Somehow, Monolith found a way to fit Ethan Thomas's continuing battle with his own demons into these set pieces, with mostly positive results. What's important is that each level will cause you to hold your breath, only to expel it in a single gasp. In the end, it doesn't matter how a magic theater and a doll factory relate to one another. Two separate chase scenes come to mind immediately and stand as the most unforgettable gaming moments of the year so far, though even the less-dramatic sequences can feel like a bludgeon to the brain. The payoff in each scenario is proportionate to the terror the game so cunningly instills. You'll scour the grungiest, darkest corners of a besieged city, from a creepy bowling alley to a claustrophobic dockyard. But a surprise is only as good as its setup, and the game's finest asset is its ability to create a thick, dreadful atmosphere, and then reward your emotional and physical investment in that dread with a shock and a scare. These individual moments aren't always connected in ways that make sense, but they're powerful and memorable, and a testament to the ever-rewarding nature of the jump-out-of-your-seat surprise. Condemned 2 is, at heart, a series of fantastic moments.

Now Playing: Condemned 2: Bloodshot Video Review 1Īll of the vivid neck-breaking and throat-slashing action translates into equally intense scripted events. By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

Condemned 2 bloodshot enemies