Condemned-2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Report: UK Advertising authority to warn publishers to tone down violent ads

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 20th 2009 at 4:15PM }

Overwhelming violence has never really been a problem in UK games advertising -- in fact, less than 1 percent of video game ads were turned down by the regulatory Advertising Standards Agency in the past year (a Kane and Lynch ad and Condemned 2 ad were the only offenders). However, according to a report from MCV, the ASA will publish new guidelines for gaming advertisements in September which will suggest publishers consider the "wider context of the impact their ads have," rather than simply fulfill the ASA's base requirements.

Basically, the ASA is suggesting that publishers think about whether their advertisements will "offend and cause distress" throughout their ad consumers. Though the ASA admits that violent game ads have yet to be a problem in the UK, it'll use the new guidelines to "qualify the existing guidance to help publishers avoid problems in the future." That statement just confirms our long-held suspicion that the ASA is full-to-brim with psychics.

Monolith hiring for new 'first-person action game'

by David Hinkle { Jun 30th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Monolith Productions -- the developers behind titles such as F.E.A.R., Condemned, and, if you're an older gamer, No One Lives Forever -- are looking for a software engineer for a "triple-A next-generation console title," as a recent job posting on the developer's site points out. Further down into the nitty-gritty of the listing, you'll find a brief description for this new Xbox 360, PS3, and PC title: "Work closely with engineers, designers, and artists on the creation of game systems for a cutting-edge first-person action game on PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and PC."

And, sadly, that's about all of the information on the game the job listing provides. With F.E.A.R. 2 releasing this past February, we'd be hard-pressed to consider a new entry in that series, so we're crossing our fingers for a new No One Lives Forever.

[Via IGN]

Best Buy's $10 sale: Ninja Gaiden II, Turok & more

by Dustin Burg { Jan 13th 2009 at 12:15PM }

Holy Hannah! We aren't exactly sure how we missed the money savings event going on at Best Buy stores (we blame the unnatural alignment of the moon and sun), but we have to share even if we're a bit late on reporting. Online at BestBuy.com or in-store you can take advantage of their $10 Xbox 360 game sale. For just one Hamilton ($9.99 to be exact), you can own a new and guaranteed to be shrink wrapped copy of Ninja Gaiden II, Facebreaker, Condemned 2, MLB 2K8 or Turok. How can you say no to those deals?

If you're okay with dropping $20 on a new game, Best Buy has a few 360 titles in that price range including (but not limited to) Bad Company, UT3 and Quake Wars. Happy shopping!

ASA bans Condemned 2 telly ad five months late

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 18th 2008 at 12:42PM }

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has banned a pair of Condemned 2: Bloodshot commercials, just a little over five months after the game's release. Unlike the whopping 26 complaints that got a Kane & Lynch ad banned, the Condemned 2 spot was washed away in the deluge of ... nine complaints.

Despite the pair of violent commercials being cleared for post-9PM showing, the ASA determined that "viewers were likely to find those scenes offensive and distressing and to see them as condoning real violence and cruelty." Check out what we believe to be one of the offensive ads, after the break.

[Via GamePolitics]

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Points>Life: Collect-a-thon!

by Xav de Matos { Jun 17th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Each week, X3F tips gamers to the tricks of the trade of Achievement hording in Points>Life. Every week a new achievement is unlocked to help you continue your unhealthy obsession with the Xbox 360 meta-game.

Throughout the ages in the world of game design, the idea of collecting random items was developed to artificially extend the life of a game. Why only include a five-hour campaign when you can stuff that length with two hours worth of collecting junk, right? Until the advent of the Xbox 360 such collect-a-thons had no business in our games, but for those of us addicted to Achievement Points it has become a necessary evil in our war to 1000 points.

This week in Points>Life we're taking a look at some recent offenders on the Xbox 360 and attempt to show you where all those knickknacks, trinkets and gems are hidden. Sit back, it's going to be a bumpy and boring ride to Collect-a-Thon city!

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Deal of the Evening: Condemned 2 for $40

by Nick Doerr { Apr 21st 2008 at 7:30PM }

It's a relatively new game and it's already marked down to PlayStation 2 game prices -- Condemned 2: Bloodshot is currently listed on Amazon at the exciting price of $39.99. Do we have to say more? It's a decent game and brings the scares to the PS3. There's not really any other "scary" game for our black behemoth ... especially since Tecmo is taking Fatal Frame to the Wii ... but this should get you by until more horror comes along!

[Via CAG]

Condemned 2 demo hits Xbox Live

by Justin McElroy { Apr 18th 2008 at 9:00PM }

We're a little nervous about a new demo for Condemned 2 that was released on Xbox Live this morning. It's not that it's not worth your time (it is) or your money (it's free). We're just concerned that you'll get the wrong idea about Condemned 2 from the provided sample.

If it's the first level of the game, believe us when we say it gets way better. The enemies get smarter, the environments more varied, the weapons get cooler the deeper you get into the game, so don't go getting turned off by the demo slice. We should warn you though that the new Ethan Thomas voice guy doesn't get any less awful. We pine for you, Greg Grunberg. We pine.

Gallery: Condemned 2: Bloodshot (Xbox 360, PS3)

Bloodshot scares XBLM, ruins pants worldwide

by Dustin Burg { Apr 18th 2008 at 3:30PM }

Well, well, well ... look what the mangy old dog just drug in off the streets. It's a new 736MB Condemned 2: Bloodshot demo that's now available to most Live subscribers via the Xbox Live Marketplace, the same demo we were promised weeks ago. The same demo that broke our hearts numerous times and now, just because it's available today, thinks our heart will be instantly healed. Well, we have news for you Bloodshot. Our heart is still broken. You promised us the world and delivered weeks too late. We may find enough forgiveness in (what's left of our) heart to download you and your demo, probably later today. But don't be angry when a today download promise magically turns into a June download execution. It's called karma.

