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Posted on: Mar 28, 2008
The Scoreboard #7
WORDS BY: Mitch Dyer
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
HEADS UP: This section contains an Achievement with a very spoilery name. Fans of the first Condemned will know it when they see it, but don’t freak out when you do. It’s a multiplayer Achievement with no story spoilers! Phew. Glad that’s out of the way.
Bloodshot’s Achievements are infuriating. They aren’t particularly hard, but they have awkward descriptors like “Explore all maps more than once!”, “Kill the killers” and “Go kill, kill, kill in MP.” So finding out exactly what to do to earn big points required a little info-hunting on the Intertron. Luckily, once you’ve got the general idea of what’s what, cashing in on Condemned’s Achievements is cake, provided you’re willing to dive in head first and stay in for a loooong time.
Best Achievement – The Final Word (10 pts.) You completed your first environmental finishing move. This Achievement is less about the points and more about the experience. By the time you’re prompted to perform an environmental finishing move, you’ve been exposed to the brutality and visceral feeling of laying the smackdown on crazy crackheads in dark alleyways. After knocking ’em out with fisticuffs, 2x4s, and lead pipes, you’ll wonder what else you can do to these poor schlubs. As if on cue, you’re instructed to push a bum’s head into a television after dropping him to his knees. The vicious attack will no doubt have you pumping your fist in an “oh snap!” fit. The Achievement Unlocked pop-up is a welcome perk.
Worst Achievement – SKX (50 pts.) Kill 9 unique players with the Serial Killer As if busting your hump to rack up 1000 kills wasn’t enough with the Serial Killer Achievement, now you’ve got to hunt down and kill nine individual players... who also have the Serial Killer Achievement. It’s made worse by the fact that you can’t just kill nine “Serial Killers” before grinding your way to 1000 kills, which seems like a lot of murders to commit before being classified as a serial killer, wouldn’t you say?
Easiest Achievement – Self Medicated (25 pts.) You've bandaged your wounds. While it’s as simple as hitting “A” on a health kit a bunch of times, this won’t pop up until toward the end of the game. That is to say, if you’re a total sissy and avoid medicine cabinets in bathrooms. If you’re brave enough to open and close those mirrors – just thinking about it gives me the chills – and put up with the scares, you deserve that health. For the rest of us, we’ll open first-aid cabinets and SCU lockers as we see ’em. It’ll unlock eventually and completely effortlessly.
Hardest Achievement – Master Investigator (30 pts.) PERFECTION as a sleuth all the way through. Crime scenes in Bloodshot are fairly ambiguous, and you’re given very little instruction on how to go about solving specific things like blood spatter or bullet calibre. Earning a perfect rating feels great, but earning it for every crime scene – many of which are hidden in places far too scary to find – is ruthlessly challenging. Find a guide.
Time investment vs. Payoff – 5 (out of ten) It’s easy to get completely sucked in to the predominantly silent – and bed-wettingly frightening – world of Metro City. Good thing, too, because you’ll need to be seriously into Condemned 2 if you plan on extracting any kind of Gamerscore reward out of the multiplayer, and you’ll need to be aware of everything going on in the single-player game to get a lot of those Achievements. Ten hours or more in campaign, then ten more in multiplayer might get you beyond the 500-point mark.
Overall – 6 (out of ten) Blue-balling ending aside, Condemned 2: Bloodshot is truly a fun game with some Achievements that are actually achievements... a nice change of pace from the “Smoke 20 Fools” awards that are doled out elsewhere. Gamerscore whores should look elsewhere if they want a big fix of points, though. Condemned is tight-fisted dealer.
PREV
Mon, 06/09/2008 - 00:52
Posted by Contagious360
Im sure that Im passed the point of anyone reading this b/c this article was written so long ago, wish I had seen it earlier. Anyway, overall the achievements really are quite easy for Vegas2, more so than Vegas1 IMO. The longest process was getting to Elite, for which for those of you who haven't figured it out the best and easiest method is to just play alot of Team Leader, trick is to be on the winning team. Since Ubi released the update it was only a few more days until I achieved 1000/1000, unfortunately though it wasn't much longer (same day I think) that I traded it in for another game. For me Vegas2 just wasn't as good as Vegas1. The coop story was awesome, but once you go through it twice there isn't much of a replay value. T-Hunts were even more frustrating than in Vegas1 and with limited lives in Attack and Defend matches my favorite game mode was taken from me. So my advise is just give a couple of weeks to get your 1000 then trade it in and go back to Vegas1. Hopefully Ubi's next endeavor will be better than both combined.
Tue, 04/01/2008 - 11:53
Posted by Ghostx187
Hey Mitch, badass article. I hope to read more soon.
