Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Boxart
Developer(s) Monolith Productions
Publisher(s) Sega
Designer(s) Frank Rooke
Composer(s) Nathan Grigg
Engine Lithtech Jupiter EX
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Microsoft Windows
Release date(s) Xbox 360
  • NA November 16, 2005
  • EU December 2, 2005
  • JP August 31, 2006
Microsoft Windows
  • NA April 11, 2006
  • EU April 13, 2006
Genre(s) Psychological horror
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s)
Media/distribution Optical disc
System requirements

Minimum system requirements:

  • System: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or equivalent
  • RAM: 512 MB
  • Video Memory: 128 MB
  • Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
  • Other: DirectX 9 compliant graphics card (ATI 9500 or NVIDIA 6200)

Recommended system requirements:

  • System: Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or equivalent
  • RAM: 768 MB
  • Video Memory: 256 MB
  • Other: DirectX 9 compliant card (ATI 9800 or NVIDIA 6800)

Condemned: Criminal Origins (known in Japan as Condemned: Psycho Crime and in Australia as simply Condemned) is a psychological horror first-person shooter video game, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega. It was launched worldwide in 2005 on the Xbox 360, with a Microsoft Windows version released later in 2006. The Windows version had few changes from the console version.

The game uses a first person perspective. Condemned: Criminal Origins places an added emphasis on melee combat and puzzle solving, including searching for fingerprints and gathering evidence.

Upon release, Condemned was met with moderate to good reviews by many aggregates and critics. Many reviewers cited its questionable storyline and lack of progression as the game's biggest fault. As a reprieve, the game's solid controls and fresh approach to the horror genre were praised. This allowed for a sequel, entitled Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which was released on March 11, 2008, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Other media forms include an internet prequel and a planned film adaptation to expand the Condemned franchise. The developers have cited films such as The Silence of the Lambs and Seven as inspiration for the game.

Contents

Gameplay

Combat

Although the game is played entirely from a first-person perspective (only broken for cut scenes) it is not a traditional first-person shooter. Firearms are present, but are somewhat uncommon. Unlike many other first-person shooters, though, firearms are especially deadly, often killing enemies with a single shot. The guns that can be found, or taken from enemies, are only good for as long as the current ammo in the magazine lasts; once this is depleted, the butt of the gun can be used as a weapon. To complicate matters further, enemies operate firearms from the same ammo reserve, meaning once the enemy has been dispatched, the player only gets what ammo was left over from the fight. This encourages players to attack enemies with firearms quickly.

The focus of the experience is on improvised melee, allowing players and enemies to collect, or even pull, weapons from their surrounding environments, such as pipes, locker doors, shovels, and 2x4s. The word often employed by the developers of the game to describe the combat is 'visceral'. A quick-kick is available for attacking without, or alongside, a hand-held weapon, and attacks can be unleashed in different directions and configurations, such as left to right or overhead, but combat is notable for not utilizing a combo system, unlike similar titles such as The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. In many cases, blocking is necessary both before and after landing a successful hit. The player can also perform "finishing moves" when the opponent is on his knees, such as headbutting or breaking their neck.

The artificial intelligence displayed by enemies requires the player to think on their feet a great deal more than similar games. Enemies are able to flee and hide effectively, often surprising the player by quickly appearing from a concealed spot. Enemies can also effectively feint, in order to trick the player into blocking at an inopportune time, leaving themselves open for the real attack.

Although there are sharp weapons in the game, one cannot stab or dismember enemies. In fact, the player can almost never wield an actual knife or sword, with the exception being in the School level, where the player has brief access to a meat cleaver. Some melee weapons fall under the class of entry tool, (like a fire axe for a rotten door, or a crowbar for a locked safe) and act as keys in the gameworld, allowing the player to access new areas or locked boxes.

