When the Xbox 360 was first released, Condemned: Criminal Origins shone out among the usual revamped sequels and hastily redeveloped titles intended for other consoles as a fine example of what Microsoft's new machine was capable of. It managed to combine an innovative combat system with the hugely popular survival horror genre to produce something truly original and, just as importantly, terrifying. When first playing the game with the lights off and the sound up, it wasn't long before I had to switch to something less bloodcurdling to calm down. To this day I am mocked for wanting to play it only when someone else was in the room with me. The rush produced by this feeling is one of the most sought after in gaming and Condemned dealt it out constantly. With the release of a sequel, Condemned 2: Bloodshot, I was hoping for more of the same fear-inducing experiences that I had grown to love.

As the second part in a trilogy, Bloodshot suffers somewhat. While the original could get away with leaving almost everything open to speculation, the sequel is forced to cover the majority of the issues brought up by its predecessor. This means that much of the mystery is lost, removing the sense of confusion and paranoia that made the experience so engrossing in order to set the scene for the final instalment. Thankfully, the locations have moved on as well as the story, with only one area being revisited and, even then, the approach taken is different, meaning that everything is fresh. Familiar characters are also present, grounding the story and providing enough material to make returning players feel comfortable. A slight annoyance, however, comes in the form of the heavily redesigned main characters - protagonist Ethan Thomas and his supporting detective, Rosa. Ethan has been totally revamped from a fresh-faced investigator to a grizzled alcoholic with a muscular physique and a bad temper. While much of this is understandable after what he was put through in the first game, it is initially jarring to be identifying with what is essentially a totally different character. Rosa's changes are more transparent and irritatingly unnecessary; the impression you get from her new, more attractive appearance is that the developers wanted to show off the improvements to the game engine rather than anything related to the story or gameplay.

The story itself starts off well. Down on his luck eleven months after the Serial Killer X investigation, Ethan Thomas is a disgraced, unemployed alcoholic who's intent on forgetting the horrific underworld of Metro City. However, he is contacted by Malcolm Van Horn, who warns him that the previous events are not yet over. Van Horn then disappears and the SCU appear, demanding that Ethan return to his old case to uncover the secrets of Van Horn and Serial Killer X. When it appears that Ethan is connected to the mysterious cult behind the city's problems - the Oro - he finds himself drawn into more sinister developments and it is up to you to keep Ethan alive as he slowly learns the truth behind the cult and his own history. Certainly compelling stuff but, without spoiling too much, once the Oro become more involved it does get a little bit silly and rather far removed from the enigmatic plot of the original Condemned.

Character makeovers aside, the graphics are virtually flawless. While the original Condemned made great use of the 360's power, as time has gone on and the technology has improved, SEGA has been able to create an even more immersing and realistic environment. The game engine runs smoothly with no noticeable clipping and only the odd character animation going wrong. In the one case I observed, a corpse was subjected to an eternity of somersaults as it failed to successfully fall down in a narrow space. However, a hearty smack from my crowbar soon set him right! The visual effects are beautifully realised, with special mention going to a couple of examples. First, the fire in this game looks fantastic and spreads and burns realistically; at no point does it look like a stock animation lazily slapped on top of a texture. The liquid effects of gore, blood and oil etc. look excellent as well; when encountering the slimy alcohol demons that reside in Ethan's subconscious, you'll find yourself at risk of being murdered while admiring the way the light plays over their slick, monstrous bodies.

The enemies are, thankfully, more varied now and provide some truly grotesque examples of humanity on the edge. If you're unlucky enough to get close enough to the shirtless and insanely gibbering drug addicts in the early levels, they leap at you desperately and you're treated to a melee quick time event that will have you cringing back into your seat to avoid their drooling, sore-covered faces. While 'realistic' graphics have recently been criticised for overusing the bloom effect and turning everything to a monotonous grey and brown palette, Bloodshot manages to avoid this generically 'next-gen' feel. Colours are muted but the locations are varied enough to provide impressively distinct environments, ranging from the starkly white interiors of the Special Crimes Unit to a wood-panelled log cabin in a snow covered mountain range to a burnt-out doll factory. The visuals do suffer at times, however, due to the overall darkness of the game. Areas are often difficult to navigate and textures can be hard to discern in the darkness, which isn't helped by the pitifully weak torch you carry around.

Even with these issues, the game remains visually spectacular and the sound is equally well produced, providing a great amount of the atmosphere for which this series is renowned. The impact sounds made by weapons are terrifically visceral and it's possible to hear bones snap when dealing out the pain. Environmental sounds add to the tension and random snippets of whispering and enemies running in adjacent rooms can often be heard, mixed in with Ethan's own footsteps. Worth noting is a short section where you have to don a gas mask in a smoke filled factory. With the headgear on, your visibility is greatly reduced (you'll find yourself wishing that Ethan carried a handkerchief and some Windex) and, apart from your own breathing, all other sounds are heavily muted. Enemies make the most of Ethan's reduced senses (and their own impressively sophisticated AI) by sneaking up behind him and you find yourself waiting for the next blow to the back of the head to let you know there are foes nearby to defeat.

