Condemned: Criminal Origins (PC) - Part 1

Developer:

Monolith

|

Release Date:

2005 (Xbox 360)

|

Systems:

Windows, Xbox 360

---

Today on Super Adventures I'm taking a brief look at Condemned: Criminal Origins. Man, with a title like that you can tell Monolith were hoping to get a whole franchise out of this one. But in the end they only released the one sequel, and the series has been dormant for the last 8 years. Though if they ever make a third game they should totally call it Condemned 3: Criminal Inquisition.

Condemned was created by No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (currently soaking up the acclaim for their latest non-FPS Shadow of Mordor), and it was an exclusive launch title for Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 console. This was actually in development for the 360 at the same time as F.E.A.R. was being made for PCs, and they were released just a month apart, so I guess the company was in a gritty horror FPS kind of mood at the time.

This isn't the first time I've played the game, I managed to finish the thing back when it was new, but it will be the first time I get to see it with all the settings on max. It tried to talk me out of switching the soft shadows on, but I disregarded its warnings as I am from 10 years in the future and such things are no longer a concern to me.

WARNING: The first screenshot in the article shows a gross picture of a bird being dissected.

(Click any screenshots to view them at the original size.)
Read on »

Developer:

Monolith

|

Release Date:

2005 (Xbox 360)

|

Systems:

Windows, Xbox 360

---

Today on Super Adventures I'm taking a brief look at Condemned: Criminal Origins. Man, with a title like that you can tell Monolith were hoping to get a whole franchise out of this one. But in the end they only released the one sequel, and the series has been dormant for the last 8 years. Though if they ever make a third game they should totally call it Condemned 3: Criminal Inquisition.

Condemned was created by No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (currently soaking up the acclaim for their latest non-FPS Shadow of Mordor), and it was an exclusive launch title for Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 console. This was actually in development for the 360 at the same time as F.E.A.R. was being made for PCs, and they were released just a month apart, so I guess the company was in a gritty horror FPS kind of mood at the time.

This isn't the first time I've played the game, I managed to finish the thing back when it was new, but it will be the first time I get to see it with all the settings on max. It tried to talk me out of switching the soft shadows on, but I disregarded its warnings as I am from 10 years in the future and such things are no longer a concern to me.

WARNING: The first screenshot in the article shows a gross picture of a bird being dissected.

(Click any screenshots to view them at the original size.)
Read on »

Developer:

Monolith

|

Release Date:

2005 (Xbox 360)

|

Systems:

Windows, Xbox 360

---

Today on Super Adventures I'm taking a brief look at Condemned: Criminal Origins. Man, with a title like that you can tell Monolith were hoping to get a whole franchise out of this one. But in the end they only released the one sequel, and the series has been dormant for the last 8 years. Though if they ever make a third game they should totally call it Condemned 3: Criminal Inquisition.

Condemned was created by No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (currently soaking up the acclaim for their latest non-FPS Shadow of Mordor), and it was an exclusive launch title for Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 console. This was actually in development for the 360 at the same time as F.E.A.R. was being made for PCs, and they were released just a month apart, so I guess the company was in a gritty horror FPS kind of mood at the time.

This isn't the first time I've played the game, I managed to finish the thing back when it was new, but it will be the first time I get to see it with all the settings on max. It tried to talk me out of switching the soft shadows on, but I disregarded its warnings as I am from 10 years in the future and such things are no longer a concern to me.

WARNING: The first screenshot in the article shows a gross picture of a bird being dissected.

(Click any screenshots to view them at the original size.)
Read on »

Developer:

Monolith

|

Release Date:

2005 (Xbox 360)

|

Systems:

Windows, Xbox 360

---

Today on Super Adventures I'm taking a brief look at Condemned: Criminal Origins. Man, with a title like that you can tell Monolith were hoping to get a whole franchise out of this one. But in the end they only released the one sequel, and the series has been dormant for the last 8 years. Though if they ever make a third game they should totally call it Condemned 3: Criminal Inquisition.

Condemned was created by No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (currently soaking up the acclaim for their latest non-FPS Shadow of Mordor), and it was an exclusive launch title for Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 console. This was actually in development for the 360 at the same time as F.E.A.R. was being made for PCs, and they were released just a month apart, so I guess the company was in a gritty horror FPS kind of mood at the time.

This isn't the first time I've played the game, I managed to finish the thing back when it was new, but it will be the first time I get to see it with all the settings on max. It tried to talk me out of switching the soft shadows on, but I disregarded its warnings as I am from 10 years in the future and such things are no longer a concern to me.

