Condemned 2: Bloodshot
This review contains spoilers
The ending:
I actually don't think it escalates poorly. Make it a global conspiracy with a shadow organization that has caused all the ills of mankind through the years because they think they're protecting us from some other, unknown threat. I really dig that. I would have liked to see how that panned out in Condemned 3 but unfortunately that ain't gonna happen. I'm not original here but the sonic voice shit is stupid. There were so many other things they could have done to make Thomas special while not having that. Or just not have him be ridiculously special. There were just so many other things they could have done.
And there was a little bit of padding. The Magic Man level was pointless with a bad boss fight. I thought it was going to be neat when it started but by the end of it, I was like, "You couldn't have given me this information another way?"
The combat is definitely better though I don't actually know how much better it had to be. It's cool to grab people and smash their heads into TVs, and combos are nice, but it could have gotten by with only minor upgrades, because the combat in the first one was completely fine. And the upgrades are nice but not especially impressive, meaning they technically add to the experience, but the game doesn't change much if they aren't there.
Same with the investigations. They're more in-depth, and you answer questions, and that is an improvement, but it wasn't an improvement I needed. Still, it's cool it's there. Save system is more modern too. You don't manual save but there are decent amounts of checkpoints and the game doesn't fuck you over like the first one occasionally does. So that's worth pointing out.
All-in-all, it's a more pleasant game to PLAY than the first, but the first one's still better because it's a more solid experience from start to finish. This has hiccups.
I actually don't think it escalates poorly. Make it a global conspiracy with a shadow organization that has caused all the ills of mankind through the years because they think they're protecting us from some other, unknown threat. I really dig that. I would have liked to see how that panned out in Condemned 3 but unfortunately that ain't gonna happen. I'm not original here but the sonic voice shit is stupid. There were so many other things they could have done to make Thomas special while not having that. Or just not have him be ridiculously special. There were just so many other things they could have done.
And there was a little bit of padding. The Magic Man level was pointless with a bad boss fight. I thought it was going to be neat when it started but by the end of it, I was like, "You couldn't have given me this information another way?"
The combat is definitely better though I don't actually know how much better it had to be. It's cool to grab people and smash their heads into TVs, and combos are nice, but it could have gotten by with only minor upgrades, because the combat in the first one was completely fine. And the upgrades are nice but not especially impressive, meaning they technically add to the experience, but the game doesn't change much if they aren't there.
Same with the investigations. They're more in-depth, and you answer questions, and that is an improvement, but it wasn't an improvement I needed. Still, it's cool it's there. Save system is more modern too. You don't manual save but there are decent amounts of checkpoints and the game doesn't fuck you over like the first one occasionally does. So that's worth pointing out.
All-in-all, it's a more pleasant game to PLAY than the first, but the first one's still better because it's a more solid experience from start to finish. This has hiccups.
Mini Review: This has higher highs and lower lows than the first. The combat and save system are much better. I find it scarier than the first because it leans into the psychological horror quicker, but perhaps the first had a slightly better atmosphere because you drown in that shit. But they're comparable. The final plot reveal is rightfully hated by a lot of people, though despite that, the game did set up a Condemned 3 in an interesting way.