The fear-inducing effects of any game are not simply down to polished visuals and audio, however. When Condemned first came out, the gameplay was the most immersing experience any gamer could have and that made all the difference. You never observed what happened to Ethan - you lived it. Right down to the first person perspective vomiting (don't worry spew fans - it's back!) This style returns and what Ethan feels, you feel. Desperation can quickly set in when there are no health kits to be found and, upon sighting a tough enemy, you'll find yourself praying to get out of the encounter in one piece.

The original had a number of problems that prevented it from reaching classic status and SEGA, to their credit, has listened to everything that fans and critics have had to say and have put an unprecedented amount of effort into enhancing the game for its sequel release. The first area in need of work was the combat; while the concept of a melee-heavy arsenal in a first person shooter was interesting and innovative, it was also incredibly limiting, with only a handful of attacks and one blocking move available. Condemned 2, on the other hand, features a sophisticated combo system with more focus on the individual stats of each weapon and realistic degradation. There is also less reliance on the taser and finishing moves are now dealt out based upon an attack meter in the top left of the screen. These take the form of quick time events but actually require a degree of subtlety to execute and there are enough variations to ensure that they don't become tediously repetitive.

You also have the option to make use of a number of environmental kills where, by dragging an incapacitated opponent to a marked area, an agonising finishing technique may be executed. The combat still has its failing points, however - namely in the use of guns. You can now holster firearms and pick up additional ammo, making them a more important addition to your equipment. The shooting mechanics are still flawed, making for an unpleasant experience that is, regrettably, unavoidable in later levels where you are pitted against multiple waves of assault rifle toting enemies. Later additions, such as the Oro Crossbow (which kills anything with one shot) and the ability to produce a sound wave that explodes enemies' heads are, quite frankly, ridiculous and remove the story too much from reality.

Next up for an overhaul are the investigation segments embedded within the levels. Previously criticised as nothing more than interactive cut scenes, there is now considerably less handholding and any piece of equipment may be utilised in the investigation. There are also multiple possible answers (selected by the player) that yield different levels of success. How well you do in these sections affects the value of any upgrades you may receive at the end of the level (such as the ability to sneak or perform certain combos).

In addition to this improvement, the overall gameplay is markedly less linear, with multiple possible solutions to a given puzzle. In one example, Ethan has to determine the number of a hotel room but the plaque has been ripped off the door. There are a number of ways to solve this - by counting the numbers of the adjacent rooms, by searching for the missing plaque or even looking at the room's phone and guessing based on the number used to call it. It's these kinds of additions that allow you to adopt your own style and reach the required conclusion. As an added bonus, gone are the annoying fetch quests once required to find a strategically placed axe or sledgehammer to bust down a particular kind of door. You can now simply shoot or bludgeon locks - most satisfying!

In improving all of these areas, something still seems to have been lost. The game just isn't as scary as its predecessor. As with the Silent Hill series, we can see how, once the protagonist becomes a bit more handy with their fists, the pressure of finding and conserving weapons vanishes. This feeling holds strong through most of the game until you are forced to handle guns and then the focus shifts towards ammo management and making every shot count (tricky when you're an alcoholic in need of booze to steady your hand!) Once you have the ability to blow up enemies' heads with your voice however, it all gets a bit too easy. Provided you keep your distance and time it right, anything the game throws at you is a pushover, without the need to resort to any kind of weaponry. By feeling more powerful, that helpless element from the original is lost. There are still some sofa-staining moments of terror, but respite is always close at hand.

The game is also still relatively short. Whilst the single player campaign only takes around eight or nine hours to complete, there is little incentive to repeat it in order to obtain greater rewards from the investigations. You are upgraded regardless of your performance and, to be perfectly honest, a bronze award in each is more than sufficient - you're not missing out on anything for failing to get the gold. There are a few extra modes, but these are brief distractions rather than anything substantial. The multiplayer supports up to eight players in four modes (standard and team deathmatches plus Bum Rush - where players are SCU agents and must survive together for as long as possible - and Crime Scene - where SCU agents have to prevent criminals from hiding evidence). The melee combat is stripped down for online play and battles tend to be more frustrating and frenzied than rewarding. The other additional mode is little more than an opportunity to practice special combos against waves of enemies. Unless you're really desperate for the achievements, these are best to be sampled once and then avoided. The focus is, and always has been, on the single player campaign.

In spite of a few problems, Condemned 2: Bloodshot gets a lot right, but it does have a tough job of living up to the success of its predecessor and, ultimately, something is lost in the update. However, given SEGA's approach to criticism held against the first instalment, the final chapter in this series has the potential to reach a near-perfect balance if handled correctly. Also, regardless of its failings, Bloodshot is well worth playing, if only once through, and if you're a fan of the original then you won't be too disappointed.

Reviewed by Henry Osadzinski for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).