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Time Played
--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
August 24, 2023
Platforms Played
Sometimes an upgrade doesn’t mean better
Won’t lie this one hurt after really loving the first title but I cannot wholeheartedly say that the sequel is good. However, I don’t think it's bad which is why this is annoying because beneath all the weird choices lies a great game.
So what did I not like about Condemned 2?
To begin, this game has very odd choices in level design from good to outright literally painful levels that will give you a real life headache. To explain, you probably have heard about the bear chase if you know about the sequel…. Well I forgot about it so getting to that segment was amazing the whole chase was VERY good. Sadly right after that chase the rest of the level become a brainless gun shooter just ruining the overall greatness of its level. For everything condemned 2 does right it does 2 things wrong is what you will notice throughout this review. On the top of weapons let's talk about the combat which imo was a downgrade. In condemned 1 the combat was simple but it was effective and never felt annoying as in 2 the combat was usually frustrating. To explain, they added a combo system which on paper sounds fun but in execution is terrible as you can barely even get a combo off without taking at least 2 hits unless you begin to parry everything perfectly which is as well hard since everything feels slow making parrying hard. It's unfortunate because the idea of adding a combo system SHOULD have made it better but honestly made the combat even worse in this game Hell later on in the game you will almost forget that there is melee combat as there will be numerous guns blazing all out gun war near the end of the game. So yes , the combat was not good and the decision to push for more shooter sections was a terrible choice. To touch upon the guns once more you earn a mode after finishing the game which is an FPS mode where you play throughout the game ONLY using guns with infinite ammo and I do not know who the hell this mode was intended for no one wants guns to be the main focus in these damn games.
Oh the horror…
One thing that I adored about the first game was the constant feel of dread and anxiety as you walked through the narrow halls in complete silence. Well that is all thrown out of the window in the sequel due to its tone shift and once again level design. To explain, the first game’s story was grounded but had hints of other elements which do get shown in the sequel but to a degree that is almost mind boggling ruining the overall feel of the game that the first title built so well. All the sudden you are dealing with ink monsters , doll babies that blow up and creepy crawlers and it just feels so out of nowhere with how cracked out the story gets. Never once (besides the bear sequence) did I feel an inch of dread , creepiness that the first game consistently produced. It also doesn’t help that you are shown constant reminders you are busting out a combo on screen ruining the immersion as you stare at “COMBOOOOO 3.5X” all the time throughout the game. I
Story
This will be extremely short because I will not dive into spoilers but this game does not finish the biggest plot point I wanted resolved. From what I understood 1-2 more games were planned to be made but sadly never came to be so sadly we are left with an unfinished story. This annoyed me because what we are left with is a CRAZY cliffhanger of an ending with a very good after credit scene but now we will never know what happens next. While I don’t like how the overall story went into really insane, mind boggling territory there was a certain element that was there from the first title that I enjoyed a lot and I WISH we could see it end.
Literal pain
I won’t lie, this game has what is probably one of the worst levels I have played in recent times. Level 5 you see yourself in the SCU building and this level produces some of the worst effects ever. Imagine playing through a level of a game where the game just throws every damn editing effect they can ranging from flashing lights , static everywhere, colors popping in and out , constant blurry effect. It literally got to the point where I felt sick and had to pause the game for a few minutes from how much effect it had on me. I literally do not know what they were thinking of making that level lol. I guess I could add that Ethan being some edgy ass drunk was also painful to me LOL
The new enemies
As mentioned before this game has new enemies that are all mostly….. Terrible?. To explain , the ink monsters are insanely annoying due to them blending into the background since the lighting of this game is terrible. Because of that they can be hard to hit making them get more hits in on you and boy do they hit hard. There are also flaming guys that will run at you and blow up and if they do will also disintegrate your health. Doll babies? Yeah they are the most pointless enemy as they are insanely easy to deal with. However , there are a few very cool new enemies, primarily this big armored enemy you fight in the museum level which was cool. As well this game throws a few bosses your way which are all honestly very cool fights besides the magic man fight which was extremely boring.
So what did I like?
It seems from the ranting I have been on I hate this game but I honestly don’t, I still think this is a fine game. As mentioned, the bear chase was a brilliant and genuinely scary moment in the game. There are a few standout bosses from the Museum boss to the doll factory boss. The story while going in insane directions does have some good moments and some interesting lore built upon. I do like how weapons actually break in this game forcing you to use a lot of weapons as in the first title you usually stuck with one weapon each level. In addition , they did add online which I have yet to try but might be able to since I found a discord server and I love weird online modes so I will probably enjoy it. Furthermore, they added some challenges that you can unlock and partake in which were pretty cool.
Overall
I think I touched upon everything I wanted to talk about so I will leave it at this for now and add more if I remember anything. In the end , the game was a big disappointment for me as there was so much room for improvement and so much more they could have fixed and done with this game. I know there are people out there who enjoy the sequel but I am not one of them. I am truly in the middle with this game because for every moment I enjoyed was a moment I didn’t. However, I truly hope we get remasters for these games one day that could potentially lead into a 3rd title because I really think condemned 1 is insanely underrated and deserves more praise.