The player also has a taser gun which when used stuns the target, does some damage and allows the player to seize the stunned enemy's weapon. Later in the game, Lieutenant Rosa gives the player a new upgraded taser, which is much more powerful, causing the enemy's legs to give out. One hit or shot after that will kill any enemy. Common uses for it are safely attacking enemies with guns (since it allows players to stun them from a distance and then seize the gun while the enemy is incapacitated), countering an immediate attack (since using the taser does not require the precise timing that blocking does) and obtaining the chance to make a free hit (a hit where the player does not risk being hit first). However, it has to recharge between shots so it cannot be used to bypass the game's system of carefully fighting enemies.

The entire game takes place in derelict urban environments, with minimum lighting. The player must use a flashlight to navigate through the game's constantly darkened environments, while dealing with frequent enemy ambushes.

Near the end of the game the player loses both the flashlight and the taser. This means all strategies which required the taser become impossible and the only personal light source becomes burning planks which means carrying a gun reduces visibility. This effectively forces the player to rely exclusively on blocking, hiding and evasion for defense and close range attacks for offense.

Crime scenes

Condemned directly involves the player in crime scene investigations, offering the ability to, at the press of a context-sensitive button, call upon a suite of forensic tools to find and record evidence. The player character is linked to an FBI lab via his mobile phone throughout the investigation, allowing (almost immediate) remote examination and analysis by his support worker, Rosa. Crime scene evidence can be used to solve puzzles, allowing the player to pass previously impassable barriers, and provide clues to the overall mysteries of the story.

Examples of evidence include fingerprints, footprints, fibers, fluids (such as blood or chemicals), particles, residues, markings/etchings, material, imprints, wounds, small objects, documents, and body parts.

The player character is gifted with the instinctual ability to detect when forensic evidence is nearby, allowing players to bring up the detection and collection tools when appropriate. However, the "instincts" of the character only vaguely highlight the area in which the evidence resides, it is up to the player to methodically sweep the scene and catalog any findings.

Synopsis

Setting

In Condemned: Criminal Origins, players take the role of Ethan Thomas, a SCU agent (Serial Crime Unit investigator that uses forensic tools) framed for a double cop murder who becomes trapped in the condemned sections of a fictional American city named "Metro City" while hunting a serial killer. Thomas' investigation is further complicated by a mysterious phenomenon that is transforming the transient population of these areas into insane, violent psychotics. As Thomas, the player investigates crime scenes using forensic tools and techniques, while fighting off the constant assaults by "the condemned" in the hopes of catching the serial killer and escaping alive, and prove that he is innocent to the police.

Characters

The game's protagonist is Ethan Thomas (voiced by Greg Grunberg), an SCU investigator with unusually acute investigative instincts. He also is stated to have superhuman durability, as demonstrated by his ability to recover quickly from electrocution, long falls, and blunt trauma to the head, among others. He is aided in his investigations by Rosa, a forensics investigator at headquarters.

The primary antagonist of the game is Serial Killer X, who is hunting the serial killers that Ethan is searching for, killing them by the methods that they themselves use. Near the end of the game, he is revealed to be Leland Vanhorn, nephew of Ethan’s friend Malcolm. Malcolm believes that Leland is being influenced by mysterious mutilated humanoid creatures that are causing an increase in insanity throughout the city. These creatures are more fully explained in the sequel as being related to the cult known as the Oro.[citation needed]

Plot

The game begins with the protagonist, SCU agent Ethan Thomas, arriving at the scene of a murder. He and his fellow officers go into an abandoned building that is surrounded by psychopaths and criminals. The crime scene they investigate is one of a young woman. She is on the floor with strangulation wounds, sitting across a table from a male mannequin. Ethan along with his colleagues agree that the murder was most likely committed by the Match Maker, a serial killer that Ethan has been investigating. After they collect evidence from the scene, one of the officers smells cigarette smoke. Believing that the smoke must be coming from their suspect, they decide to split up and go after him. While searching for the suspect, Ethan tries to restore power from an electrical box. Due to an electrical surge, Ethan is shocked, and drops to the floor, causing his weapon to be thrown from his hand. A man hiding in the shadows takes it and flees. Ethan manages to chase the man into a small, dead-end room, where the man holds Ethan at gunpoint and tells him they have the similar goals. Ethan's colleagues enter the room and tell the man to drop his weapon, and are promptly shot by the man with Ethan's gun, who then shoves Ethan out a window onto the street.

