Steve Boxer gets hands on with new Sega title Codemned 2 - and seems to enjoy it.

(FYI - we would have run more screens but everything else we got sent was a bit strong for younger viewers so you only get the one).

There’s no point in denying it: the original Condemned was one of the very first games for the Xbox 360 when it came out. Perhaps as a result, it wasn’t hailed as a classic – while it had plenty of atmosphere, it was distinctly rough around the edges in most other respects. However, developer Monolith (of F.E.A.R fame) and Sega have come back with a second version which is as slick and polished as its predecessor was clunky – and it’s on the PS3 (although not exclusively) this time around.

Condemned 2 is seriously dark, and clearly influenced by horror movies. Gameplay-wise, you’ll find an interesting mix of street-brawling, shooting, puzzle-solving and CSI-style evidence-processing. But the emphasis is on the brawling, with a pretty innovative control system which might even pique the interest of die-hard beat-em-up enthusiasts. Essentially, the left bumper launches a left-handed punch and the right bumper a right-handed one; R3, meanwhile, initiates a kick. But it’s all about chaining attacks together, and judiciously moving the right stick so that the part of your enemy’s body which you want to hit is in the centre of the screen. If you land consecutive right and left-handers, your next punch will pack more weight (and there are other modifiers, such as a click on 3, that can increase the devastation); if you carry on landing punches without being hit, or while blocking successfully, your combo will increase. And as you progress through the game, you develop the ability to launch special attacks by double-tapping either bumper, and then correctly timing button-presses according to prompts.

As in Condemned, you play the hard-bitten Ethan Thomas, a cop working for a CSI-style division. Except this time, Thomas isn’t gainfully employed at the start of the game – emotionally scarred by the shenanigans of Condemned, he has lapsed into full-blown alcoholism and drug abuse, and is prone to hallucinations. You simply won’t find a more hard-bitten or an unhealthier-looking hero in a game. One nice touch is that you can get Thomas to run by holding down L2, but after a very short while, he’ll start puffing and blowing and slow to a stagger. And he likes to say “f&@k” a lot. He can also pick up pretty much any object and use it to hit people. And, at least in the first half of the game, he has the shakes, although he can steady those by picking up a bottle of booze and knocking it back. Which is essential for him to shoot straight (although shooting doesn’t take a front seat in the game).

Thomas is reluctantly dragged back to duty, and slowly uncovers a huge conspiracy in the unspecified American city in which the game is based, seemingly involving a serial killer called SKX – although, in typical videogame fashion, things prove to be much bigger than just SKX. He’s aided by all manner of gadgetry, including a spectrometer (useful for tracking down the sonic emitters which are sending the population into a frenzy of anarchy), a camera (which must be wielded to process evidence), a PDA and a (hopelessly confusing) GPS.

The missions are pretty much single-path affairs, punctuated by decent real-life puzzles which generally help Thomas get to seemingly inaccessible areas. The settings are some of the bleakest and most depressing you could imagine, often overflowing with rubbish or even coated in tar (the original’s infamous tar-men make a return although, in truth, they are rather tame enemies). Wherever Condemned 2 is set, you wouldn’t want to live there.

The storyline, too, is impressive, avoiding the cliché-traps into which videogames generally hurl themselves and throwing up an unfeasible amount of twists. There are lots of cute touches, too – at the end of each mission, for example, you are rated, and according to your rating, your character receives some sort of an upgrade. And there is at least an element of multiplayer action: you can brawl with your mates, either on a single PS3 or via the PlayStation Network.

Overall, Condemned 2 is much better than you might expect it to be. While it doesn’t really burst through any boundaries (although the brawling system is undeniably innovative and effective), it’s solid in every department, at times truly scary and very absorbing indeed. As such, we’re happy to recommend it.