Won’t lie this one hurt after really loving the first title but I cannot wholeheartedly say that the sequel is good. However, I don’t think it's bad which is why this is annoying because beneath all the weird choices lies a great game.
So what did I not like about Condemned 2?
To begin, this game has very odd choices in level design from good to outright literally painful levels that will give you a real life headache. To explain, you probably have heard about the bear chase if you know about the sequel…. Well I forgot about it so getting to that segment was amazing the whole chase was VERY good. Sadly right after that chase the rest of the level become a brainless gun shooter just ruining the overall greatness of its level. For everything condemned 2 does right it does 2 things wrong is what you will notice throughout this review. On the top of weapons let's talk about the combat which imo was a downgrade. In condemned 1 the combat was simple but it was effective and never felt annoying as in 2 the combat was usually frustrating. To explain, they added a combo system which on paper sounds fun but in execution is terrible as you can barely even get a combo off without taking at least 2 hits unless you begin to parry everything perfectly which is as well hard since everything feels slow making parrying hard. It's unfortunate because the idea of adding a combo system SHOULD have made it better but honestly made the combat even worse in this game Hell later on in the game you will almost forget that there is melee combat as there will be numerous guns blazing all out gun war near the end of the game. So yes , the combat was not good and the decision to push for more shooter sections was a terrible choice. To touch upon the guns once more you earn a mode after finishing the game which is an FPS mode where you play throughout the game ONLY using guns with infinite ammo and I do not know who the hell this mode was intended for no one wants guns to be the main focus in these damn games.
Oh the horror…
One thing that I adored about the first game was the constant feel of dread and anxiety as you walked through the narrow halls in complete silence. Well that is all thrown out of the window in the sequel due to its tone shift and once again level design. To explain, the first game’s story was grounded but had hints of other elements which do get shown in the sequel but to a degree that is almost mind boggling ruining the overall feel of the game that the first title built so well. All the sudden you are dealing with ink monsters , doll babies that blow up and creepy crawlers and it just feels so out of nowhere with how cracked out the story gets. Never once (besides the bear sequence) did I feel an inch of dread , creepiness that the first game consistently produced. It also doesn’t help that you are shown constant reminders you are busting out a combo on screen ruining the immersion as you stare at “COMBOOOOO 3.5X” all the time throughout the game. I
Story
This will be extremely short because I will not dive into spoilers but this game does not finish the biggest plot point I wanted resolved. From what I understood 1-2 more games were planned to be made but sadly never came to be so sadly we are left with an unfinished story. This annoyed me because what we are left with is a CRAZY cliffhanger of an ending with a very good after credit scene but now we will never know what happens next. While I don’t like how the overall story went into really insane, mind boggling territory there was a certain element that was there from the first title that I enjoyed a lot and I WISH we could see it end.
Literal pain
I won’t lie, this game has what is probably one of the worst levels I have played in recent times. Level 5 you see yourself in the SCU building and this level produces some of the worst effects ever. Imagine playing through a level of a game where the game just throws every damn editing effect they can ranging from flashing lights , static everywhere, colors popping in and out , constant blurry effect. It literally got to the point where I felt sick and had to pause the game for a few minutes from how much effect it had on me. I literally do not know what they were thinking of making that level lol. I guess I could add that Ethan being some edgy ass drunk was also painful to me LOL
The new enemies
As mentioned before this game has new enemies that are all mostly….. Terrible?. To explain , the ink monsters are insanely annoying due to them blending into the background since the lighting of this game is terrible. Because of that they can be hard to hit making them get more hits in on you and boy do they hit hard. There are also flaming guys that will run at you and blow up and if they do will also disintegrate your health. Doll babies? Yeah they are the most pointless enemy as they are insanely easy to deal with. However , there are a few very cool new enemies, primarily this big armored enemy you fight in the museum level which was cool. As well this game throws a few bosses your way which are all honestly very cool fights besides the magic man fight which was extremely boring.
So what did I like?
It seems from the ranting I have been on I hate this game but I honestly don’t, I still think this is a fine game. As mentioned, the bear chase was a brilliant and genuinely scary moment in the game. There are a few standout bosses from the Museum boss to the doll factory boss. The story while going in insane directions does have some good moments and some interesting lore built upon. I do like how weapons actually break in this game forcing you to use a lot of weapons as in the first title you usually stuck with one weapon each level. In addition , they did add online which I have yet to try but might be able to since I found a discord server and I love weird online modes so I will probably enjoy it. Furthermore, they added some challenges that you can unlock and partake in which were pretty cool.
Overall
I think I touched upon everything I wanted to talk about so I will leave it at this for now and add more if I remember anything. In the end , the game was a big disappointment for me as there was so much room for improvement and so much more they could have fixed and done with this game. I know there are people out there who enjoy the sequel but I am not one of them. I am truly in the middle with this game because for every moment I enjoyed was a moment I didn’t. However, I truly hope we get remasters for these games one day that could potentially lead into a 3rd title because I really think condemned 1 is insanely underrated and deserves more praise.