WARNING: The first screenshot in the article shows a gross picture of a bird being dissected.

(Click any screenshots to view them at the original size.)
Read on »

Developer:

Monolith

|

Release Date:

2005 (Xbox 360)

|

Systems:

Windows, Xbox 360

---

Today on Super Adventures I'm taking a brief look at Condemned: Criminal Origins. Man, with a title like that you can tell Monolith were hoping to get a whole franchise out of this one. But in the end they only released the one sequel, and the series has been dormant for the last 8 years. Though if they ever make a third game they should totally call it Condemned 3: Criminal Inquisition.

Condemned was created by No One Lives Forever and F.E.A.R. developer Monolith (currently soaking up the acclaim for their latest non-FPS Shadow of Mordor), and it was an exclusive launch title for Microsoft's shiny new Xbox 360 console. This was actually in development for the 360 at the same time as F.E.A.R. was being made for PCs, and they were released just a month apart, so I guess the company was in a gritty horror FPS kind of mood at the time.

This isn't the first time I've played the game, I managed to finish the thing back when it was new, but it will be the first time I get to see it with all the settings on max. It tried to talk me out of switching the soft shadows on, but I disregarded its warnings as I am from 10 years in the future and such things are no longer a concern to me.

WARNING: The first screenshot in the article shows a gross picture of a bird being dissected.

(Click any screenshots to view them at the original size.)
Read on »

Continue

Condemned: Criminal Origins (PC) - Part 2

Click the highlighted text if you missed out on part one.
Read on »

Click the highlighted text if you missed out on part one.
Read on »

Click the highlighted text if you missed out on part one.
Read on »

Click the highlighted text if you missed out on part one.
Read on »

Click the highlighted text if you missed out on part one.
Read on »

Continue

Boiling Point: Road to Hell (PC) - Part 2 - Guest Post

Hello I'm mecha-neko and I'm playing first-person open-world epic Boiling Point (aka. Xenus)!
Click here to go back to part one.
Read on »

Hello I'm mecha-neko and I'm playing first-person open-world epic Boiling Point (aka. Xenus)!
Click here to go back to part one.
Read on »

Hello I'm mecha-neko and I'm playing first-person open-world epic Boiling Point (aka. Xenus)!
Click here to go back to part one.
Read on »

Hello I'm mecha-neko and I'm playing first-person open-world epic Boiling Point (aka. Xenus)!
Click here to go back to part one.
Read on »

Hello I'm mecha-neko and I'm playing first-person open-world epic Boiling Point (aka. Xenus)!
Click here to go back to part one.
Read on »

Continue

Boiling Point: Road to Hell (PC) - Part 1 - Guest Post

Back by popular demand, guest poster mecha-neko has returned one more time to write up his thoughts on the first few hours of obscure Ukrainian open world FPS Xenus, better known as Boiling Point.

To hell with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Get out of here, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Begone, Far Cry 4. The future is here. This is the ultimate game.

This is Boiling Point: Road to Hell.

STEP INTO REALITY
Your presence here affects everything. Each step you take is crucial. Every game is different. Forget linear games with levels and loading times. This is real life. Your enemies take things personally and they never forget. Every action you make will come back to haunt you. And with the army, Guerrillas, and Mafia on to you, you'd better watch your back. Help them out, or blast your way through. Either way, the heat is up and you'll be pushed to Boiling Point.

Let me tell you all about my holiday in Realia!
You can click on my holiday snaps to view them in full resolution.
Read on »

Back by popular demand, guest poster mecha-neko has returned one more time to write up his thoughts on the first few hours of obscure Ukrainian open world FPS Xenus, better known as Boiling Point.

To hell with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Get out of here, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Begone, Far Cry 4. The future is here. This is the ultimate game.

This is Boiling Point: Road to Hell.

STEP INTO REALITY
Your presence here affects everything. Each step you take is crucial. Every game is different. Forget linear games with levels and loading times. This is real life. Your enemies take things personally and they never forget. Every action you make will come back to haunt you. And with the army, Guerrillas, and Mafia on to you, you'd better watch your back. Help them out, or blast your way through. Either way, the heat is up and you'll be pushed to Boiling Point.

Let me tell you all about my holiday in Realia!
You can click on my holiday snaps to view them in full resolution.
Read on »

Back by popular demand, guest poster mecha-neko has returned one more time to write up his thoughts on the first few hours of obscure Ukrainian open world FPS Xenus, better known as Boiling Point.

To hell with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Get out of here, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Begone, Far Cry 4. The future is here. This is the ultimate game.

