F.E.A.R, which one was that again?

[etherealrhythm]

The 'Lith have done it again, folks.

Just ran a search to see what it'd bring up about Condemned. It seems noone here's talking about it, so i just thought i'd spread the good word...

Condemned is the new game from Monolith, recently out. I dont know what the general consensus is but im gonna give you my opinion in the hope some more people start playing it, because my opinion is that it's awesome...

As anyone who's been playing Oblivion knows, melee can rock when done right. In Condemned's case, guns are out, and lead pipes and wooden boards with nails sticking out of them are in. This game is so violent that my older brother winces while watching me play it whenever a blow connects. Monolith have diverted to the opposite end of the spectrum from F.E.A.R, in that they've taken the familiar, hyper-stylized combat that we're all familiar with and replaced it with a much more gritty and realisitc depiction of violence. And possibly the game's finest point stems from this...

Notice how practically everyone who played F.E.A.R said they didn't see the "scary" side at all? It was hyped as being able to make you drop one in your pants, but in the end it really just made you jump a few times. I now think that this is because in F.E.A.R, you always felt like Mr Bad@$$ MuthaF*cka, ready to tear into a room and rip the place up in supercool slo-mo, and nothing really phased you. Condemned makes you feel like a pussy, and this is no bad thing. As a tramp runs at you with a fire axe, calling you a "f*cka" and a "pussy", you being armed with only a 2 by 4, a different feeling is created. You feel helpless, and this feeling extends into every aspect of the game. Even when just exploring the environments, hearing footsteps on the floor above you, seeing people disappear round the next corner, the game creates a genuinely unsettling atmosphere.

And Lith have really picked up on something in the way that they use in game cutscenes in Condemned. Following in the footsteps of games like HL2, there are no crappy FMVs interrupting the action and spoon-feeding you the plot, but seamlessly integrate everything cinematically into the gameplay. Moments like getting knocked out as you enter a room, coming to as youre being punched around by a serial killer, getting pushed up against a wall and having a gun waved in your face, before being thrown out of a 4th story window seamlessly integrated into the first person perspective are about as cinematic as it comes. That was one of those epiphany moments in gaming for me, and although ive just described it in detail, im sure youll all enjoy it just the same lol. And i know i have a ton more of these to come, as im not even that far into the game.

Things like graphics and sound become secondary to atmosphere, but are awesome all the same if you bother to pay attention to them. Use of shaders is supreme, occasionally even affecting gameplay mechanics, and the sound design is the best ive ever heard in a game.

Condemned is certainly not gonna be pushing any boundaries regards plot and emotional involvement, but who cares anyway when youre stoving a tramp's face in with a metal pipe?

Sorry for the length everyone, this kinda turned into a mini-review. Only meant to tell people to play it. So play it!

ER

[ocmyface]

i was reading about it and it was talking about solving puzzles mysteries and it showed people doing fingerprint scans and :banana::banana::banana::banana:. that doesnt sound too appealing, is it a big part of the game or not?

[Cooper]

Played it - didn`t like it :(

[etherealrhythm]

yeah, youre a crime scene investigator. thats how the story develops, through what you analyse and find out. it is a big part of the game, but features quite rarely. it isnt very enthralling but is interesting.

and i guess alot of people wouldnt like it. can imagine it being very hit and miss. but the people that do like it will love it.

[One_Hertz]

Played it - didn`t like it :(

same...:(

[etherealrhythm]

right, so noone likes it. this doesnt make any sense, i thought it was awesome.

really, noone?

[Marlowe]

i was reading about it and it was talking about solving puzzles mysteries and it showed people doing fingerprint scans and :banana::banana::banana::banana:. that doesnt sound too appealing, is it a big part of the game or not?No that is not any part at all. It is all fragging in slow-mo all the way :)

I liked the game! But it scared the :banana::banana::banana::banana: out of me.. Then again I was real freaked out by The Ring and Grudge movies.. :)

[S&M]

Scary game ... nothing else to say about it ... didn't liked it ... need to collect evidences from every place ..... not 4 me ....

