Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned: Criminal Origins
North American box art
Developer(s)	Monolith Productions
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Frank Rooke
Engine	Lithtech Jupiter EX
Platform(s)	Windows, Xbox 360
Release	November 15, 2005 (NA) December 2, 2005 (EU) (Xbox 360) April 11 (PC)
Genre(s)	Action, Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single player

Condemned: Criminal Origins is a video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega for the Xbox 360. It was released on November 15, 2005 in North America and December 2, 2005 in Europe, where it is known simply as Condemned. A version was released for the PC on April 11, 2006. Rumors about it appearing on the PlayStation 3 have occurred, but it has not been announced for the PS3.

Players can expect a particularly gritty tone, as the developers cite such films as The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en as inspiration for their game. Monolith Game Designer, Frank Rooke, was also noteworthy of design collaboration in the game Tron 2.0, a sequel to the 1982 motion picture Tron.

The game uses a first person perspective and, like other current games, tries to put the perspective to new use. Condemned: Criminal Origins places an added emphasis on melee combat and puzzle solving, including searching for fingerprints and gathering evidence. It is firmly placed within the horror genre, and could be seen as survival or psychological horror. The game is also notable for its cutting edge graphics and advanced artificial intelligence. Stylistically, Condemned shares many similarities with Monolith's own F.E.A.R.

Story

Template:Spoiler In an undisclosed US city, disturbing events are unfolding: in abandoned areas, violent crimes are increasingly prevalent amongst the homeless, addicted, and deranged. The police are helpless and avoid treading within these places, both because they fear for their own safety and because colleagues assigned to such locations seem to become increasingly violent themselves. Strange localized audio linked to all this is also affecting birds, causing them to come and die of induced brain hemorrhaging.

In response to a police call, FBI agent and protagonist Ethan Thomas arrives on a homicide crime scene in an abandoned building. On-scene evidence shows a modus operandi matching that of the "Match Maker," a serial killer who abducts and strangles young women, posing them in twisted tableaux with male department store dummies, their faces always partially disfigured.

While Thomas collects evidence, which shows that the Match Maker is missing his right index finger, it becomes apparent that there is still someone nearby: they scramble to find him, but the man evades them and is also able to take Thomas' firearm while briefly incapacitated from an electrical short. Thomas escapes immediate danger, but is later again ambushed by the killer, who spares Thomas for unknown reasons, but kills the others. Before killing the others he tells Thomas "...don't mess this up for us. We are on the same path of righteousness."

Thomas is hurled through a window and down several floors onto a car roof, and later awakens on his apartment couch, somewhat dazed and confused by an eerie dream. Nearby, Thomas finds Malcom Vanhorn, an old friend of his deceased father, who warns him to flee the police: the two dead officers were killed with his gun and with his scene disappearance, it appears that he was the murderer.

Now wanted himself, Thomas flees to the adjacent metro station and finds evidence of the killer showing a distinct interest in his Bureau career. Fortunately, Thomas' FBI lab worker Rosa still holds trust and continues analyzing the evidence he is collecting on his quest to prove his innocence.

Thomas traverses the station fighting off violent squatters and their ilk, all the way following the real killer to his hiding place. Aware that he is being hunted, the killer manages to lose Thomas, who continues investigating. He finds a second hideout supporting evidence found on the initial crime scene, and also linking him to a Burnside department store.

Thomas is forced to visit the abandoned criminal-infested place, with evidence and a residual blood trail leading to another Match Maker tableaux. This time, the dummy is female, and the victim male. The victim's facial markings match that of the earlier male dummies and surprisingly is also missing his right index finger. As fingerprints confirm, the corpse is the Match Maker himself.

Puzzled by this, Thomas and Rosa surmise that someone is tracking down serial killers and murdering them by their own methods, a "killer of killers" whom they name "Serial Killer X". The two rendezvous in the downtown library, currently closed for extensive repairs; intending to find an operating computer terminal which they can use without fear of FBI monitoring. Evidence from the Metro hideout suggests he concluded 7 out of Thomas' 9 serial killer cases: they assume the Match Maker to be 8, which leaves number nine, "The Torturer."

There, Thomas is shown an addendum to his personnel file; in addition to superhuman bone and muscle density plus a hyperactive brain serotonergic system, his chest x-ray has the esophagus and larynx areas redacted, with the revelation that the redaction has its own special highly-classified and inaccessible addendum. Shortly thereafter Rosa is kidnapped and forced to detail the Torturer's Modus Operandi to Serial Killer X. When reunited, they link the Torturer's hideout to newspaper reports of Mr. Tibbits, a recently-missing ex-teacher who provided information on him. Serial Killer X is eavesdropping on their discussion and once discovered, flees the library, thus forcing Thomas into a race to find The Torturer and Tibbits.

Believing Carl Anderson (The Torturer's real name)'s hideout to be the school he attended with Tibbits, Thomas manages to find the ex-teacher horribly-mutilated, but still just barely alive. Before finally dying, the man manages to tell Thomas that someone knocked out Anderson and took him away.

Thomas find traces of a restricted pesticide and links them to Serial Killer X. Coupled to prior evidence, Rosa sends Thomas to the rural town Brier, where an outlying apple orchard uses the same item.

Thomas gets Vanhorn's help, who drives to the orchard and leaves him alone at the main house. Thomas finds scattered mysterious writings and is attacked by a strange man-like creature which disappears when killed. Alerted by heavy noise Carl Anderson is finally located, and has committed suicide by impalement on a fireplace poker after being extensively mutilated. Before Serial Killer X can return, Thomas switches places with Anderson and plays possum. They fight, but Thomas is knocked unconscious by Vanhorn. The killer is Vanhorn's nephew Leland and the older man tries reasoning with him, saying that he's not in his right but can be helped. Leland responds by strangling him unconscious.

