Condemned - Xbox360

[flashburn]

So, has anyone played this yet?

I decided to play this first, and I must say I am very impressed.

Earlier today I played Madden 2006 at work on the 360, and I was very disappointed. Everything from the graphics to the gameplay just felt lacking.

Condemned is exactly what I was expecting next-gen to be. The graphics are absolutely fantastic. Everything from the dynamic lighting, the soft shadows, to the bump mapping is great. The shear level of detail is amazing.

I have only played it for about an hour so far, and have had several 'oh shit' moments. This one looks to be a real nail biter, so much so, that I think I will take a break for a bit and try Geometry Wars.

[movieking]

I still haven't actually plugged in my xbox, but this is the game that I am looking forward to starting with. The xbox 360 is my first console since the old NES, so I am a total newbie to this generation of gaming, but this game just looks awesome.

[DJ_Longfellow]

This game was GREAT. I really enjoyed it. Although, it's kinda short...there are 10 total chapters. I finished the game, and I probably won't replay it (unless you want to find ALL the secrets). However, the game is/was really fun. A lot of moments where you jump. I recommend it

As for Madden, I enjoy it but I cannot find a happy medium in the difficulty. All-Pro is TOO easy, All-Madden is a bit unbalanced. All my games are offensive shootouts. I'm trying to find a good slider balance.

[Save Ferris]

Im also loving this game. Too many games so little time!

[DJ_Longfellow]

Yeah, I enver played through games that often...However, I already finished this and Call of Duty 2 on the 360. GREAT games. Onto PDZ and Tiger Woods and Quake 4 and Madden and.......

[Leechboy]

This game is the reason that I am buying a 360. Whenever I can find one.

[DVDKrayzie]

Best game (IMO) of the launch titles, but it is a little short. i'd recommend renting it since you can beat it in a few hours, and there's not much replay value. I picked it up for $39.99 at fry's, sold it for $50 on ebay 2 days later after I beat it, so it was definitely worth it :).
Another fun, but EVEN shorter game, is King Kong. You can seriously beat it in one sitting without even a bathroom break, but it's a fun ride while it lasts. It has even less replay value though because once you beat it, that's it, not even anymore achievement points to earn like condemned.
Other good games : Kameo and Gun were fun but again short and the graphics were pretty ugly for "next-generation".

Come to think of it all the 360 games are short, which is why I probably only play Zuma on mine now lol (damn that level 8)
I also had already purchased and beat Call of Duty and Quake 4 on PC before the 360 came out, so now i have nothing to play for a good while I guess. Maybe DOA in 2 weeks, other than that nothing will be out till next year i think, which is kind of disappointing, reminds me of the Saturn launch a little...

[flashburn]

Best game (IMO) of the launch titles, but it is a little short. i'd recommend renting it since you can beat it in a few hours, and there's not much replay value.



Depends on what your definition of 'a few hours' is. I beat the game in roughly 12-14 hours of gameplay. Sure, I wasn't rushing through it or anything, but I don't feel that I was moving at a snail's pace either.

Overall I loved this game. Easily my favorite of the launch, even more than PGR3. It really felt "next-gen" to me, and I had a blast playing it. I've recommended this game to a few people, and they have all enjoyed it very much. I just wish it did have some replay value, but instead I will go ahead and trade it in to Gamerush.

I do have a question for others who have beaten the game.

Spoilers:

Okay, so at the end we find out it is this cult that is using you. So I take it the crazy guys trying to kill you the entire time are a part of this cult. Why would they be trying to kill you then, if they need you? Did they ever reveal what the deal was with the birds dieing? Maybe I just missed a big part of the story or something.

[DVDKrayzie]

few hours i meant about 7, on normal difficulty. it was a pretty easy game, i dont see why youd need 14 hours unless you wanted to find every bird and metal piece, all you had to do to kill everyone in the game was swing kick, swing/klick over and over again, i dont think i ever tried to blovk once, it's completely unnecessary. king kong when i say a few hours i really do mean like 3 hours lol.

[flashburn]

few hours i meant about 7, on normal difficulty. it was a pretty easy game, i dont see why youd need 14 hours unless you wanted to find every bird and metal piece, all you had to do to kill everyone in the game was swing kick, swing/klick over and over again, i dont think i ever tried to blovk once, it's completely unnecessary. king kong when i say a few hours i really do mean like 3 hours lol.
Like I said, I took my time. I explored a lot, and just enjoyed the atmosphere. I also died a few times, so that didn't help.

Honestly I think your times are a bit skewed. I haven't played King Kong yet, but everything I have heard is that it is at least 6-10 hours long.

[Wick]

This game (as well as PDZ) were the two main reasons I thought about buying a 360. I haven't purchased one yet, though. I think I'm going to wait and get a Revolution and PS3. I've played the 360 and I'm not sure of what I think of it.

