Don’t get me wrong there were many things about Friday the 13th that were revolutionary...
Take for instance the scare factor. Friday was one of the first games that actually put you on the edge of your seat. Friday was also one of the first games to go from the big screen to video game infamy.
In the game you were stationed at Crystal Lake with five other camp counselors with the job of protecting the campers from Jason Voorhies and the rest of his family.
When you are out side the game is a side scroller, but when you go into a cabin the game enters a sort of 3D third person, and this is when the fun begins. Friday the 13th theme music from the movie is in the game and it still gives you chills. During your time in the cabin you don’t know who will be lurking around corners or sneaking up on you and at any time you might just run into Jason himself.
In order to beat the game you must defeat members of Jason’s family and also Jason himself. When you do this you get weapons upgrades and other achievements which make gameplay a little easier. This game could be quite difficult if you didn’t understand what you were trying to achieve or where to go next.
This is where Condemned Criminal Origins steps in. As the newest addition to the horror genre Condemned takes this style of game to the next level. As a government agent who is being hunted for crimes he didn’t commit you must search out and kill the serial killer who has framed and is running rampant across the city. Along the way you find crimes scenes which give you clues, which you must find using forensic tools. So on top of being a type of FPS you also have to go all Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) and carefully search each room/building.
The biggest part of the game is the dark rooms and the cracked out maniacs jumping around corners. Flashbacks that would scare almost anybody also add to the scare factor, and last but not least the flashlight.
Just like Friday the 13th, in Condemned you are given a flashlight at the beginning of the game which is good because without it you would be dead within minutes. Most of the game is played in areas where you couldn’t see two feet in front of you without the help of your trusty torch.
During game play drug addict zombies can jump out at you around any corner, just like Jason would do in Friday the 13th, so you always have to be on your guard. This element of the game is what keeps a player on the edge of his or her seat. The crack heads grow increasingly more difficult as the game goes on and they start carrying deadlier weapons. Without warning you can get a two by four cracked upside your head, which is never good, and usually this action results in your death.
In order to beat this game a player must be patient and have nerves of steel. Play with the lights on and someone else to talk to, because I guarantee your nerves will be frayed by the end. Playing by your self at night only feeds fuel to the fire that is condemned. Be ready to jump in your seat, experience sharp tingles up and down your spine, and feel like someone is watching you from a dark corner.
So for an old school scare pick up Friday the 13th and prepared to be challenged, scared, and entertained. If you want a game that totally immerses or something that has the possibility to give you nightmares, pick up Condemned Criminal Origins and get ready to want to sleep with the lights on again.
