The horror genre in gaming has evolved steadily over the last few decades. Beginning with text-based games, evolving into rudimentary 3D adventures like Alone in the Dark, and then evolving into big-budget, technically-astounding games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the horror genre continues to grow year after year. But every so often, a bold new horror experience slips through the cracks, and the Condemned series is certainly an example of that.
Releasing in 2005 and 2008 respectively, the two Condemned games were first-person horror titles that became instant cult classics. Heavily inspired by gritty, groundbreaking horror movies like Saw, Seven, and Silence of the Lambs, the Condemned series put an emphasis on gore, tension, and realistic horror. With a perfectly horrifying visual style and some truly unique mechanics, the Condemned series still holds up today, although a remaster of both games wouldn't hurt.
Why The Condemned Series Deserves a Remaster
The first game in the series, Condemned: Criminal Origins, released in 2005 for the Xbox 360, and a year later for PC. Developed by Monolith, the studio now best known for its Middle Earth: Shadow games, Condemned: Criminal Origins puts players in the boots of Ethan Thomas, a CSI agent that's tasked with hunting down a man known as Serial Killer X, who's framed him for murder. This job will see Ethan venture into a series of "condemned" apartment blocks, where violence is waiting round every corner.
The real draw of Condemned: Criminal Origins is its realism and visceral nature. From a technical perspective, Condemned: Criminal Origins captures its suspenseful atmosphere perfectly, with realistic lighting systems forcing the player to actually use their flashlight to navigate the environment. The brilliance of this system is only highlighted further with the game's surprisingly complex AI. Throughout Condemned, players will face off against a variety of human foes, all of which pose a significant threat and are capable of killing the player in just a few hits. Players need to use stealth and every tool at their disposal to get the drop on their foes, as the AI is easily capable of flanking the player and overwhelming them.
The brutal realism of Condemned: Criminal Origins is reinforced even more via the game's combat system. Using a first-person perspective, players are forced to rely on melee combat to survive, and can even rip pipes and other weapons from their surroundings. This often leads to some incredibly intense fights, with players scrambling to find a weapon in the environment, all while being hunted down by violent, unrelenting enemies. The player can also occasionally find firearms, though ammo is extremely limited. In a particularly unique choice, both the player and the enemy AI can be killed with just one bullet, adding yet another layer of harsh realism to the game.
Being a CSI agent, the player can also investigate various crime scenes throughout Condemned: Criminal Origins. Acting as environmental puzzles, these crime scenes task the player with collecting evidence from their surroundings, including fingerprints, blood samples, and fibers. Players will also occasionally have to inspect a body and record their various wounds and lacerations.
In 2008, a direct sequel named Condemned 2: Bloodshot released on the Xbox 360 and PS3. For the most part, Condemned 2 plays pretty similarly to its predecessor, with a focus still on melee combat over ranged. However, Condemned 2 introduced a new hand-to-hand combat system where players could use their fists to brutally defeat their opponents. Condemned 2 also added gory environmental finishers, allowing players to ram their opponents' heads into walls or floors.
Despite having favorable reviews for both entries, the Condemned series has all but faded into obscurity in the decade since its last release. Although Condemned features some of the most impressive atmospheric tension in any horror game series, and had a truly unique approach to first-person combat, not many current day gamers have played them, and with the second game being restricted to just PS3 and Xbox 360, it's unlikely that anyone would go back now. So, with that in mind, remasters of both Condemned games should be high up on the list of priorities for Sega.
Condemned: Criminal Origins and Condemned 2: Bloodshot are available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
