Grab a liquor bottle, chug the whole damn thing. Pick up another and smash it in the face of a crazed and rotting lunatic, who probably needed therapy rather than the face full of glass you just served him. Now, what could this possibly be? Hopefully not your Sunday afternoon… this could only be Condemned 2: Bloodshot, the sequel to Monolith’s horrific, brutal, malicious and refreshingly original Xbox 360 launch title Condemned: Criminal Origins. The everything-as-a-weapon brawler and forensic twists on the first person formula are back, along with the bloodcurdling psychological scares and flat out disgusting moments that you have come to expect from Monolith. Things have been revamped, drastically changed and in other ways kept exactly the same in Bloodshot and horror fans will be satisfied with what is for the most part, a greatly improved sequel.

Bloodshot picks up eleven months after the ambiguous and confusing ending of Criminal Origins. Our hero, Ethan Thomas – former Serial Crimes Unit Investigator – is far from your stereotypical laconic videogame character; he has become a loud and angry drunk on the verge of self destruction. The plot kicks into gear with a frantic phone call for help from Malcolm Vanhoorn, a key figure from Criminal Origins. An inexplicable spike in violence has occurred in the city and it is pandemonium in the streets. Ultimately, Mr. Thomas unravels secrets and slowly figures out just how closely tied the two events may be. Unfortunately, the story is largely forgettable and it often takes twists and turns just for the sake of threading together levels logically. And by the end, you will be left with an even larger question mark looming over your head than in the first game.

Appetizing…

While the narrative is confusing and ridiculous, Condemned is all about the horror, and thankfully it is pitch perfect in pace and execution for the majority of the game. However, the horror shifts from psychological to completely literal (not very frightening) supernatural garbage in its last act. Contained within individual levels, Bloodshot is a horror masterpiece, but overall there are too many ups and downs and awkward choices towards the final act. Then again, whether it is movies or games, most in the horror genre make this mistake – it’s bothersome, but only as insistent staple of the genre.

A big complaint targeted at Criminal Origins was the lack of depth and repetition of combat. Monolith has completely overhauled its brawling by mapping the right and left triggers with corresponding fists — the same goes for melee weapons. Some truly spectacular combos and visceral finishing moves can be performed, from smashing faces through TVs to impaling your foes on fences. Hooks, uppercuts, jabs, nut kicking, brick throwing; any combination of these and dozens more offer depth, variety and unpredictability to the combat that didn’t exist in the first game and is a hell of a lot of fun.

Bloodshot shines with one on one battles of kinetic and merciless brutality; you might be wielding an electric conduit torn from the wall and your foe, a baseball bat smeared blood red from previous use. Melee weapons all have limited wear and tear just as the first game, so don’t get too attached to that axe – you probably won’t see it for another few levels. But as great as the combat is while laying the beat down on one or maybe a couple of hobos, things begin to fall apart exponentially with the addition of each and every new enemy. The combat system simply can’t handle blocking and parrying multiple foes and it mostly becomes an exercise of trial and error in these lackluster moments – thankfully there are only a few.

In between combat, there are the chills and thrills expected by any fan of the original. Again, the game lives on its atmosphere; grungy and soiled rooms hum of eerie silence as you slowly plod through – listening and anticipating the next addict who might jump from behind a door and swing a pipe in your face. The audio mixing and surround sound work is nothing short of masterful, and is among the best out there. You can often hear the screaming and scampering of murderers on the floors above you, making your way up a flight of stairs all the more disheartening. It’s audio so good that it becomes an integral part of gameplay; often finding yourself listening, dreading, anticipating the direction of the next noise – it could be your paranoia brought on by the game, or it could very well be the next sadistic encounter.

Man’s best friend? Apparently not.

To compliment the vicious auditory experience, the visuals are just as eerie. The game runs on the same engine as the first and it has seen a good jump in quality in two years. The lighting is more impressive than ever, textures sharper and character models are anything but the laughable blurs of the first game. There are a few framerate hitches, but it is never too noticeable. But the Condemned engine is definitely built to render gloomy indoor environments, and that is where its graphical variety seems to end. There is one outdoor location in Bloodshot and from it you’ll know why we never see a bit of sky or fresh air in Monolith games – it looks absolutely terrible. Other than a few minor complaints Bloodshot is an incredibly haunting and brutal looking game that will make you cringe and wince with every disgusting hallway.

After lurking through a seedy hotel or a factory full of robotic explosive demon dolls (it doesn’t make sense in the game either) your nerves will be completely shot, and Monolith tries to mix up the gameplay in a couple of ways to give you a break from the relentless horror fest. The first deviation is where Thomas’ forensic knowledge comes into play with several grisly murder investigations. Boring, repetitive, linear and probably the most criticized aspect of Criminal Origins these sections are fun and interesting this time around – you will actually have to use your head, observe and investigate. From the location of the murder, identity of the victim and some very specific clues, some of them are genuinely difficult and you get scored based on how accurate your judgment is. Only in a game like Condemned, can you call scanning soiled couches with a UV light and figuring out the identity of murder victim a calming experience.

In addition to forensics, Monolith has tried to incorporate gunplay focused sections to break up the nerve racking and deliberate slow pace of the first levels. But, it is simply a nonsensical design choice; giving the player an incredibly powerful weapon breaks all the horror elements that make Condemned what it is. Beyond that, it also breaks the very gameplay formula of the pick up anything hand-to-hand combat. The odd pistol with a half-empty clip is certainly welcome and improves the plodding tension in small bursts. But, an assault rifle with 30 bullets against an elite squad hell-bent on capping you, simply shatters the Condemned formula.

Unpredictable moments like this happen all the time during combat

The last major complaint that Monolith has improved upon from the first game is the length and content. Playing through on Hard provides a more than satisfying playtime and difficulty clocking in at maybe ten hours. Each level is rated with bronze, silver or gold and perfection is an incentive to give the great singleplayer experience another go.

A first for the series, multiplayer rears its head with several modes. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are unremarkable as the previously mentioned melee system is completely broken when trying to beat up 7 of your friends online. However, the more interesting Bum Rush pits six “influenced” (bums wielding anything they can pickup) against two armed to the teeth SCU agents and it is definitely a step above the Deathmatch modes. Crime Scene may actually hold your attention for more than five minutes and has four influenced versus four SCU agents. The influenced have two coolers with severed heads which they hide – SCU agents have to find and scan the flesh filled coolers or kill the influenced to win. Bloodshot’s multiplayer offering won’t be pulling you away from Call of Duty 4 anytime soon, but it is a decent effort by Monolith to give the game some legs.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot addresses nearly every issue targeted at the first game, from the forensics, a deeper combat system to a more robust package, it delivers. However, the plot is unmemorable and feels like it exists only to stitch together a series of levels. And combat between multiple foes falls apart as it did before – when it translates to multiplayer it fares even worse. But, Bloodshot is a game that is truly meant to be played on your own, to experience the horror that will mess with your mind, your nerves and your stomach. It certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you feel you have what it takes, go ahead and sink into the grimiest, seediest, bloody disgusting and sadistically fun horror game out there, you won’t be disappointed.