RSS
Home
Great horror games: Condemned: Criminal Origins
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
October brings cold weather, falling leaves, and carved pumpkins but it also spawns its fair share of haunted houses. People pay to go on haunted hayrides, lurk through creepy old buildings, and find their way through corn mazes. The point of all these experiences is to have some freaky looking dude pop up out of nowhere and cause all sorts of neat chemical reactions in the body. Adrenaline starts pumping, awareness is enhanced and best of all, endorphins are released once the scare has ended and the patron knows they are safe. Condemned: Criminal Origins has a very similar effect on player’s senses.
The premise of the game rests on the idea of a condemned area of a fictional American city being populated by crazed addicts and homeless people. The protagonist, Ethan Thomas, is a cop who must make his way through building after decrepit building in hopes of finding Serial Killer X. It doesn’t help that Ethan has been framed for the murder of two fellow police officers. To clear his name he’ll have to solve the mysteries of ‘the condemned’ and find Serial Killer X.
What makes Condemned so scary is the fact that, just like in the haunted houses, bad guys can pop up out of nowhere and truly make a gamer jump in his seat. They make noises too! The game beefs up the intensity by having ‘the condemned’ scuff the floor or bump into a desk. Add to this a dark room and nothing more than a crowbar for self defense and the heart starts to beat way faster than it was before. But it doesn’t end there; get too close to one of the gnarled assailants and they’ll grab the screen and show off their hideous faces.
There’s also a lot to like outside the shock factors of the fights. Condemned comes with a creepy serial killer story, rewarding gameplay, and a cool method for storytelling. Ethan has a couple of tools at his disposal to help aide him in his quest. He can follow a trail of blood, lift fingerprints and detect pollutants in the air. Fans of forensic anthropology will definitely love this vehicle for plot progression.
All in all, Condemned makes for a pretty awesome experience. It’s scary, visceral, and creepy; a great horror game, hands down.
If you liked this article, check out these:
Great Horror Games: The Fatal Frame Series Great Horror Games: The Silient Hill Series Great Horror Games: The Resident Evil Series Great Horror Games: Alone in the Dark Great Horror Games: System Shock 2 Great Horror Games: Clock Tower 3
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
