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Having launched a few weeks ago and having amassed over 5,000 users, German-developed Clodogame ("Trampgame", en Anglais) is off to a good start. At least it would be if it weren't inciting outrage among French citizens, who accuse the game of perpetuating a negative public image of the homeless in France, according to a Telegraph report. "The image portrayed is exactly the one against which we've been trying to fight," Red Cross spokesperson Jean-François Riffaud told Le Parisien.

From the little of the game we played (er, could translate with limited French-speaking ability), we weren't exactly outraged. It's a free-to-play, text-based kingpin sim set in Paris where players are encouraged to "attack other homeless people," and engage in a variety of thieving and coercion tactics. That does seem like a fairly negative portrayal, but we've become a bit desensitized to the matter after investing hours into games like Manhunt, Condemned and inFamous, where all the homeless people become murderous criminals and targets for your electrical super powers.

[Via Game Politics]

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]

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.

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.

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.

As one of the earlier Xbox 360 first-person titles, reviewers probably judged the first Condemned with slightly rose-tinted glasses. As such, we were a littler unsure what the response would be to Monolith's follow-up, Condemned 2: Bloodshot. So far, the game seems to be faring really well with improved crime-scene investigating and combat, as well as plenty of scares.

• 1UP (91/100): "This first-person action-shooter-cum-supernatural thriller follows the events of the first game. But while the spooks are similar -- think ambient sounds, disrupted vision, and yes, monster closets -- developer Monolith has fine-tuned the gameplay."
• GameTrailers (80/100): "The original Condemned was really the first of its kind. The first-person pugilism, investigative challenges, and somber tone have been expanded for Bloodshot. Still, the experience remains relatively the same-just more supernatural and less plausible this time around."
• Game Informer (88/100): "Condemned 2: Bloodshot is probably the best survival horror title we've seen this generation. The online multiplayer modes aren't going to blow your mind, but they are a thoughtful addition. It's got a higher level of action than its predecessor, and some gorgeous horror backdrops."

While for many this week represents one game and one game only, we would be remiss if we didn't point out that Condemned 2: Bloodshot is heading to stores as well (at least we think it is). Condemned was one of the best games of the Xbox 360 launch lineup and, based on what we've seen, Bloodshot looks to build upon its predecessor's success. Also, football (the non-US kind) fans have something to be happy about in Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. Unfortunately, that's all 360 fans get this week, so we hope you like beating people to a bloody pulp for no good reason or, if that's not your thing, you can always pick up Condemned 2.

It's really hard to come by interesting office stories. "So this one time, Bill-from-accounting and I were sitting in the break room, right?" See? It's already boring. But how about this one: "Hey, remember that time when all the filing cabinets started bleeding and we were attacked by demons with mouths full of metal?" Much more interesting. It would seem, then, that this Condemned 2: Bloodshot commercial was concocted for the sole purpose of proving that an office can be scary (and not in that dead end job, "I'll never make manager" kind of way). Indeed, the commercial is pretty frightening, but it begs the question: what other locations could use a spooky makeover? Our vote: the DMV.

Information leaked earlier this week highlighting achievements in the upcoming survival horror romp Condemned 2: Bloodshot left us scratching our heads as we pondered precisely what "5 scoops of everything" or "You never forget your first time" really meant. Now, Sega has clarified things a bit, sending over a detailed synopsis of what we can expect to have to do in order to feed our Gamerscore with an additional 1000 zesty points.

In total, the game will offer 565 points in the single player campaign, with the remaining 435 requiring players to take on the game's new multiplayer modes. In the interest of soiling virgin eyes, we've moved the complete breakdown of Condemned 2's 40 achievements after the break.

[Via press release]

Sega said awhile back that Condemned 2: Bloodshot would feature online multiplayer, but we never really knew exactly what that would entail, until now. Sega revealed today that Condemned, which ships on March 11, will feature four online multiplayer modes that supports up to eight players simultaneously.

