Admittedly, there are some genuinely frightening moments. Regardless, the atmosphere felt far less threatening, and is really a joke in comparison to games like F.E.A.R, and even BioShock. It should be noted that I played 100% of this game in the complete darkness, and for each session I would wait for nightfall simply to play. At several points during the story, the developers seem to turn to cheap 'boo' tactics having you only genuinely afraid out of surprise, rather than fear. The horror aspect of the game, perhaps the most important, is completely lacking. Regardless, the fighting is still very satisfactory, and perhaps the only remaining shining light in this series. Although for some reason, most of the blunt objects you find don't seem to capture the same 'umph' as they did in Criminal Origins. Throwing weapons is also very gratifying, as I found myself laughing on several occasions at the reaction of my foe after a tire iron bounced off his face. The weapon variety is as deep as ever, ranging from simple bricks to high-tech assault rifles. Enemies are completely erratic and unpredictable, and sometimes you get hit with more limbs than you thought your opponent had. Blocking your opponents strikes becomes far more difficult as well, thus adding to the depth of the game.

Plus, it looks a hell of a lot more cool. Combo's become an interval part of the gameplay and although you may not ever use more than three, it is completely necessary to utilize these combos to obliterate your foes with much greater efficiency. The combat system is much more advanced than the first Condemned game. Despite the utterly murky plot, the cut scenes remain rather entertaining, and the characters drip with the familiar and nostalgic Sega touch. The storyline takes rather jolting turns, dipping in and out of sensible writing to just plain confusion. And in great Monolith fashion, it takes less than three minutes for the game to get completely ridiculous. The first few minutes you find Ethan Thomas getting kicked out of a bar after slaughtering some erratic, menacing hooded bar fly. That should not be the case for a game that hops several genres. If I were to describe this game in one word, it would be 'frustrating'. How silly though, that a game clearly striking up an advertising deal with Gamespot/Gamefaqs should garner such a brilliant and overbearing score. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was met with a large degree of disappointment, as Bloodshot failed to live up to the hype of its predecessor, and my own personal standards. I was admittedly excited the last few weeks leading up to the release of Condemned 2: Bloodshot, and actually made an extra trip to the closest electronics store simply to see if the game had been released yet.

Although a remarkably improved game over it's predecessor, Condemned 2 fails to capture the same essence of pure horror.

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