Condemned Criminal Origins Cover
Monolith Productions

There’s a careful balance that needs to be struck in horror games. You need the player to feel afraid of losing but to do so in a way that avoids frustration while keeping the illusion of fear is an incredibly difficult ask. Even in some of the most critically acclaimed horror titles in recent memory, there comes a point where, after having perished so many times, you may find yourself slinking back in your chair and realizing it’s just a game. Other times, you may find yourself getting so frustrated that you’d rather grab the nearest blunt object and beat your spooky assailants to death with it.

Enter Condemned: Criminal Origins, developed by Monolith Productions. Originally an Xbox 360 launch title released alongside the console in 2005, it officially reaches adulthood in 2023. Following two whole console generations later, along with a sequel that ultimately never came to PC, Condemned is still an oddball in the horror genre for its unique gameplay, genre-melding story, and brisk pacing. While Monolith may be stuck in the Mines of Moria as they churn out Lord of the Rings games, there’s still a spark of creativity left behind in both their modern outings and their old classics. With urban horror games rightfully earning their place as a niche of a niche genre, why not revisit Condemned to celebrate its unique qualities? And where else would we start other than the game’s premise?

You play as Ethan Thomas, a detective with the Serial Crime Unit (SCU) that has an uncanny ability to quickly solve the most violent of cases. Voiced by Greg Grunberg of Heroes and Alias fame, along with looking like a more stout version of McNulty from The Wire, he and another agent enter an abandoned apartment building after a murder scene is discovered. A prompt investigation reveals that the murder was caused by a prominent serial killer named “The Match Maker,” one of several murderous monsters roaming the city. Thomas believes the uptick in murders may be associated with a general rise in vagrancy and violent behaviors afflicting the city’s populace.

Condemned Criminal Origins
Monolith Productions

But before he can investigate further, the smell of cigarette smoke confirms that the killer is still close by. Thomas investigates before being accosted by a mysterious, nameless man. The man takes Thomas’ gun, shoots two officers, and throws Thomas through a window, setting the stage for the rest of the game. Now framed for murder, Thomas is on the run as he attempts to stitch together the violent happenings that grip the city of Metro while trying to clear his name. But, unbeknownst to him, there are forces at work beyond human understanding.

In many games from Monolith, there are often two ideas that seem at odds with each other smashed together. F.E.A.R. is probably the best example of this, combining tactical first-person shooting with elements of J-Horror and dystopian science fiction. In Condemned, a typical serial killer chase inspired by the likes of Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs clashes with monstrous vagrants, bone-crunching melee combat, and psychological horror in the form of hallucinations, dream sequences, and flash-forwards. It’s oddly compelling, no doubt fueled by the characters that drive the story.

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Thomas isn’t an amazing character, but he’s a serviceable protagonist in that: one, he isn’t obnoxious, and two, his minimal development draws some interest towards the second half of the game. What’s actually done with the dramatic reveals we learn in the sequel leaves a lot to be desired, but in a vacuum, it at least adds a layer of interest and intrigue toward the SCU’s continued reliance on him. Rosa, another member of the SCU who aids in your forensic investigations, is also a serviceable companion. It’s a little relieving to hear her voice as you collect evidence, as it usually means you have a reprieve from the miserable world you’re traversing.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is a game first and foremost; thus, it’s important to discuss how it actually plays. You’ll be doing a few different things throughout the game’s short runtime: wandering around dilapidated architecture; beating or shooting the hell out of all kinds of thugs, vandals, and monsters that roam the dark corners; using forensic tools to gather clues; and collecting dead birds and metal pieces.

Condemned Criminal Origins 1
Monolith Productions

Combat and exploration are Condemned’s bread and butter. Ethan Thomas is built like a brick ****house and appropriately moves like one. Your speed is admittedly a little sluggish, though you’re able to break out into a sprint for a limited time. Just ensure you’re on a flat surface before you do — stairs, raised flooring, and other obstacles directly impede your sprint, meaning you’re wasting stamina for no real benefit. At all times, Ethan carries two weapons on him: a taser, which is upgraded towards the end of the game, and a single weapon, be it a melee weapon or a firearm. You can only carry one weapon at a time, and barring firearms, you won’t have to worry about them breaking.

There’s an interesting balance in Condemned‘s combat. It’s simple at its core: a guy in rags or some other abomination will run at you with a pipe, a board, or a piece of rebar, and it’s your job to cave in his head before he does yours. You have a basic swing, one that changes depending on your directional movement, as well as a “block.” It’s less of a “block” and more of a “parry,” meaning that if you time it correctly, you’ll trip your enemy up for a free hit. But this isn’t a duel at the Renaissance Fair. Every hit will, appropriately, send bits of broken teeth and splatters of blood sailing to the floor, and the impact will leave your target reeling. He may use that momentum to get a quick swing out, try to regain his balance, or even fake you out before striking twice as quickly. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to knock the weapon out of his hand, forcing him to search for another. If you need a chance to recover, you can hit him with the taser or possibly kick him away.