Ethan wakes in his apartment with Malcolm Vanhorn, a friend of Ethan’s father, at his side. Malcolm warns Ethan that he is wanted for the deaths of the two officers who were shot with Ethan's gun. Ethan is determined to prove his innocence, although his own sanity appears to be slipping, as throughout the game he suffers numerous horrific visions.

He soon learns that the killer is interested in Ethan’s SCU career. Later, he finds the body of the Match Maker, killed by his own modus operandi in an old department store. He presumes that the man at the original crime scene, referred to in the game as "Serial Killer X", is the culprit and that he is trying to kill the serial killers that Ethan is looking for. Ethan searches for the one that he thinks is next, a serial killer dubbed 'The Torturer'.

Ethan tracks the Torturer and Serial Killer X to an abandoned apple orchard in the rural town of Brier. Shortly before finding the Torturer in the farmhouse, Ethan is attacked by a strange man-like creature. Ethan kills the creature, and continues in his search. He searches through the farm where he eventually finds the Torturer dead, also killed by his own modus operandi. Soon, Ethan finds the mysterious killer, who is revealed to be Leland Vanhorn, nephew of Malcolm Vanhorn. Malcolm arrives and knocks Ethan out with a shovel to prevent him from hurting Leland. Leland then knocks Malcolm out.

When Ethan revives, he is tied up and at the mercy of Leland. He explains to Ethan that he has been killing the serial killers that Ethan had been hunting, and that he intends to kill Ethan as well. As Leland thinks of all the ways that he can kill Ethan, cutting Ethan's finger off in the process, Ethan notices another man-like creature hiding in the rafters. This creature is known as 'The Hate' and is identified as the source of the madness gripping Metro City. Malcolm jumps Leland from behind and succeeds in wrestling him to the ground. Ethan manages to free himself, and Malcolm tells him to kill The Hate, saying that it is the cause of Leland’s madness. Ethan pursues The Hate as it tries to escape, fighting waves of hideously deformed creatures along the way, and eventually corners it in a barn and kills it.

As Malcolm drives Ethan home, Ethan discovers that Leland is alive, and in the trunk of the car. When Ethan opens the trunk, he is given the option to shoot the tied-up Leland. If he does not shoot Leland, Leland pulls out his own gun and waves it at Ethan before committing suicide. Later, Ethan and Rosa are having a conversation in a diner when Rosa reveals that she is wired, possibly explaining that she still trusts him. Rosa then leaves the diner, and Ethan goes to the bathroom. While in the restroom, the player witnesses as Ethan's mouth becomes that of one of The Hate before the game comes to an abrupt halt.

Unlockable content

The version of Condemned: Criminal Origins for the Xbox 360 console employs the achievements system mandated by Microsoft. As the criteria for the achievement awards are met, bonus content is unlocked, which can then be accessed from a special menu. Content includes concept and production sketches and paintings, work-in-progress animation, video from motion capture sessions, and a rather lengthy video showcasing a complete level from an early version of the game. These features were later carried over to the PC version of the game.

Development

Early versions

Condemned: Criminal Origins was originally known as The Dark, quite far into production. Under this name, the game was largely similar but differed in several key areas. The player character was known as Agent Cross, and the game appeared to follow him on a Government-sanctioned investigation, or investigations, rather than acting as a rogue on the run from the law. Although Cross possessed the supernatural leanings of Thomas from the final game, he could actually use various magical spells. For example, a spell could be uttered to pull a gun from an enemy's hands and bring it to you through the air, and another spell saw doors and other obstacles break in front of you, seemingly negating the need for a fire axe. The forensic tools used by Cross also differed, as the detection and collection tools were typically one individual item - the UV light, for instance, could illuminate clues and then be used to physically swipe across them, to take samples.

