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Ethan Thomas -- Condemned Again
Product: Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Company: Sega
Date: 07/19/2007
Avaliable On:

After the events of the first Condemned game, Ethan Thomas has left the force and is a drunken bum living on the streets. After his ordeal filled with death and chaos, Thomas is but a shell of his former self.

In Condemned 2: Bloodshot, he is called back onto the force in order to help investigate a series of strange murders that involve his former partner's death. Now Thomas will use a slew of new weapons, finishing moves and forensic skills in order to solve this string of deaths, not to mention the new set of unusual happenings that always seem to follow him.

The game's combat system has been completely revamped and the all new controls will let you fight like the best of them in a much smoother way. This, combined with the grappling moves that are also being added, makes the combat system much more realized.

The game's forensic activities have also seen an overhaul. Where the need to examine a body and discover what happened to it in the first game felt very tacked-on and didn't feel like it had any real bearing on the game, Bloodshot gives it a lot more weight. Now you will be able to pay attention to lots of areas on the body as well as use tools like your UV lights in order to investigate trails of blood around the crime scene. As you take pictures and gather evidence, you will answer questions about what you see. "What caused this wound?", "Is this an exit wound or an entry wound?", "Is this the site of the murder?", and so on. By answering these questions correctly, you can solve the murders and see a brief bit of footage of that character's final minutes in a very CSI-like manner.

One of the game's more interesting aspects will be one that is currently dubbed "Hobo Fight Club." This won't be the mode's official title, but it is their working name. In this mode, you will be able to choose from enemies that you have faced in the game with weapons and objects you have encountered. At the end of each level, the new opponents, weapons and items you've faced in that level will be transported to Hobo Fight Club for you to use at your leisure. The developers at Monolith said that they created this sand box in order to test out various weapons and enemy A.I. After realizing how much fun it was, they built it into the game itself.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot will hit the shelves in Spring of 2008.

J.R. Nip aka Chris Meyer

GameVortex PSIllustrated