This is Boiling Point: Road to Hell.

STEP INTO REALITY
Your presence here affects everything. Each step you take is crucial. Every game is different. Forget linear games with levels and loading times. This is real life. Your enemies take things personally and they never forget. Every action you make will come back to haunt you. And with the army, Guerrillas, and Mafia on to you, you'd better watch your back. Help them out, or blast your way through. Either way, the heat is up and you'll be pushed to Boiling Point.

Let me tell you all about my holiday in Realia!
You can click on my holiday snaps to view them in full resolution.
Read on »

Back by popular demand, guest poster mecha-neko has returned one more time to write up his thoughts on the first few hours of obscure Ukrainian open world FPS Xenus, better known as Boiling Point.

To hell with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Get out of here, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Begone, Far Cry 4. The future is here. This is the ultimate game.

This is Boiling Point: Road to Hell.

STEP INTO REALITY
Your presence here affects everything. Each step you take is crucial. Every game is different. Forget linear games with levels and loading times. This is real life. Your enemies take things personally and they never forget. Every action you make will come back to haunt you. And with the army, Guerrillas, and Mafia on to you, you'd better watch your back. Help them out, or blast your way through. Either way, the heat is up and you'll be pushed to Boiling Point.

Let me tell you all about my holiday in Realia!
You can click on my holiday snaps to view them in full resolution.
Read on »

Back by popular demand, guest poster mecha-neko has returned one more time to write up his thoughts on the first few hours of obscure Ukrainian open world FPS Xenus, better known as Boiling Point.

To hell with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Get out of here, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. Begone, Far Cry 4. The future is here. This is the ultimate game.

This is Boiling Point: Road to Hell.

STEP INTO REALITY
Your presence here affects everything. Each step you take is crucial. Every game is different. Forget linear games with levels and loading times. This is real life. Your enemies take things personally and they never forget. Every action you make will come back to haunt you. And with the army, Guerrillas, and Mafia on to you, you'd better watch your back. Help them out, or blast your way through. Either way, the heat is up and you'll be pushed to Boiling Point.

Let me tell you all about my holiday in Realia!
You can click on my holiday snaps to view them in full resolution.
Read on »

Continue

Quake 4 (PC)

Today, at last, I'm taking a quick look at the first few hours of Quake 4. Though it should really be called Quake II-2, as it breaks the series' long tradition of each game having basically nothing to do with each other, and instead continues the tale of Quake II.

The game came out a year after Doom 3 and is built on the same engine, but it was actually developed by id's sidekick Raven Software, who've used id's tech in the past to bring the world first person shooters like Heretic, Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. But not Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that was actually someone else (though Raven did make the next Wolfenstein game... called Wolfenstein.)

Anyway I've played (and finished) the game once before, but thanks to my superpower of being able to completely forget pretty much anything and everything (aside from bad pop songs and 16-bit game tunes), it'll be just like I'm seeing it all for the first time!

(Click the images to view them in a larger resolution.)
Read on »

Today, at last, I'm taking a quick look at the first few hours of Quake 4. Though it should really be called Quake II-2, as it breaks the series' long tradition of each game having basically nothing to do with each other, and instead continues the tale of Quake II.

The game came out a year after Doom 3 and is built on the same engine, but it was actually developed by id's sidekick Raven Software, who've used id's tech in the past to bring the world first person shooters like Heretic, Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. But not Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that was actually someone else (though Raven did make the next Wolfenstein game... called Wolfenstein.)

Anyway I've played (and finished) the game once before, but thanks to my superpower of being able to completely forget pretty much anything and everything (aside from bad pop songs and 16-bit game tunes), it'll be just like I'm seeing it all for the first time!

(Click the images to view them in a larger resolution.)
Read on »

Today, at last, I'm taking a quick look at the first few hours of Quake 4. Though it should really be called Quake II-2, as it breaks the series' long tradition of each game having basically nothing to do with each other, and instead continues the tale of Quake II.

The game came out a year after Doom 3 and is built on the same engine, but it was actually developed by id's sidekick Raven Software, who've used id's tech in the past to bring the world first person shooters like Heretic, Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. But not Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that was actually someone else (though Raven did make the next Wolfenstein game... called Wolfenstein.)

Anyway I've played (and finished) the game once before, but thanks to my superpower of being able to completely forget pretty much anything and everything (aside from bad pop songs and 16-bit game tunes), it'll be just like I'm seeing it all for the first time!