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Combat becomes less of a panicked day at the batting cages and more of a panicked boxing match: you’ll often find yourself trading blows until the enemy finally falls over, either immediately rag-dolling onto the floor or dropping to his knees for one of four finishing moves at your disposal. Alternatively, you could just brain them one more time for good measure. There’s little benefit to the finishing moves, but there’s a kind of sadistic glee in seeing Ethan violently headbutt someone or give them a cartoonish haymaker to the jaw.

Condemned Criminal Origins
Monolith Productions

Things change substantially once multiple enemies enter the fray — especially with firearms. A true game-changer in every sense of the word, firearms are incredibly dangerous, capable of killing you in as little as two shots if you’re not careful. An enemy with a firearm presents a drastic change-up to the formula. Instead of a methodical, tense one-on-one brawl, the sound of gunfire immediately prompts a mad dash to the gunman to remove the weapon from play as fast as possible. That’s where the taser primarily comes in. Aside from disabling an enemy, it also allows you to take their weapon as they’re being shocked. As you’re doing this, others may try to take advantage of the chaos. They’ll hide behind corners, snake around your surroundings to attack from behind, and take cover should you procure the mythical firearm.

If you think you can just blast your way out of danger, think again. Guns are purposefully neutered in Condemned: Criminal Origins due to the emphasis on melee combat. You can only carry as much ammo as what’s already in the gun, you have to physically check to see how much ammo remains, and no aiming reticle means you’re trusting your instincts to make sure each shot counts. You can occasionally find guns as rewards for exploring the environment, but you’ll more often find them with a fraction of their total ammo after a tense fight. With about six types of guns in total, they’re treated more as a commodity than something to rely on.

Your melee weapons, however, are far more varied in plentiful. Measured in four stats — damage, reach, block, and speed — you’ll often find yourself weighing what feels more important. Speed and reach are essential in hitting first, but you’ll be doing a lot of that if the damage is pitiful. Conversely, heavy-hitting two-handed weapons can kill in just a few hits but leave you open to being parried far more easily. You’ll frequently shuffle through weapons as the situation sees fit, with fire axes, sledgehammers, crowbars, and shovels also being used to open doors and boxes to progress. Admittedly, this is one downside of Condemned’s exploration. Finding a weapon you love just to discard it for one needed to progress, especially if you dislike using two-handed weapons, gets to be a little irksome toward the end.

Condemned Criminal Origins 2
Monolith Productions

Some things do admittedly fall into this category of “being annoying” throughout. While being cool for a first play-through, the forensic investigations are essentially set-dressing with little value outside of that. You’ll end up doing the same few tasks over and over again with little-to-no deviation, barring one moment that genuinely takes advantage of these sections to deliver a nice scare. Otherwise, you’re essentially just following lines toward an objective or finding the right angle to take a photo of a limb or fingerprint. This gets especially tedious when a checkpoint is placed before one of these sections instead of before an ensuing large brawl. There’s just no agency from the player to figure things out by themselves. It’s one of the few things Condemned 2: Bloodshot would genuinely improve upon, though that’s a retrospective for another day.

There are some definite peaks and valleys throughout the entire experience. The metro station and the library aren’t particularly exciting, barring a few isolated scares throughout. They largely consist of similar-looking hallways and open areas with little variety in combat encounters. However, the department store remains a favorite for those who’ve played Condemned: Criminal Origins, with the multiple mannequins that torment the player’s journey, even making a cameo appearance in the sequel. The farmhouse also feels like a perfect encapsulation of the Condemned experience. It starts with a forensic investigation littered with some small scraps throughout a two-story farmhouse, leads into a dramatic, nightmarish chase between Ethan and our villain, and ultimately concludes with Ethan brawling through burned monsters with flaming 2x4s before ripping the final boss to pieces.

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Just like this portion of the retrospective is stapled onto the end, so too are the collectibles found throughout Condemned. Yes, dead birds and pieces of metal are your bits and bobs to grab throughout, sometimes being detectable with your forensic tools, sometimes not. The birds are, at the very least, thematically consistent with the events of the game. As you progress, text interludes between each chapter describe how the city is gradually going to hell and black, and the prevalence of dead birds in a given area is more than likely a sign that things will go horribly wrong. The bits of metal, well, they tie into the guys that have metal in their faces. They’re not necessary to collect, though they and the game’s plethora of achievements allow you to view all sorts of interesting conceptual material. Animations, concept art, and how certain scares were staged make for an interesting few minutes.

Condemned Criminal Origins 4
Monolith Productions

Condemned: Criminal Origins is the kind of violent, urban horror that relies less on taking strength away from the player and more on giving them barely enough to get by. It’s a game that rewards you for thinking fast on your feet and embracing the same kind of violent methodology your enemies employ, a theme also found in the game’s binary ending choices. Fans of Cry of Fear or other similarly-grim horror games will find themselves right at home in Condemned, though they may leave wishing there was more once it’s all said and done.

Condemned: Criminal Origins is backward-compatible on Xbox consoles and can be purchased on PC through Steam.

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