[etherealrhythm]

huh? slo-mo fragging? that's F.E.A.R. no slo-mo feature in condemned.

[dnottis]

I dont think people are reading the post, just the topic lol. I think they mean they didn't like FEAR.


F.E.A.R. was great, Condemed looks good too.

[Marlowe]

LOL sorry mate.. I haven't tried this Condemned :p:

[mtzki]

i was reading about it and it was talking about solving puzzles mysteries and it showed people doing fingerprint scans and :banana::banana::banana::banana:. that doesnt sound too appealing, is it a big part of the game or not?
It happens quite often in the game...but was made far too easy. At least on 360 you pretty much only have to press a button when the game asks you to. Not very rewarding. Makes a big part of the plot though.

Liked the game anyhow. The plot is surprisingly deep and hard to follow. A big contrast to the playing mechanics.

[etherealrhythm]

Yes! Someone likes it, hoorah....

and yeah man, there's that bit where you realise you're actually following a serial killer of serial killers, and are like "wt_?!" lol, still dont think i fully understand the plot to be honest.

[M.Beier]

If you dont think F.E.A.R. was scary, you should've tryed it on a real computer. - Runnin' it smooth in high res + high quality made it look very realistic, and those darn "dreams" + "deep breaths" sure are made scary!!! It's the most scary game made in this millinium, however, games arnt very scary, but they made a "bullseye" within the limit bound thats its just a computer game..

[etherealrhythm]

nah man, simply not true. i did run F.E.A.R in high settings with i think 90% of the other people on this forum, and most people did not find it to be scary. but i guess you have to wonder can you ever be geniunely "scared" within a computer game, since the character you are controlling is not your actual self, or can you just be made to feel unsettled?

closest ive come to experiencing real fear in a game was not in F.E.A.R, nor Condemned actually, but in Thief 3. anyone who played the cradle level will surely agree that that's the most "scared" theyve ever been made to feel by a game.

[mtzki]

and yeah man, there's that bit where you realise you're actually following a serial killer of serial killers, and are like "wt_?!" lol, still dont think i fully understand the plot to be honest.
Me neither. :confused2 The sequel should clear things up.

btw the only game i have for my 360. Haven't turned it on for 4-5 months and maybe won't until Mass Effect :D

[area51]

Was not thrilled with condemned...

I downloaded the trial and played through it.

I would agree that it is far more scary than FEAR...but I have never really been one for that genre anyway:rolleyes:

I tire very quickly of one more *&$#^ dark hallway to walk down...I enjoy the dark scary aspects in games but more so when it is integrated meaningfully into the whole and not the sole point of the game.

[etherealrhythm]

I would agree that it is far more scary than FEAR...but I have never really been one for that genre anyway:rolleyes:

I tire very quickly of one more *&$#^ dark hallway to walk down...I enjoy the dark scary aspects in games but more so when it is integrated meaningfully into the whole and not the sole point of the game.

fair enough man. i can't get enough of it personally, since very few games are even trying to be scary at the moment.

[crackhead2k]

fair enough man. i can't get enough of it personally, since very few games are even trying to be scary at the moment.

Doom?

[etherealrhythm]

Doom? is that the one with all the zombies and marines and sh*t on the spacebase on Mars?

was that trying to be scary?

i just thought it was funny.

[ex2cib]

the only thing scary about doom was the fear of running into a wall since you would rather have a gun up than a flashlight :rofl:

[Hicks]

Doom? is that the one with all the zombies and marines and sh*t on the spacebase on Mars?

was that trying to be scary?

i just thought it was funny.

And you think FEAR is scary?

[Celeron Gamer]

I'd want to try it, the pure atmosphere of using a camera, cellphone in a psychotic adventure seems appealing too me. Is it just plain psyco or is there any supernatural forces you have to deal with?