(Click the images to view them in a larger resolution.)
Read on »

Today, at last, I'm taking a quick look at the first few hours of Quake 4. Though it should really be called Quake II-2, as it breaks the series' long tradition of each game having basically nothing to do with each other, and instead continues the tale of Quake II.

The game came out a year after Doom 3 and is built on the same engine, but it was actually developed by id's sidekick Raven Software, who've used id's tech in the past to bring the world first person shooters like Heretic, Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. But not Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that was actually someone else (though Raven did make the next Wolfenstein game... called Wolfenstein.)

Anyway I've played (and finished) the game once before, but thanks to my superpower of being able to completely forget pretty much anything and everything (aside from bad pop songs and 16-bit game tunes), it'll be just like I'm seeing it all for the first time!

(Click the images to view them in a larger resolution.)
Read on »

Today, at last, I'm taking a quick look at the first few hours of Quake 4. Though it should really be called Quake II-2, as it breaks the series' long tradition of each game having basically nothing to do with each other, and instead continues the tale of Quake II.

The game came out a year after Doom 3 and is built on the same engine, but it was actually developed by id's sidekick Raven Software, who've used id's tech in the past to bring the world first person shooters like Heretic, Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. But not Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that was actually someone else (though Raven did make the next Wolfenstein game... called Wolfenstein.)

Anyway I've played (and finished) the game once before, but thanks to my superpower of being able to completely forget pretty much anything and everything (aside from bad pop songs and 16-bit game tunes), it'll be just like I'm seeing it all for the first time!

(Click the images to view them in a larger resolution.)
Read on »

Continue

Project: Snowblind (PC)

Hi. Sorry for the long break but I'm still here I promise, and to prove it I bring you many pictures from Crystal Dynamic's 2005 FPS Project: Snowblind! I've been playing through all of the Deus Ex sequels this year, so it didn't seem right to leave out poor Snowblind even if it's not really part of the family. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-focused Deus Ex spin-off called Deus Ex: Clan Wars you see, but Invisible War's crappy sales put an end to that plan. There's some obscure trivia just for you, taken straight from the first paragraph of its wikipedia page. I will of course only be examining the single player though, as that's what I do.

Just to shift subject for a second; I know this doesn't need to be said, but there's been some drama over game journalism lately and I feel like re-clarifying how Super Adventures works. I don't generally review games here, I show off a few hours of gameplay and report how I felt about them during and after playing this small fraction of the product. I salute those wise and learned game critics who can scientifically determine a game's objective worth down to a percent, but that's not a skill I have. I can only say whether or not I personally enjoyed my time playing it, share my first impressions, and provide for you a site full of my other opinions to judge my personal taste by.

You can't really call anything I do game journalism, I'm usually more of a snarky archaeologist, and the games I dig up are chosen by a team of experts consisting of myself and you guys. On the other hand I've got nothing against playing brand new games that are sent to me, and if there's ever been any conflict of interest due to my innumerous friendships with game developers I've always made it obvious enough for folks to make up their own minds about the bias in my rantings, and I always will. Probably.

(Click on screenshots to open them up at their original resolution.)
Read on »

Hi. Sorry for the long break but I'm still here I promise, and to prove it I bring you many pictures from Crystal Dynamic's 2005 FPS Project: Snowblind! I've been playing through all of the Deus Ex sequels this year, so it didn't seem right to leave out poor Snowblind even if it's not really part of the family. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-focused Deus Ex spin-off called Deus Ex: Clan Wars you see, but Invisible War's crappy sales put an end to that plan. There's some obscure trivia just for you, taken straight from the first paragraph of its wikipedia page. I will of course only be examining the single player though, as that's what I do.

Just to shift subject for a second; I know this doesn't need to be said, but there's been some drama over game journalism lately and I feel like re-clarifying how Super Adventures works. I don't generally review games here, I show off a few hours of gameplay and report how I felt about them during and after playing this small fraction of the product. I salute those wise and learned game critics who can scientifically determine a game's objective worth down to a percent, but that's not a skill I have. I can only say whether or not I personally enjoyed my time playing it, share my first impressions, and provide for you a site full of my other opinions to judge my personal taste by.

You can't really call anything I do game journalism, I'm usually more of a snarky archaeologist, and the games I dig up are chosen by a team of experts consisting of myself and you guys. On the other hand I've got nothing against playing brand new games that are sent to me, and if there's ever been any conflict of interest due to my innumerous friendships with game developers I've always made it obvious enough for folks to make up their own minds about the bias in my rantings, and I always will. Probably.