Thomas wakes up to find himself at the mercy of Leland Vanhorn: he reveals using Thomas to find serial killers, and then killing them by their own methods. As Leland speaks, on the rafters Thomas sees the same man-like creature he fought earlier, watching. Meanwhile, while deciding how to dispose of Thomas, Leland cuts off his left index finger with a combat knife: immediately thereafter Malcolm Vanhorn appears and wrestles his nephew to the ground, yelling to Thomas that "...'It' is behind all of the madness, and must be tracked down and killed!."

It is tracked across the orchard and eventually killed by forceful removal of its metal prosthetics; Thomas returns to Malcolm Vanhorn and they drive back to town and Van Horn tells Thomas that he can never go back to the Bureau or his old life. He has seen the visage of hate. They are the ones who drive people to violence and murder. Along the way and much to Thomas' dismay, he discovers that Leland is alive and in the trunk of the car: the agent wishes to exact revenge from the killer and the older Vanhorn protests. At this point the player is given the option of taking revenge or showing compassion. If shot, the scene ends. If not, the killer manages to shoot himself anyway with a hidden revolver.

Some time later Rosa confronts Thomas in a diner after the whole debacle, informing him that the Bureau can link the whole thing to an ancient cult: Thomas finds the idea preposterous, but is unable to provide any evidence to the contrary. And while wishing to tell Rosa all he knows, he is warned with a note that she's wired and in the end says nothing. When she leaves, Thomas enters the bathroom, stopping to wash his face in the sink, and the man-like creature appears behind him. Thomas suddenly turns towards the camera, a quick flash before cutting to the credits showing his enraged face with a metal jaw, just like the creature's. Template:Endspoiler

Gameplay

Combat

Although the game is played entirely from a first person perspective (only broken for cutscenes) it is not a traditional first-person shooter. Firearms are present, but fleeting. The guns that can be found, or taken from enemies, are only good for as long as the current ammo in the clip lasts; once this is depleted, the butt of the gun can be used as a weapon.

The focus of the experience is on improvised mêlée, allowing players and enemies to collect, or even pull, weapons from their surrounding environments, such as pipes, shovels, and 2x4s. A full list of weapons is available further down this page. The word often employed by the developers of the game to describe the combat is 'visceral'. A Duke Nukem 3D style quick-kick is available for attacking without, or alongside, a handheld 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 artificial intelligence displayed by enemies requires the player to think on his 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.

It should be noted that although there are sharp weapons in the game, one cannot stab or dismember enemies. Some mêlée weapons fall under the class of entry tool, and act as keys in the gameworld, allowing the player to access new areas or locked boxes.

The player also has a tazer gun which when used stuns the target does some damage and allows the player to take the enemies weapon, later in the game it also becomes very damageing. Common uses for it are safely attacking enemies with guns (since it allows players to stun them from a distance and then take the gun), countering an imidiate attack since using the tazer does not require the precice 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 games system of carefully fighting enemies.

Later in the game the player loses both the flashlight and the tazer. This means all stategies which required the tazer 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 defence and close range attacks for offence.

Crime Scenes

Condemned is unique for directly involving 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. 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.

Instincts

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 catalogue any findings.

Weapons

List of obtainable firearms

• .45 ACP M1911
• Pump action shotgun
• Sawed-off shotgun
• 9 mm Luger Parabellum Submachine gun (visually it is a mix of the Intratec TEC-DC9 and the M3 Grease Gun)
• Double Action Revolver
• Sturm, Ruger Mini-14

List of entry tools (double as weapons)

• Crowbar
• Fire axe
• Shovel
• Sledgehammer

List of other obtainable weapons

• 2x4 (with bolts or nails, or on fire/burnt)
• Clothes rack
• Conduit
• Desk drawer
• Desktop
• Fighting stick
• Fireplace poker
• Handrail
• Large plank
• Locker door
• Mannequin arm
• Meat cleaver
• Paper cutter
• Pipe (large, small, steam, gas)
• Rebar (straight, concrete, or bent)
• Sign
• Stick #1 (of a set of weapons used by a later enemy in the game)
• Stick #2 (of a set of weapons used by a later enemy in the game)

Forensic Tools

Detection Tools

• UV Light - The UV Light's primary function is to detect traces of blood visible and invisible to the naked eye causing it to stand out brightly if within the light range of the device. It will illuminate the immediate area directly ahead of the device with a purplish light.

• Laser Light - The Laser Light device produces a relatively small cone of light that's greenish in color. It's capable of illuminating latent pieces of evidence invisible to the naked eye, causing it to stand out brightly if within the light range of the device.

• Gas Spectrometer - The Gas Spectrometer monitors the presence of a foreign substance in the air, displaying its concentration in a meter. The player can use the meter to track down the pollutant's source such as fumes (most notably methane gas emitted by decaying flesh).

Collection Tools

• Sampler - The Sampler evaluates the chemical makeup of a piece of evidence and transmits that back to the lab for identification and evaluation.

• 3D Scanner - The 3D Scanner captures the three dimensional aspect of evidence and transmits the information back to the lab.

• Digital Camera - The Digital Camera is used to capture images that are transmitted back to the lab for evaluation.

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.

In certain pieces of unlocked concept art, street names can be seen in the subway stops which make it clear that the game was at least originally intended to take place in New York City. Furthermore, if all birds and metal pieces are collected, a series of Propaganda Reports will be made available. These provide further background to the story in the form of classified documents.

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.

Gallery

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External links

• Official Website
• Official Website at Sega.com
• Condemned: Criminal Origins at MobyGames
• Condemned: Criminal Origins Cheats & Stragegy Guide for Xbox 360 | PC
• GameRankings Xbox 360 reviews
• Condemned: Criminal Origins Blog