Reception

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings (X360) 82.29%[1]
(PC) 79.13%[2]
Metacritic (X360) 81/100[3]
(PC) 78/100[4]
Review scores
Publication Score

Condemned: Criminal Origins received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the Xbox 360 version 82.29% and 81/100[1][3] and the PC version 79.13% and 78/100,[2][4]. GameSpot awarded Condemned an 8.0 saying "it captures hand-to-hand combat with intense, lifelike brutality like no other game before it."[5] IGN gave Criminal Origins a 8.7, stating that its combat had a lot of depth to it.[citation needed] Game Informer gave the game an 8.75 saying that it's a fresh start in the horror genre with great graphics and fun gameplay,[citation needed] but criticised its short campaign and questionable plot.[citation needed]

Controversy

In February 2008 all copies of Condemned were confiscated in Germany because of §131 StGB. Distribution in Germany is now prohibited by law.[6]

Other media

Prequel

A 6 part episodic online game was released on the Condemned: Criminal Origins website [7] and was set before Condemned: Criminal Origins. The protagonist is Agent Mallory, who is searching for a serial killer. In the last episode, Mallory is killed by Serial Killer X. The game ends where Condemned begins.

Sequel

A direct sequel to the game was released in 2008. It was entitled Condemned 2: Bloodshot to show the character evolution in protagonist Ethan Thomas. The game was developed by Monolith and published by Sega, the same companies as the original. It expanded on the gameplay elements from Condemned and added several new features such as online multiplayer and environmental kills.

Film adaptation

On October 4, 2005, Warner Brothers Studios announced plans to release a film adaptation which is set in the same "universe" as the then upcoming Condemned: Criminal Origins.[8] Warner Bros. Studios had acquired Monolith Productions during 2004 and is expecting for the movie to receive a currently to be announced 2008 theatrical release date. A report from The Variety states that Kurt Sutter, co-executive producer of the television series The Shield, would be writing the screenplay for the film under the working title Unforgettable.[9]

According to earlier drafts of the script, a police officer hunts down a serial killer in an attempt to clear his name from murder. However, during the process he discovers that he may be tied to other ongoing murder cases in an unusual way. The cop soon begins to question throughout his investigation upon discovering his supernatural abilities, "who he is as a man, until he realizes he's not a man. A tug-of-war emerges among a faction of good and evil aliens."[8]

Also connected with the project is Jason Hall, a former Monolith CEO who joined Warner Bros. to become Vice president of Operations over their gaming division. Hall, along with Nathan Henderickson, was responsible for the film's concept and state that he seeks to "come up with something specifically designed to use multiple mediums to tell stories that had some continuity and connective thread... We wanted to create a universe that, like a Star Wars, was big enough where different stories could exist."[10] Variety indicated that the plan was to introduce audiences to the "universe" of Condemned with Criminal Origins, followed by a film adaptation which will tie-in with a sequel video game gradually expanding the story's universe.[10]

References

External links


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  • Condemned: Criminal Origins — Desarrolladora(s) Monolith Productions Distribuidora(s) Sega Plataforma(s) Xbox 360, PC …   Wikipedia Español

  • Condemned: Criminal Origins — Разработчик Monolith Productions Издатель Sega …   Википедия

  • Condemned: Criminal Origins — Entwickler Monolith Productions Publisher …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Condemned: Criminal Origins — Condemned : Criminal Origins Éditeur Sega Développeur Monolith Productions Concepteur Frank R …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Condemned criminal origins — …   Википедия

  • Condemned - criminal origins — …   Википедия

  • Condemned — Condemned: Criminal Origins Entwickler: Monolith Productions Verleger: Sega Publikation: 15. November 2005 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Condemned — Condemned: Criminal Origins Condemned : Criminal Origins Éditeur Sega Développeur Monolith Productions Concepteur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Condemned 2: Bloodshot — Developer(s) Monolith Productions Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Condemned 2: Bloodshot — Éditeur Sega Développeur Monolith Productions Date de sortie 11 mars 2008 (USA) 4 avril 2008 (Europe) Genre …   Wikipédia en Français

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