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Condemned: Criminal Origins PC
Condemned: Criminal Origins Image
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 26 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: Developed by Monolith Productions for the Xbox 360, Condemned: Criminal Origins allows players to experience a heightened level of psychological tension as they use their instincts, forensic tools, and melee combat to track serial killers and bring them to justice. Gamers will play as Agent Thomas, an investigator in the FBI’s Serial Crimes Unit (SCU), whose pursuit of relentless serial killers leads him through urban environments filled with sociopaths lurking on the periphery of humanity. Weapons and ammunition are scarce, leaving the player vulnerable to a gallery of mentally deranged criminals. Careful detective work and precision reflexes are a player’s primary means of survival. [Sega]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. AtomicGamer
    90
    Its brutal, in-your-face action will make you cringe, while the creepy atmosphere will have your heart fluttering as you wonder what's around that next corner. Even the hardened veterans of the world's best horror games will find this to be a fine addition to their collection.
  2. Cheat Code Central
    88
    CCO has all of the gameplay, story, visuals and atmosphere that you could possibly want in a mystery game and I think does them all to a proverbial "t".
  3. PC Gamer
    73
    Condemned maintains an atmosphere of danger and suspense for a respectably long time, but unlike distinguished games that leap beyond the cliches of their genres(such as "Indigo Prophecy), it doesn't do quite enough to elevate itself into the realm of true greatness. [Jun 2006, p.50]
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See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 3 out of 8
  1. MohammedN.
    7
    A great hand-to-hand action game from Sega. Pity the game is short and the replay value is weak.
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  2. asasasasdfxdvxvd
    6
    Just like F.E.A.R the novelty of this game wears off really fast, except it's even more confusing than F.E.A.R ever was. For 3/4s of the game I couldn't understand what was wrong with the entire town. Why where they all beating each other to a pulp? Unfortunately instead of having somebody asking in the beginning of the game "what's wrong with everybody" or someone saying "there's unexplainable surge of violence amongst the civilian population in this area," they leave any such dialogue towards the end of the game. This makes it seem that such violence is completely normal, as none of the characters even mention it, with all dialogue focusing on catching a serial killer instead expressing concern for a town which literally seems to be ripping itself apart. The main character is extremely cliche - the old story about a cop who has been framed for murders he never committed. This barely serves any purpose in the game, as you very rarely encounter police officers, and when you do they're more focusing on riot control than capturing you. Otherwise you're investigating crime scenes just as you would be if you were still on the force. While its a struggle for the protagonist to get from area to area, other characters get around relatively easily rarely facing danger when they meet you in the streets just before or after you've just smashed some addicts heads in with a sledgehammer. The 'one weapon system' is interesting, but stupid. Why is it so difficult for the protagonist to put a pistol in his belt so that he can use it when he needs it? And how does his forensic equipment survive the many beatings that Agent Ethan Thomas receives. Then there's all those stupid dead birds that you can collect around the different levels. It's seriously arcadey and ruins any atmosphere when you're using your forensic equipment to locate these tokens. Overall this game is very repetetive and the locations dead boring. It's looks very much like the game designers ripped off the levels from F.E.A.R, and replaced gun fights with melee fighting. It looks like alot of Condemned's potential was realized in its sequel, which unfortunately is unavaible to PC.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. E.e.
    4
    The controls are terrible and the engine makes you feel like you're moving underwater. The melee combat is not fun, and there's lots of that. I think investigating the crime scenes, while not great, is a whole lot more fun than the rest of the action.… Expand
    • 1 of 3 users said yes

See all 8 User Reviews