[DJ_Longfellow]

3 hours for King Kong...wow. I think I played it for that long and was only 40% done. I only rented it though, so I didn't put much thought into it.

[DARTH GAMER]

king kong when i say a few hours i really do mean like 3 hours lol.

I'm all for short games now with the time I have to actually play them now. (Two children, 1 year old, and a new born) Especially if that means hopefully better gameplay and graphics. But any game, Especially an adventure/story type game, That clocks in at around 3 hours is unacceptable IMO. You have to be mistaken on the time it took you to beat this game. How can you even enjoy it if you are flying through it like that.

[Save Ferris]

I think he's trying to get props for being a "pro gamer" by the way he keeps posting how quickly he beat each game. Nothing wrong with that kind of gameplay, if thats how you feel good about a game then knock yourself out. Try to get the best time you can.

I personally hate racing through a game quickly. (King Kong is taking me well over 10 hours right now)

[JaxComet]

Great game! My first completed 360 game........

[DJ_Longfellow]

Yeah, I don't know how King Kong was 3 hours.....unless it was on the easiest setting. I usually just leave it on default for most games. PDZ I put on Secret Agent though...a bit tough at times.

[rgarcia]

Well, I just finished the game last night. I cant remember the last time that I've finished two games in a short amount of time. I finished PZ0 about a week and a half ago. Both were pretty enjoyable games. I played with the lights off and the sound up(5.1). I could feel goose bumps on my arm at some points of the game. Overall pretty good, but very short. Have a question: If you kill that guy in the trunk, what happens? I took the nice guy route and didn't shoot him.

I really don't see any replay value expect to get more achievements. Does everyone agree?

[flashburn]

Well, I just finished the game last night. I cant remember the last time that I've finished two games in a short amount of time. I finished PZ0 about a week and a half ago. Both were pretty enjoyable games. I played with the lights off and the sound up(5.1). I could feel goose bumps on my arm at some points of the game. Overall pretty good, but very short. Have a question: If you kill that guy in the trunk, what happens? I took the nice guy route and didn't shoot him.

I really don't see any replay value expect to get more achievements. Does everyone agree?

There should be an autosave right before the end, so you can reload and see the other ending. :) It isn't too different though.

[fujishig]

It's 50 bucks next week at BB (along with NBA2K), so 40 with coupon. Worth it?

[lotsofdvds]

This game, to me, is the creepiest video game I've ever played, and the first to connect with me in ways a movie would. That's never happened before.

Playing this bad boy with the lights off and surround sound on is quite an experience. And this is probably the first video game ever where my actions in the game are exactly how I'd be acting if I was really dropped into this situation. I'm creeping around corners, making sure I'm lighting as much as I can, and if one of the bad guys really surprises me I kick the ever loving shit out of him just for scaring the hell out of me. "How dare (smash) you (smash) jump (smash) out (kick) at (kick) me!"

I absolutely want Condemned II. Doesn't have to be a direct sequel... just the same vibe is fine by me.

[mrpayroll]

It's 50 bucks next week at BB (along with NBA2K), so 40 with coupon. Worth it?


Which coupon are you talking about?

Chris

[lotsofdvds]

Which coupon are you talking about?

Chris
I think he means that you get a $10 GC if you buy two 360 games.

[mrpayroll]

I think he means that you get a $10 GC if you buy two 360 games.


Okay, I see this in the Best Buy Thread:

Free $10 Gift Card Instantly with the Purchase of any 2 XBOX 360 Games

But that would mean that the games are $45 each, not $40 each, right?

It's been 26 years since I graduated high school, so maybe my math is not what it used to be! ;)

Chris

[DJ_Longfellow]

No, there is a coupon for $10 and VideoGame priced $29.99 or more. They came in XBOX360 demo cases during the launch. Check cheapassgamer.com for scans of the coupon

[lotsofdvds]

Well whatever the deal, I think that Condemned is worth $60. So HELL YEAH it's worth $40. :)

[taffer]

I just got Condemned the other day, and so far I am not liking it very much. The melee combat is too hard for me.

What are some strategies you guys use? I try to block the bad guy's swing, and as they stagger back, I hit them. Right after I do that though, the bad guy does this really quick counter spin hit that is impossible to block (at least for me).

I lose about half my life bar after every single encounter with a bad guy. If two of them team up, then I am in a serious world of hurt. The part at the beginning of Chapter 2 where the 2 bad guys jump over the fence behind you took me 5 tries before I got past it (and this is still the beginning of the game, so I am definitely going to have a hard time as the game progresses and enemies get stronger).

Is it better to use slow weapons that do more damage, or fast weapons that do less damage?

I do sometimes use the taser to stun them and then run up and disarm them. This seems useless though as they either grapple you or run for a new weapon. They are much faster than my guy so I can't keep up to kill them before they get a new weapon, and the grapple attack they do seems to do more damage than a weapon-based attack.

