good scares but, well, Scares can wait because I'VE GOT A GOD DAMNED BATTLEAXE AND, AND, AND... A FREAKING BATTLEAXE AND, AND THEY'VE GOT ARMOR AND LOOK ALL COOL AND SHINY AND MEDIEVIL AND I'VE GOT A BATTLEAXE AND I'M ALL LIKE "TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELLLLLLLLLLL"

This game just shot off the top of the awsomeness scale and hit legendary status.

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Black Lake Lodge... that bear gave me the heeby-jeebies and got the old adrenaline pumping, a very exciting and refreshing addition to the game. So now it's just soldiers? okay, I suppose after the scares of the SCU offices and the TOTAL MEDIEVIL AWSOMENESS of the museum that I was due a not-so-scary level, I still maintain that this game is one of the best that I have played in a long time I am just dissapointed that for all it's greatness, it still falls short of the standards set by the original especially in the scare department (sludge monsters not withstanding). Well I have disabled one of the blast points in the lodge and will eagerly await what the rest of the game may hold, let's hope it's more sludge monsters... oh how I love the way they scare the bejesus out of me and send shivers down my spine... mmmm sludge monsters ... ...... ...... ...

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Black Lake Lodge was fun but I wasn't keen on the shootout in the library at the end of the level because I kept running out of ammo and had to keep throwing things at the soldiers until I could take one of their guns.

Ahh the school, I remember this place from the first game, it brings back fond memories. I remember the fight in the kitchen with the fat lunch-lady, good times. It's nice to see the old place is still just as spooky as it used to be. I have just found Farrel (sp?) in the kitchen and cut him loose, I hope i'm not going to be baby-sitting this guy for too long, I always find things much more scary when I'm alone.

So SKX is going after some guy called The Magicman? what self respecting maniacal murderer would call himself The Magicman? that's just crazy... oh yeah.

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Well the magic theatre was a bit of a dissapointment, not because it wasn't scary, it had sludge monsters so how could it be anything other than scary, it was a dissapointment because it was over in a matter of a few minutes. The level was set in a theatre and yet didn't even begin to go into the kind of horrors you may have expected there to be in such a place, I didn't even get to go backstage. Anyway, as short as it was, we managed to get some decent story development in there and of course I enjoyed the brief fight with those adorable sludge monsters. Oh and I also can't help noticing how much the level reminded me of Bioshock.

Well I have just started on the Junk Barge level and so far it seems suitably atmospheric what with all the lightning, wind and the pitching and yawing of the ship. It seems slightly odd to me that a ship travelling in what seems like high winds would not bother to even attempt to secure its cargo but that's just a trivial thing. So in I go, I look forward to what I shall find within.

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Okay I am making my way through the junk barge looking for Rosa, the atmosphere is quite creepy but apart from that there have been no major scares so far. A little way into the level I found myself being fired upon by a stranger with a crossbow, I later found said crossbow and now have it holstered having used up it's only remaining bolt. The only notable scare so far has been an exilerating chase with a huge metal armored madman who, despite being burried under what looks like tonnes of heavy metal armor, seemed to be able to keep pace pretty well.

Having dispatched this iron giant with, get this, a single bolt from the crossbow I obtained eralier I now find myself in a large and wide open storage area with no less than three of these metal monstrosities and no bolts left in my crossbow. So sod it, it looks like I will have to do this the old fashioned way... with my bare fists ... okay, so the emoticon has guns, maybe he would fare better than me in the current situation.

Hmmm, fists aren't working, I kind of expected as much. I shall give it a break and come back later to look for a better way to fight them.

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So i'm on what I have been told is the final level, The Peninsula. so far it just seems like another shooty level like Black Lake Lodge, sure the atmosphere is still top notch and very well implemented but still it's not very scary at all, it's just soldiers and crawlers. What I have seen of this final level so far has only confirmed what I have been suspecting throughout the entire game, That it just can not stand in the same league as the original. The story is engrossing and intriguing, the combat is exilerating and highly refined, the atmosphere is second to none but for all of it's good points it just can not recapture that one particular element that the original done so well.

Condemned: Criminal Origins was a first person survival horror and it lived up to that genre perfectly because the player was constantly scared, however, this sequel lost one part of the genre and as such ended up somewhere outside the reach of the greatness of the original. It done the first person part just as well as Criminal Origins and it done the survival part just as well as Criminal Origins but the problem comes from the last part, the horror part, in the end it just wasn't up to the job. The only horror for me came from the sludge monsters which only made a couple of very brief appearances, nothing else really scared me very much.

Well, like I said, i'm on the final level and it seems like a rather dull level, a quite unappealing end to an otherwise very refined and exeptionally entertaining game. Seeing as how I am nearing the end of the game I thought I would compile a small list of some of the elements that I thought made this an amazing game.

1) The atmosphere... The opening level marked the first time in a lifetime of gaming that I had to physically turn the console off and take a break because I was genuinely terrified.

2) The sludge monsters... Wow, the most startlingly terrifying enemies I have ever seen in a game and definitely one of the best things about this game, it's just a shame they didn't show up too often.

3) The museum level... Need I say any more than A FREAKING BATTLEAXE WOOOOOH YEAH. But in all seriousness, this level really showcased the games exceptional combat in all it's glory.

4) The sludge monsters... Sorry but I have to give them another mention because they are just so cool and scary.

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Well I have completed the game now and I must say that I was extremely dissapointed with the final level, I discussed the reasons in the previous post, at least the ending gave some decent closure and answered many questions and also set things up for a possible third installment which of course would be very welcome. Despite not living up to the standards set by the original, this was still one of the best games I have ever played although some might say that I am easily impressed given the amount of games that seem to make it onto my list of best games. Anyway, I shall eagerly await any news on a third game.

The only thing left to do is decide what to play now. I suppose I could go through the game again on FPS mode but somehow I feel that the overuse of guns is part of the reason I mark this game down. I have played F.E.A.R before which was a fantastic experience as were its expansions. I have played and completed Bioshock many times before. And Oblivion seems to have lost much of its appeal so really I dont know what to play now, I'll probably go back to playing Morrowind until something new comes along or perhaps you friendly folks could suggest something decent. Okay bye.

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I have to agree with you on everything you said. This game just didn't live up to part one because it wasn;t scary enough and it's overuse of guns, and I too felt a bit let down by this game when I reached the end - it just didn't live up to it's prequel: Crimianl Origins.

But I'll tell you what I did to make me feel better when I finished this game. In the main menu there are Fight Clubs, I clicked on it chose several arenas and beat the crap out of thugs, police, druggies, drunks, etc, the old fashioned way: my weapon on their face!! And man did it make me feel good especially since the last level lost all it's first person survival adventure mode and it just seemed like a regular first person shooter. Not to mention it helps you unlock several achievements that you might not have unlocked during the game. These being:
- killing 5 people with the antler,
- killing 50 people with a pipe,
- performing environmental finishes,
- performing combos, etc.

It is better to keep your mouth shut and look stupid, than to open it and remove all doubt.

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Hey, i know this question is pretty old but my sister bought the game about two months ago, and there were MANYYYYYYYY points in the game that freaked her out. I mean yea its a good horror game, but sometimes she would pause and build up her bravery, lol. so youre not alone.

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