Condemned: Criminal Origins (released as simply Condemned in Europe and Australia) is a 2005 first-person action and survival horror video game for Xbox 360 and Windows. Developed by Monolith Productions and jointly published by Sega and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, it was an Xbox 360 launch title and was released in North America in November 2005, in Europe in December, and in Australia in March 2006. The Windows version was released worldwide in April 2006. Monolith also released an online episodic flash game prequel, and there were plans for a film to expand the Condemned universe, with at least three additional games already mapped out by 2005. However, the film was never made, and the only addition to the franchise was Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which was released in 2008 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The game tells the story of Ethan Thomas, an agent with the FBI's Serial Crime Unit (SCU). In the fictional city of Metro, there has been a surge in both serial killings and assaults perpetrated by vagrants, and Thomas is convinced the two are connected. As he hunts a killer dubbed the Match Maker, Thomas is framed for murder and, pursued by his former Bureau colleagues, he finds his whole life upended as he stumbles onto something that goes far beyond any one individual killer.
Aesthetically influenced by films such as The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, Condemneds designers wanted to create a game focused on either a new game mechanic or an existing mechanic with a fresh spin, and so they decided to apply their experience with first-person shooters to a game focused primarily on something not usually seen in first-person games – melee combat. Building a simple but robust combat system, the designers utilised the capabilities of the Xbox 360 to create a realistic and unsettling environment, with a heavy focus on visceral and violent close-quarters combat.
Condemned was well received by critics, who praised the combat mechanics, graphics, animations, AI, and, especially, the sound design and atmosphere. Common points of criticism included the game's linearity, a lack of variety in both level design and gameplay, and what was perceived as a poor implementation of the use of forensic tools. The game sold well upon its initial Xbox 360 release, going on to become the fifth best-selling launch title on the platform. It also won multiple categories in both GameSpots and IGNs Best of 2005 awards.
Gameplay
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a first-person psychological thriller video game with survival horror and action elements. There are two main components to the gameplay – combat and investigating crime scenes.
The game's combat is built primarily around melee; firearms are available but are relatively uncommon. Players can acquire melee weapons from their immediate surroundings in several ways; they can be found lying out in the open, they can be forced from the environment (such as pulling a pipe from a wall or snapping off a 2x4), or they can be taken from an enemy. Enemies can also acquire and use any weapon that the player can use, including firearms. Each weapon has its own combination of damage, speed, range, and blocking stats; so, for example, an axe may have higher damage and range stats than a pipe, but the pipe may have higher speed and blocking stats. There are two classes of melee weapon; debris weapons and entry tools. Debris weapons are items that have no function other than combat. Entry tools are items that can be used in combat but that also have an alternative function. For example, an axe can chop down certain doors, a crowbar can open certain safes, a sledgehammer can destroy certain padlocks, and a shovel can cut through certain electrical wires.
Blocking is an essential component of the game mechanics as the player can only take a few melee hits before dying. A successful block momentarily knocks an enemy off balance, giving the player a chance to attack. An additional component of the game's melee is the ability to perform "finishing moves" when an opponent is on their knees, such as a headbutt, a neck break, a punch, or a head slam. The player can also use a quick-kick, which is available at all times; if the player is unarmed, if they are carrying a firearm, or if they are carrying a melee weapon.
When using a firearm, the player cannot collect additional ammo, as firearms cannot be reloaded; each firearm lasts only as long as there are bullets in the current magazine. The player can also use the butt of any firearm as a melee weapon. However, unlike other melee weapons, firearms will break when used repeatedly. The player also has a taser which can be used to temporarily stun a target. This does minimal damage, but it does allow the player to seize the stunned enemy's weapon. However, after each use, the taser must recharge before it can be used again, meaning it cannot be used as a regular substitute for the game's melee weapons. Irrespective of whether the player is carrying a firearm or a melee weapon, only one weapon can be carried at a time.
The other primary game mechanic is forensic crime scene investigation. The game utilises a context-sensitive button, which can call upon a suite of tools to find and record evidence. When the player encounters an "Instinct Area", the game will alert them to the presence of evidence. Pressing the tool button will automatically deploy the correct detection tool needed to locate the evidence. Once the evidence has been located, pressing the tool button again will automatically ready the necessary collection tool. Once collected, the evidence is automatically sent to the lab to be analysed. Detection tools include a UV light, a laser light, and a spectrometer. Collection tools include a sampler, a portable 3D scanner, and a digital camera. Examples of evidence include fingerprints, footprints, fibers, residues, particles, and blood splatter.