Tue, 04/01/2008 - 08:24
Posted by Axe Argonian
Oh,okay,thanks Paul!
Mon, 03/31/2008 - 17:00
Posted by Paul OXM
Reader reviews will be back for next Scoreboard. We had to let it lapse for #7 while switching from Casey to Mitch.
Mon, 03/31/2008 - 15:05
Posted by Axe Argonian
Don't worry Mitch;I'll definetly send a reader review in the near future! Although,I was wondering why there weren't any reader reviews this time?
Mon, 03/31/2008 - 00:39
Posted by Mitch OXM
@ Axe: I've been meaning to fully wrap up the 1050 Mass Effect points, and there's nothing that will stop me (in the long term!) - but for now, I've got soooo much to do (including a bunch you listed off!). Care to take off the load? E-mail me your own review, I'd love to see what someone who's a hound like you has to say!
@Paper - Yessir. I nabbed a couple Achievements in your attendance! I hosted a bunch of games with ya and the T-Hunting would be impossible without the help of buds. I've admitted as much that I'm an FPS lover, but damn if I'm not the worst at 'em.
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 18:35
Posted by PaperLantern
Our Mitchy is moving up! I'm so proud!
I take pride in the fact that my two hours of terrorist-hunting shenanigans in Vegas 2 with you (maybe) helped you write this.
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 10:40
Posted by Axe Argonian
Also,I agree with the SKX achievement. Although it is unique and a welcome change from other MP achievements,SKX is pretty annoying. I even had to hunt down some players from the leaderboards and send them a 'Please,may you let me kill you?'-type of message (Remember,two weeks ago,there weren't that many regular-basis guys that had that achievement). Even though the SKX achievement was annoying,I just thought this: At least it wasn't as bad as Halo 3's Overkill achievement!
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 10:30
Posted by Axe Argonian
Thanks Mitch! Well,maybe it's because I'm used to getting 100% achievement completion in some tougher games (Mass Effect,70+ hours anyone?) that Condemned 2 seemed very enjoyable to get 1000/1000. Then again,there's a necessity for an acquired taste in Condemned 2's multiplayer,and personally,I still play its multiplayer because I like Crime Scene so much. So,yeah, I get your point that Condemned 2 required a greater dedication than,say,Jumper:Griffin's Story. However,I was wondering if you noticed the achievement tracker function in Condemned 2's Extras menu? It showed you how many more games,kills,and levels were required to achieve a certain achievement.
Anyway,keep up the good work Mitch! (I think that GTA IV,Bully,Army of Two,Dark Sector,and other recents will make it into Scoreboard #8,right?)
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 00:35
Posted by Mitch OXM
Hey Axe. There were some toughies in Condemned 2, for sure, but they weren't impossible to obtain. Playing through the game with a guide is almost necessary if you plan on getting all of the emitters, not killing any museum guards (which was a welcome change of pace from "murdermurdermurdermurder") and perfecting all of the crime-scenes. I think if a guide is essential to getting Achievements, it's a less fun experience than A) earning them yourself to increase your internet-nerd-cred (hey, that's a good thing, not an insult!) or B) getting them for "free".
Achievements should be fun, not work, and it takes some serious online grinding to get the online Achievements, and some of the single player ones.
Great job on getting all 1000, though. Playing the game, what? Twice at least to obtain the FPS mode completion and the 'no guns' Achievements. That's a good effort on your part!
Sat, 03/29/2008 - 12:50
Posted by Axe Argonian
Also, using the guide on mycheats.com ensured that you won't miss any piece of crap in order to get 100% completion in every level. Not to mention,I read up on those Condemned 2:Bloodshot description translations before the game's launch,so I was able to understand the achievements.
Sat, 03/29/2008 - 12:46
Posted by Axe Argonian
Wow,this months edition was VERY juicy! Welcome Mitch Dyer! Anyway,though,I HIGHLY disagree with the Condemned 2:Bloodshot review. I already got 1000/1000 in this awesome horror game in only 9 days!!!! (Check my gamercard out: http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/Achievements/ViewAchievementDetails.a... ) My first achievement was unlocked 03/12/08,and my last achievement was unlocked 03/20/08. So,personally,Condemned 2's multiplayer kept me stuck because it was so fun.
Sat, 03/29/2008 - 07:15
Posted by djpotatohead
nice. good work. i hope to see much more from you on this website.
Fri, 03/28/2008 - 18:20
Posted by SHOCKERRA
Mitchell Dyer,
Where to start? Brilliantly written and entertaining to read. Wait to officially get started in the industry; Lord knows I'm both immensely jealous and proud. You're making it bud!
This was a fun piece, we'll discuss the specifics over IM. Exceptional work!
Sincerely,
your reader and news aficionado,
Ross (SHOCKERRA)