(Click on screenshots to open them up at their original resolution.)
Read on »

Hi. Sorry for the long break but I'm still here I promise, and to prove it I bring you many pictures from Crystal Dynamic's 2005 FPS Project: Snowblind! I've been playing through all of the Deus Ex sequels this year, so it didn't seem right to leave out poor Snowblind even if it's not really part of the family. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-focused Deus Ex spin-off called Deus Ex: Clan Wars you see, but Invisible War's crappy sales put an end to that plan. There's some obscure trivia just for you, taken straight from the first paragraph of its wikipedia page. I will of course only be examining the single player though, as that's what I do.

Just to shift subject for a second; I know this doesn't need to be said, but there's been some drama over game journalism lately and I feel like re-clarifying how Super Adventures works. I don't generally review games here, I show off a few hours of gameplay and report how I felt about them during and after playing this small fraction of the product. I salute those wise and learned game critics who can scientifically determine a game's objective worth down to a percent, but that's not a skill I have. I can only say whether or not I personally enjoyed my time playing it, share my first impressions, and provide for you a site full of my other opinions to judge my personal taste by.

You can't really call anything I do game journalism, I'm usually more of a snarky archaeologist, and the games I dig up are chosen by a team of experts consisting of myself and you guys. On the other hand I've got nothing against playing brand new games that are sent to me, and if there's ever been any conflict of interest due to my innumerous friendships with game developers I've always made it obvious enough for folks to make up their own minds about the bias in my rantings, and I always will. Probably.

(Click on screenshots to open them up at their original resolution.)
Read on »

Hi. Sorry for the long break but I'm still here I promise, and to prove it I bring you many pictures from Crystal Dynamic's 2005 FPS Project: Snowblind! I've been playing through all of the Deus Ex sequels this year, so it didn't seem right to leave out poor Snowblind even if it's not really part of the family. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-focused Deus Ex spin-off called Deus Ex: Clan Wars you see, but Invisible War's crappy sales put an end to that plan. There's some obscure trivia just for you, taken straight from the first paragraph of its wikipedia page. I will of course only be examining the single player though, as that's what I do.

Just to shift subject for a second; I know this doesn't need to be said, but there's been some drama over game journalism lately and I feel like re-clarifying how Super Adventures works. I don't generally review games here, I show off a few hours of gameplay and report how I felt about them during and after playing this small fraction of the product. I salute those wise and learned game critics who can scientifically determine a game's objective worth down to a percent, but that's not a skill I have. I can only say whether or not I personally enjoyed my time playing it, share my first impressions, and provide for you a site full of my other opinions to judge my personal taste by.

You can't really call anything I do game journalism, I'm usually more of a snarky archaeologist, and the games I dig up are chosen by a team of experts consisting of myself and you guys. On the other hand I've got nothing against playing brand new games that are sent to me, and if there's ever been any conflict of interest due to my innumerous friendships with game developers I've always made it obvious enough for folks to make up their own minds about the bias in my rantings, and I always will. Probably.

(Click on screenshots to open them up at their original resolution.)
Read on »

Hi. Sorry for the long break but I'm still here I promise, and to prove it I bring you many pictures from Crystal Dynamic's 2005 FPS Project: Snowblind! I've been playing through all of the Deus Ex sequels this year, so it didn't seem right to leave out poor Snowblind even if it's not really part of the family. It was originally intended to be a multiplayer-focused Deus Ex spin-off called Deus Ex: Clan Wars you see, but Invisible War's crappy sales put an end to that plan. There's some obscure trivia just for you, taken straight from the first paragraph of its wikipedia page. I will of course only be examining the single player though, as that's what I do.

Just to shift subject for a second; I know this doesn't need to be said, but there's been some drama over game journalism lately and I feel like re-clarifying how Super Adventures works. I don't generally review games here, I show off a few hours of gameplay and report how I felt about them during and after playing this small fraction of the product. I salute those wise and learned game critics who can scientifically determine a game's objective worth down to a percent, but that's not a skill I have. I can only say whether or not I personally enjoyed my time playing it, share my first impressions, and provide for you a site full of my other opinions to judge my personal taste by.

You can't really call anything I do game journalism, I'm usually more of a snarky archaeologist, and the games I dig up are chosen by a team of experts consisting of myself and you guys. On the other hand I've got nothing against playing brand new games that are sent to me, and if there's ever been any conflict of interest due to my innumerous friendships with game developers I've always made it obvious enough for folks to make up their own minds about the bias in my rantings, and I always will. Probably.

(Click on screenshots to open them up at their original resolution.)
Read on »

Continue