Plot Ethan Thomas is an FBI agent assigned to the Serial Crime Unit (SCU) in the fictional city of Metro. Possessing the ability to sense a killer's actions, Thomas has the highest solve rate in the unit. However, many of his recent cases have gone cold. Meanwhile, he is convinced that the recent rise in serial killers is connected to a spike in crime, specifically assault amongst vagrants.
Arriving at the location of a homicide in a derelict building, Thomas is met by Det. Dickensen and Ofc. Becker of Metro PD. They conclude that the murder is the work of the "Match Maker", a killer that uses mannequins in his crimes. Realizing that someone else is in the building, they split up, but when Thomas loses his gun, a man takes it and holds him at gunpoint, saying, "we are both on the same path of righteousness." He then shoots and kills both Dickensen and Becker before pushing Thomas through a window.
Thomas wakes up in his apartment to find Malcolm Vanhorn, a family friend. Vanhorn warns Thomas that he is wanted for the deaths of the police and advises him to run. Assisted via phone by his colleague, Lt. Rosa, Thomas heads to a nearby metro station where he finds a room with a camera pointing at his apartment and a wall covered in newspapers, each one detailing a case Thomas worked, although many of the pages have a hand-drawn "X" on them. Finding evidence that the Match Maker is in an abandoned retail store, Thomas heads there.
In the store, he finds the Match Maker's body. Referring back to the newspapers, Rosa notes that all the articles with an X have gone cold, and she concludes that the man who took Thomas's gun is killing serial killers, hence why the cases went cold. She dubs him Serial Killer X (SKX). At the city library, Rosa reveals that she has found several anomalies in Thomas's personnel file - his bone density is abnormally high; he has an overactive serotonergic system; and there is a chest x-ray in which the vocal cords have been redacted. Meanwhile, Thomas begins to have visions of a man with metal implants in his body, most notably his mouth. Finding evidence that Serial Killer X may be operating out of an abandoned orchard, Thomas and Vanhorn head there.
As he explores the house, Thomas finds the Torturer's body. He takes SKX by surprise and seems poised to defeat him when he is attacked by Vanhorn. He hears Vanhorn refer to SKX as "Leland, nephew", pleading with him that he doesn't know his own mind, but Leland knocks Vanhorn out as Thomas faints. When he awakens, he is tied up and at the mercy of Leland, who brags about using Thomas to help him find victims. Vanhorn comes to and attacks Leland, allowing Thomas to escape. Vanhorn tells him that he must hunt down and kill the man with the implants as he is the cause of the violence in the city. As Thomas searches, he hears a voice telling him, "You belong to us, Ethan. You have always belonged to us." He eventually tracks down the man and kills him by ripping out his implants.
As Vanhorn drives Thomas home, Thomas discovers that Leland is alive in the trunk. Vanhorn explains, "he was a good boy. We were all good people. We were able to fight it back, most of us. My nephew was not as strong." Thomas pulls his gun on Leland, and the player is given the option of whether to shoot or not. If they do not, Leland pulls out his own gun and seemingly commits suicide. Sometime later, Thomas, now cleared of the deaths of Dickensen and Becker, meets Rosa. She explains that the FBI believes Leland was part of a cult and asks him if he knows anything about it. However, she tips him off that she is wired before he answers. Rosa leaves and Thomas goes to the bathroom. While there, he vomits and the implanted man is seen approaching him in the mirror. The man disappears, and Thomas spins around, showing that his mouth now bears the same implants.
Development Condemned: Criminal Origins was announced by Sega and Monolith Productions in February 2005 for PC and as yet unspecified next generation consoles. Sega of America's Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, Scott A. Steinberg, said, "the atmospheric tension and cinematic qualities" of the game would "offer consumers the rich experience of a psychological thriller, something that has not been accomplished on previous hardware platforms." Monolith's CEO Samantha Ryan said, "new leaps in technology are allowing our teams to create immersive game environments that are incredibly realistic." She explained that the "goal with Condemned is to combine a disturbing atmosphere with realistic physics, devious AI, and a sophisticated combat system."
In April, it was revealed that the game would be releasing on Xbox 360. The game was first shown at E3 in May as a non-playabe demo. A playable demo was made available at G-Phoria later that month. A more expansive playable demo was presented at X05 in October. Shortly after X05, Sega announced that the game would be an Xbox 360 launch title, releasing on November 22. The game went gold on November 2.