[KoHaN69]

i dont find it scary, but i hate that i cant jump and crouch, its annoying.

i liek the melee, but it does get repetitive, not much of a story though, just following a psycho.

it's cool and all, but no little 9 year old girls with blood :(

[g-a-m-e]

You all don't know how to play games :p:

No single game can be scary if you dont want it to be, but FEAR definately had a truely awesome atmosphere if you let yourself get in the game properly...
The first time i played through it i was like meh because i was rushing, but the second time through was 10 times better.
Don't use slow-mo, it is for noobs and destroys the gameplay imo.
Try to sneak up on them, and surprise em with a grenade or nade-trap.
And again, don't use slow-mo ! (only for those ceiling guns, cause they suck)
It's way to easy to use slowmo, it's better to run away like a pussy when you can't beat em, and try taking them one at a time, pretty exciting if you are more dead then alive :-)

I've played through FEAR about 10 times now (in case you are wondering if , i played through Unreal more then 30 times back in the day, so once i like something i'm not easily bored with it) because the fights are kick-ass when done properly.
Switching guns accordingly, the shotgun rocks at close range :D

I'll definatly try condemned (when it comes out on pc?), enjoyed reading the mini-review :up:

[Richie P]

I think FEAR was a great game...not amazing, but great. It had that little something extra than other FPS. I personally was on the edge of my seat and reguilarly yelped out in the middle of the night in fear. I dare to say that you don't need a high end rig to get the best from FEAR, you just need to play it in the middle of the night, with the light's off, and a good (preferably surround) set of speakers, and then just let yourself drift into the storyline. This game seriously :banana::banana::banana::banana: me up a couple of times, but i thought it was great. I will definitely be reinstalling it and playing it on my new pc that I'll be building over the summer :D

As for condemned, if it's by the maker's of FEAR i'll dedinitely give it a shot. Sounds like it could be another hit :D

[DCR]

DOOM 3 scared the crap out of me, parts of HL2 scared me, the FEAR demo scared me...

The first time I remember a game scaring me was Resident Evil 1 where the rotting Doberman dog smashes through that hallway glass...I swear to God I almost pissed my pants.

Ever since then, I can't play many scary games for more than a few minutes.

In fact, in DOOM 3, it took me about 30 minutes to get to the first monster, because I was scared :banana::banana::banana::banana:less walking down into the mine right in the beginning.

Pretty pathetic, but true.

[DTU_XaVier]

Started playing through F.E.A.R. again, and when you can't remeber the story, there are a few places at which I jump in my seat... it's a great game, great combat, and an exciting and intriuging storyline :)

Best Regards :toast:

[Anjelous]

OMG d00d i love Condemed its an amazing game, right now Monolith are really on a roll with some great games, FEAR was amazing, and Condemed is also simply steller, great games, i would highly recomend playing them both.

[theteamaqua]

i think FEAR > Condemned, condemned wasnt fun at all, and it was an xbox 360 they ported to pc like 5 months after it was release for 360, i hate those, just like oblivion developers are moving to consoles now

[g-a-m-e]

I think FEAR was a great game...not amazing, but great. It had that little something extra than other FPS. I personally was on the edge of my seat and reguilarly yelped out in the middle of the night in fear. I dare to say that you don't need a high end rig to get the best from FEAR, you just need to play it in the middle of the night, with the light's off, and a good (preferably surround) set of speakers, and then just let yourself drift into the storyline. This game seriously :banana::banana::banana::banana: me up a couple of times, but i thought it was great. I will definitely be reinstalling it and playing it on my new pc that I'll be building over the summer :D

As for condemned, if it's by the maker's of FEAR i'll dedinitely give it a shot. Sounds like it could be another hit :D

^ lol exactly ^ . Lighting is important as well, need to set contrast high, dimm brightness much, but enable sb-mode on monitor so the lighting looks as real as it can get, that way dark is dark and you will jump up pretty hard when you get melee-smacked in the face with a rifle all of a sudden the second your batteries run out :D