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Condemned: Criminal Origins

EMAIL PRINT pc

7.9 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 17 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Monolith Productions

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Survival Horror

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: April 11, 2006

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]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

AtomicGamer

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.

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Cheat Code Central

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".

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Computer Games Online RO

Even though the beginning is a little slow, the second half is downright exhilarating and the ending is a bit surprising as well.

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Worth Playing

Forgive the lack of variety and sometimes-baffling storyline, and Condemned is a brilliant undertaking.

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IGN

Condemned: Criminal Origins isn't a long game and it only has one game mode, but it's an unforgettable experience while it lasts.

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PC Zone UK

As long as you're not some kind of hippy who abhors violence, besides the slightly repetitive level design, the game is a masterpiece of nerve-jangling tension the first time round. However, the linear levels, short length (ten hours of play), story that's never fully explained and lack of multiplayer don't offer much in the way of replay value.

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Game Chronicles

Condemned: Criminal Origins combines a visceral atmosphere; both auditorily and visually, that really does a bang-up job of immersing you into the world of Ethan Thomas. However, this is not the easiest game to pick up and just play on a Sunday afternoon.

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PC Gameworld

Condemned combines inventive melee-based game play and a real life horror theme to create a terrifyingly gritty, crime themed action game.

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GameSpot

This first-person action game hits you like a sledgehammer with its astounding, stunningly creepy presentation, but it sacrifices opportunities for more shocks and surprises by settling for repetition.

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1UP

Survival horror has simply never looked this good.

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VideoGamer

Condemned delivers an experience that's worlds apart from what is usually on offer for PC gamers. At its core it's about as simple as a game could be, but it's presented in such a deranged and immersive way that it's hard not to get caught up in it all.

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ActionTrip

Performance-wise, it is a hardware hog, and this seems even less justified than in F.E.A.R., where the special effects seemed beefier and more spectacular.

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GameZone

If you’re looking for something which will provide some good scares with a pretty decent storyline and enough intense anticipation at times to literally make your muscles hurt, then this isn’t a bad one to check out.

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GameSpy

A rush of horror and brutality from the start, grabbing you by the throat, tossing you into the abyss, and laughing as you try to claw your way back out.

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Gamers' Temple

Like the story, there are some cool ideas here but they’re not built upon enough to make a truly great game.

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PC Gamer UK

It may feel somewhat underdeveloped, but it is an intriguing experience. [May 2006, p.90]

GameShark

As a plus for a console port, they even took the liberty of including a quick-save function, effectively issuing the middle finger to most other port developers out there and ultimately making Condemned: Criminal Origins a solid contender for the PC market.

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PC Gamer

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]

GamePro

Condemned is intense, but it's more of an elaborate tech demo or proof of concept than a truly fleshed-out game.

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3DAvenue

This isn't a run-n-gun type of FPS, it is an FPS that will have you creeping around quietly and cautiously, while you nervously check your anemic ammo supply around every corner, looking swiftly behind you to see if that rolling tin trash can was the result of an oversized rat, or a stalking drugged out psycho planning an attack, even if you as the gamer has no idea why it is everyone wants to kill you.

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PC Format

Great sound and visuals, but unremittingly repetitive gameplay. [July 2006, p.101]

GameCritics

While by no means a terrible game, and not even a bad one, this is a game designed to increase the overall amount of sadness in the world, and for that reason alone, and despite its many high points, I can't recommend that anyone play it. Ever.

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Eurogamer

Perhaps more importantly is the inexplicable disappearance of dead bodies. Literally five seconds after they've flopped heavily to the ground, apparently not man enough to withstand a nail-filled 2-by-4 in the cranium, they - *ping* - vanish.

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Computer Games Magazine

It's still over too quickly, and there's little explanation why you're running around these ruined buildings beating up drug addicts. [Sept. 2006, p.76]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Elfranche gave it a9:
Despite some annoyances, this is one of the scariest games ever made, total immersion, spooky atmosphere, great animations and truly GREAT sounds.

Tiago M. gave it a9:
. It´s violent in a way that no other game was before.Dark raw and evil-scared me a lot. And the sound it makes when your head gets beated by a pipe is amazing and extremely real. The use of soft shadows is very good. FLAW: more questions than answers at the ending.

Jonathan B. gave it an8:
An exciting, dark and violent melee action game that feels very much like commiting murder, over and over and over again. Pretty grim.

Joe gave it a4:
The whole game engine is awkward and practically on rails...you can't crouch or even jump(!) unless the game allows it at certain points (I know FPS veterans won't believe that one - try the demo and see). You can be carrying around an FBI lab's worth of analysis equipment (through devastated slums, no less) but you can't pick up health packs or hold more than one weapon at a time. The whole game is FILLED with the same kind of tired scare & "unreality" nonsense that F.E.A.R. already overdid...endless jump-scares from the dark, distant enemies who you can just glimpse but do nothing about as they scurry around a corner, meaningless "craziness" (like having reality shift on you for no reason, being suddenly surrounded by mannequins with no explanation, etc.) and so on. And what is probably the biggest disappointment considering the build-up, Condemned has an absolutely awful game backstory...one of the worst in recent memory. Why? Because no questions are even answered at the end...why does the protagonist pick up birds and metal pieces to begin with? Why has the whole world seemingly gone homicidally insane? Why are the birds dying? Why does reality shift so often for the protagonist and what does it mean? Is he insane? Why about all his so-called special abilities that the authorities are so interested in? Who/What is the final enemy? Etc.! Basically NONE of these very basic questions are answered...the game just opens up pandoras boxes of intruiging plot elements, then just...ends, with no plausible explanation for any of it and very few loosed ends tied. And I haven't mentioned the god-awful performance (which isn't worth it, if the game's visuals are anything to go by since most of it is in the dark). The only reason this game gets 4 at all, is because the hand-to-hand combat is exceptionally well implemented...revolutionary in fact. But other than that, this is an unbelievably overrated one-trick pony, except the developers forgot that the one trick has already been played out ad nauseum, and better, by the likes of F.E.A.R. and Doom 3. Save your money and time...I really regret wasting both of mine on this game.

Mohammed N. gave it a7:
A great hand-to-hand action game from Sega. Pity the game is short and the replay value is weak.

E. e. gave it a4:
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.

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Condemned: Criminal Origins

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