Those modes are:

• Crime Scene is a round-based competition to find and protect valuable evidence within the Condemned universe. One team will use its forensic tools to track and scan the evidence while the opposing team will do everything in its power to keep the evidence hidden and protected.
• Bum Rush is a team-based race against time. With three minutes before one team can safely be evacuated, players must hold off an onslaught of attacks by the other team until the timer runs out to stand a chance of survival.
• Deathmatch is the classic free-for-all mode. Players can use every weapon they can find to dispatch enemies as quickly as possible in this melee battle royale. The player with the highest score at the end of the time limit wins.
• Team Deathmatch is the team-based version of the classic free-for-all mode. Working together, players pick up weapons from the environment and fight off as many enemies as possible before the clock runs down. The team with the highest score after the time limit wins.

It appears Sega's giving players the standard multiplayer modes that we've all come to love, but Crime Scene sounds pretty interesting as it is the only one to be centered around the game's excellent forensic tool system. The more we hear from this game, the more excited we get. We can't wait until March!

Sink your hooks into Condemned 2 come March 11, Sega says. If that's not enough to whet your appetite for macabre delights, the publisher has also revealed several multiplayer modes that look standard on paper, but are decidedly vicious in practice (see videos after the break). Aside from the usual Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes, there's "Bum Rush" (one team has 3 minutes to survive a ... bum rush) and "Crime Scene," which attempts to incorporate Condemned's analytical investigations into the otherwise chaotic blood sport as one team tracks evidence while the other 'protects' it – Quick! Lose that 2x4 and grab a mop for that bloodstain! Multiplayer matches support up to eight players on both Xbox Live and PSN.

Sega has officially unveiled the North American release date for Condemned 2: Bloodshot. The title is set to release March 11 (it was previously revealed that the game will see it's European release on March 14). More exciting than the revelation of its release date is the detailing of Bloodshot's multiplayer modes. The modes available will be Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch (we know those better as Hobo Fight Club) alongside two previously unannounced modes, Crime Scene and Bum Rush. Crime Scene is undoubtedly the most interesting of the two. It involves two teams in a round based game in which one team attempts to collect and analyze evidence while the other team will endeavor to "keep the evidence hidden and protected." Somehow we're guessing that protecting the evidence involves a lot of neck snapping. Bum Rush is more or less a survival game type in which one team must remain alive for a certain amount of time while the other team does their best to prevent this. Again, we're guessing the snapping of necks will be involved

Color us excited.

[Via press release]

Although there are some obvious differences in Condemned 2 from its predecessor (Greg Grunberg we hardly knew ye!) it seems from this new trailer that those who liked the first title are going to be pleasantly satisfied with what the sequel has to offer. Grisly crime scenes? Check. Bizarre weapons including but not limited to prosthetic limbs? Check. Zombos, that dark marriage of zombie and hobo? Sadly for those especially attached to their brains or Wild Turkey, check.

If we have one reservation it's Grunberg's stand-in and the pseudo tough guy dialog he's given to say (we're looking at you "the rest of these jerks are too scared of getting killed". Blech.) We'll withhold judgment for now, but if anyone starts talk of brick parking in zombo toilets, we'll be very put out.

We're really excited about Condemned 2: Bloodshot. So excited, in fact, that we're actually not very upset that Sega quietly pushed back the game's U.S. release date from February to March. It probably means the game still needs some more work, and we'd much rather Monolith tune this baby to perfection than to try to rush it to meet its deadline.

Heck, at least it's not as bad as the delays for Haze and Home delays, right?

[Via Sega Nerds]

There's not a whole lot to see in this new trailer for Condemned 2, but it seems to be hitting on all the "scary game trailer" cylinders. Threatening, disembodied voice? Check. Annoying but creepy alarm-like sound effect? Check. Getting your head smashed in by a brick-wielding zombo? ... Check.

The one thing we're still questioning is the point in the clip where the hero appears to be wielding a prosthetic arm. Either that's a weapon (sort of cool) or the damage in the game is so realistically modeled that injuries can result in infection, amputation, filing an insurance claim for a new limb and months of rehab (not as cool). We're pulling for the first one.