Bloodshot demo finally arrives tomorrow

by Richard Mitchell { Apr 17th 2008 at 4:30PM }

Well good golly, that sure took a while. The Condemned 2 demo has been public knowledge for quite some time now, with the first mention appearing in February. We learned in March that the demo was "coming soon." Apparently coming soon meant "in a month," as the demo is finally gracing XBLM tomorrow morning at 2:00am (we're guessing Pacific time, though it's not specified). So, if you haven't sampled of Condemned 2's particular brand of zombo bashing creepiness, you'll finally get the chance to do it for free. It's just in time for the weekend too. We don't know about you, but that's really when we like to be scared to the point of soiling ourselves.

[Thanks, Ben]

Zero Punctuation likes half of Condemned 2

by Richard Mitchell { Apr 17th 2008 at 1:30PM }

So, anyone out there play Indigo Prophecy (known as Fahrenheit in Europe)? You remember how about halfway through everything got really stupid? Remember how all the intriguing elements gave way to a ridiculous plot? If not, you could always pick it up on Xbox Originals and find out. Anyway, if Yahtzee (of Zero Punctuation fame) is to be believed, Condemned 2: Bloodshot suffers from Indigo Prophecy syndrome. In other words, it's a great game ... right up until the halfway point. Find out exactly what went wrong after the break (as usual, this week's Zero Punctuation video is NSFW).

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Zero Punctuation loves Condemned 2 ... until halfway through

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 16th 2008 at 7:30PM }

Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee beats up sleep-deprived hobos this week for his Condemned 2: Bloodshot review and, up until the midway point, was all set to name it "game of the year." Apparently, Condemned 2 suffers from the same disease which afflicted Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit to our European friends), where the game took a left turn halfway through and players were introduced to concepts that ruined everything built up to that point. Those who played Indigo Prophecy (and were enjoying themselves) probably remember the moment that game went from intriguing to ridiculous.

Get your homeless-beating fix after the break with this week's NSFW review of Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

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Call of Duty 4 for $35 and Condemned 2 for $39

by Dustin Burg { Apr 14th 2008 at 10:15AM }

Quick! Quick! Quick! If you're in the market for Call of Duty 4 (and don't mind not getting the GOTY edition) then head over to Amazon.com, because they're running a sweet Deal of the Day offering CoD4 for $34.99 with free shipping! We have no idea how long Amazon.com will keep these in stock but, even if they don't sell out, we can guarantee that the deal will expire tonight when the clock strikes midnight. Hurry kids and buy if you want a copy.

Also, after paging through our Sunday ads, we discovered that this week Circuit City is offering Condemned 2: Bloodshot for a cool $39. Just thought you'd like to know.

[Thanks, Ben]

Read - Call of Duty 4 for $35
Read - Condemned 2: Bloodshot for $39

Offset your sin footprint with OffSetTheEvil.com

by Jem Alexander { Apr 3rd 2008 at 6:30PM }

We know that playing Condemned 2 is a brutal, blunt experience and it seems that Sega does too. OffSetTheEvil.com allows you to balance your karma by "offsetting the evil" much like you would with your carbon footprint. Thankfully, offsetting evil doesn't cost a penny - instead you simply need to explore the sickly sweet saturday-morning cartoon of a website.

Once there you can make yourself feel less wicked by playing a ridiculous flash game involving helping horses across a river. Don't worry if they fall in, though. They still love you! If that's not for you then explore the Forest of Fairy Flowers, with hidden links to sites which will teach you to dance or show videos of the Teletubbies. There's plenty more content to reduce your sin footprint included on the site. If you can handle it, that is.

Win a signed copy of the Condemned 2 guide

by Xav de Matos { Mar 28th 2008 at 12:45AM }

Throw this one in the "our-bad" category. The team at Xbox 360 Achievements.org are giving away two copies of the Condemned 2: Bloodshot strategy guide signed by 18 members of the development team at Monolith. Why "our bad" you ask? Entries for the prize are due by 11:59PM PST on March 29. If you're looking to add a guide on how to hit dudes in the face to your collection, this giveaway might be the perfect thing for you! Check out their site for complete entry details.

Condemned 2 demo still not available, still coming

by Dustin Burg { Mar 17th 2008 at 10:00AM }

You know, the one thing that gets under our skin is when developers or publishers can't get their crap together when it comes to releasing any type of content to the Xbox Live Marketplace. To us, there is absolutely no excuse for miscommunication or confusion ... just get your crap together! And that's the exact case we're dealing with when we talk about the (supposed to already have been released) Condemned 2: Bloodshot demo.

You see, since February we've known about a demo because Xbox.com told us one was already available, but upon discovering there was none, we were then informed that a demo was to be released soon. Then, last Friday, we received a press release telling us the Bloodshot demo was already available to European Xbox Live gamers, but alas ... none is available. Now, today, that exact same press release has been re-worded and re-released but minus the details about the demo being on Xbox Live already and replaced with a "coming soon" kind of tone. What the fudgesicle sticks SEGA? At this point we don't know what to believe, who to believe and whether or not the demo is going to be region specific or even rollout by the end of 2008. Get your crap together! We're officially adopting a new Condemned 2: Bloodshot XBLM demo mindset: we're only believing it's a reality when we see it on the Marketplace. Humph!