Condemned 2: Bloodshot Interview
February 8,2008 - Condemend: Criminal Origins, the first Xbox 360 we ever reviewed is receiving a sequel next month, Condemned 2: Bloodshot. We were fortunate enough to get some time from the Senior Producer, Dave Hasle, for a somewhat vague Q&A session. Resisting to reveal too much, it seems there could be more up Monolith Production's sleeves than they're willing to let out just yet; at least let's hope that's the case. Read on for our interview.
Gamer 2.0: What has happened to Ethan since the last game? Why has he become such an alcoholic? Isn't the phrase "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger?"
Dave Hasle: I think the phrase is “What scares the shit out of you but still let’s you live can easily break you…” Ethan is a broken man, a man who is flooded with violent memories that provide no answers, a man who’s violent past where in the end he felt like he was used, a man who still suffers from hallucinations. He’s tried climbing inside of a bottle for the past several months but now events are about to put him to the test and force him to confront that which haunts him.
Gamer 2.0: What is the basic premise of Bloodshot's story?
DH: Ethan again confronts the evil influence that seems to be waging some form of psychological warfare on mankind. His own past catches up with him as he comes face-to-face with his own origin.
Gamer 2.0: The forensics scenes were our favorite parts from the original. Explain how much more involved the forensic gameplay has become, and can you give an example?
DH: We’ve made numerous fundamental changes to the forensics system. First of all, we allow the player to be able to pull up whatever forensic tool they desire, whenever they want. The player gets to zoom in to observe clues. The player can decide which clues they’d like to submit. The player can even ignore nearly all the forensics if they’d prefer and just focus on the action. The player will use their own powers of observation, interface with Rosa (who’s looking hotter than ever) back at the lab and use the variety of tools at their disposal.
Gamer 2.0: We thought towards the end of the original, the enemies went from being legitimate crazies to over the top creatures from your worst nightmares. While they certainly still horrified us, they didn't seem grounded in any form of reality like the rest of the game. Can we expect a bit of the same in Bloodshot?
DH: We’ve widened up the variety of the cray-zees you fight this time around, not only visually but also more AI types. The ‘metal heads’ with their sonic abilities are back, of course, as they are core protagonists in our universe.
Gamer 2.0: What kind of weapons can we expect beyond those from the original like the conduit, pipe, handgun, etc.?
DH: We expanded the weapon system dramatically; you’ll fight with your fists, you’ll use all manner of debris weapons, you’ll use fire-arms. There are some classics: pipe, 2X4 with nails but we’ve also included some new ones, an antler, bowling pin and so forth. Our weapons can be thrown, they can break, and you’ll also have an iron-sights system for the fire-arms.
Gamer 2.0: What changes have been made to the combat?
DH: We’ve made numerous major revisions to the core combat experience without taking away the heart of Condemned: Criminal Origins which is the melee combat system. The fist-combat system works the same as the melee combat system. You get to throw combos, attack chains and perform environmental finishing moves. You also get to earn upgrades such as brass knuckles, stronger kicking boots, and fire-arm tweaks.
Gamer 2.0: Can you explain the new tertiary objectives that will be introduced in Bloodshot?
DH: We wanted to breathe more moment-to-moment goals into the missions to work with our new scoring system so we have secondary objectives such as performing all emotional responses, finding all TVs and Radios and such for all missions plus specific ones for certain missions. It helps round out the gameplay experience from mission to mission.
Gamer 2.0: If Ethan is an out of work drunk, how is he still doing forensic work? Can we expect him to call in a favor to his old telecommuting sidekick, Rosa?
DH: Actually Rosa and the SCU will contact him and ask a favor of him…
Written By: Amadeo Plaza | Tags: Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Playstation 3, Sega, Monolith Productions
Gamer 2.0: What has happened to Ethan since the last game? Why has he become such an alcoholic? Isn't the phrase "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger?"
Dave Hasle: I think the phrase is “What scares the shit out of you but still let’s you live can easily break you…” Ethan is a broken man, a man who is flooded with violent memories that provide no answers, a man who’s violent past where in the end he felt like he was used, a man who still suffers from hallucinations. He’s tried climbing inside of a bottle for the past several months but now events are about to put him to the test and force him to confront that which haunts him.
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DH: Ethan again confronts the evil influence that seems to be waging some form of psychological warfare on mankind. His own past catches up with him as he comes face-to-face with his own origin.
Gamer 2.0: The forensics scenes were our favorite parts from the original. Explain how much more involved the forensic gameplay has become, and can you give an example?
DH: We’ve made numerous fundamental changes to the forensics system. First of all, we allow the player to be able to pull up whatever forensic tool they desire, whenever they want. The player gets to zoom in to observe clues. The player can decide which clues they’d like to submit. The player can even ignore nearly all the forensics if they’d prefer and just focus on the action. The player will use their own powers of observation, interface with Rosa (who’s looking hotter than ever) back at the lab and use the variety of tools at their disposal.
Gamer 2.0: We thought towards the end of the original, the enemies went from being legitimate crazies to over the top creatures from your worst nightmares. While they certainly still horrified us, they didn't seem grounded in any form of reality like the rest of the game. Can we expect a bit of the same in Bloodshot?
DH: We’ve widened up the variety of the cray-zees you fight this time around, not only visually but also more AI types. The ‘metal heads’ with their sonic abilities are back, of course, as they are core protagonists in our universe.
Gamer 2.0: What kind of weapons can we expect beyond those from the original like the conduit, pipe, handgun, etc.?
DH: We expanded the weapon system dramatically; you’ll fight with your fists, you’ll use all manner of debris weapons, you’ll use fire-arms. There are some classics: pipe, 2X4 with nails but we’ve also included some new ones, an antler, bowling pin and so forth. Our weapons can be thrown, they can break, and you’ll also have an iron-sights system for the fire-arms.
 |
DH: We’ve made numerous major revisions to the core combat experience without taking away the heart of Condemned: Criminal Origins which is the melee combat system. The fist-combat system works the same as the melee combat system. You get to throw combos, attack chains and perform environmental finishing moves. You also get to earn upgrades such as brass knuckles, stronger kicking boots, and fire-arm tweaks.
Gamer 2.0: Can you explain the new tertiary objectives that will be introduced in Bloodshot?
DH: We wanted to breathe more moment-to-moment goals into the missions to work with our new scoring system so we have secondary objectives such as performing all emotional responses, finding all TVs and Radios and such for all missions plus specific ones for certain missions. It helps round out the gameplay experience from mission to mission.
Gamer 2.0: If Ethan is an out of work drunk, how is he still doing forensic work? Can we expect him to call in a favor to his old telecommuting sidekick, Rosa?
DH: Actually Rosa and the SCU will contact him and ask a favor of him…
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| Published by: | Sega |
| Developed by: | Monolith Productions |
| Genre: | Survival Horror |
| # of Players: | 1 |
| ESRB Rating: | Mature |
| Release Date: | US: March 10th, 2008 |
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Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | Hype Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: 5.3 | User Rating: N/A
Gamer 2.0 Rating: N/A | Hype Rating: N/A
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