Also, what is the trick to get them to fall to their knees where you can use the digital directional pad to do a finishing move on them? I have had that happen a couple times.

[Michael Corvin]

It's been almost a year since I played this game but I do remember not blocking all that much. The taser is a must. I believe I used that a ton. Tase them and run up and knock the shit out of them with a powerful weapon. I think it mostly has to do with timing.

Hang in there. It is a tough game, but well worth the frustration. :)

[msdmoney]

I played it for the PC, but I think they play pretty similar. I didn't block a lot, blocking seemed pretty unreliable for me. I usually got the guy to swing first then ran forward swung and backed up, then repeat. If you go in swinging wildly you will just keep getting hit, you have to take it slower and more methodical. I definitely found it difficult, I quicksaved and reloaded a lot, but it is a great game and you should definitely keep playing.

[DRG]

Any word on a sequel to this? It's a great unnerving atmospheric game, although some of the gameplay could be tweaked a bit.

If they did do a sequel I'd like to see some more variety in the missions. Maybe add some stealth to some of the chapters... perhaps you have to sneak into a house full of psychos to get a piece of evidence, but if they discover you're there you are more or less toast. It would add to the tension when you accidentally kick a bottle. And the stages should be less linear... I think it's silly to build a stage that's a makeshift maze because the hero can't jump over a desk or clear a pile of chairs.

I'd also like some more variety in the enemies and the combat in general. Instead of just random psychos jumping out at set intervals, maybe you could be pursued throughout a stage by one really tough s.o.b. who random attacks you and flees.

I also would like to see more done with the forensic aspect. At least don't hold our hand throughout the process... let us try to figure out what tool to use and when. You could still give some subtle hints... 'What is that smell?" "Is that blood?" etc.

And if you're going to make the firearms so scarce, at least make them powerful. In fact, the whole weapon/lack of inventory thing needs some work. You should get one forearm and one melee, just make the ammunition scarce. I hated picking up a pistol only to find out that it only had one bullet in it and now I'm stuck pistol whipping a bad guy who's swinging around a fire axe.

All in all it's a great, scary game. It just could be even better if they improved things here and there.

[matome]

Yeah, I just bought and completed it last month. What Michael and msdmoney said were pretty much on the money. Basically swing once and run back. Let them swing and miss and get another hit and repeat the process. This is a little trickier when there's more than one guy, but just keep an eye on your surroundings and you should find space to pull back. I actually did use the blocking after a while, which is surprisingly effective once you can time it correctly, since it knocks the guy off balance giving you a free shot. If a guy with a gun appears rush him when he's reloading or tase him because those shots hurt big. Keep the Fire Axe as long as you can (that was by far my favorite weapon). The BigBoys at the end could be a bitch when they attack you in numbers along with a ninja dude (this was outside the orchard).

[Michael Corvin]

From what I've read in interviews with developers (EGM maybe?), they initially let the user pick the forensics tools and figure things out on their own, but it became too complex. Users became easily confused, and would be attacked while having a tool out and what not. It pulled you out of the story and instilled frustration instead of advancing it forward, which I can see happening.

With 6-8 different tools, it would become tiring figuring out which one to use by trial and error for every room needing investigating. I didn't mind the game choosing for me.

I also didn't mind the weapons. Once you get the hang of it, melee is the only way to play. It also made it more realistic that there were only a few bullets in a gun that you pull off an enemy. Not to mention, like you said, it made things interesting when you are in the middle of a battle and realize the gun isn't going to do it.

[gimmepilotwings]

I was not able to get into the game much. I did jump at a couple of spots, but the controls for this were terrible. It reminded me of Resident Evil controls, before RE4 came around.

I never had a problem with (eventhough I didnt like) Resident Evil controls before RE4. I just put up with them. After RE4, I realized that I didn't need to.

[noonan4224]

It reminded me of Resident Evil controls, before RE4 came around.
-confused-
How so? It's a first person game where RE was 3rd person with static camera angles.

[gimmepilotwings]

-confused-
How so? It's a first person game where RE was 3rd person with static camera angles.

The controls, not the camera angles.

[taffer]

I don't see how the controls compare to RE at all. RE had digital tank like controls. You push right, and instead of going right, your character rotates right.

Condemned has the typical FPS control. Left analog controls movement and right analog controls looking/aiming. If you hate this control method, you must hate FPS controls in general because it is the same.

The only thing I hated about the control was how fricking slow your guy walks, and his stamina meter for running runs out in literally 5 seconds and takes 15 seconds to recharge. He needs to workout more if his stamina is that bad. :lol:

[noonan4224]

The controls, not the camera angles.
Yeah, I know that's what you meant but I don't understand the comparison. One is a full first person game and one is third person. Which part of the controls do you feel are similar?