The first one was violent, creepy, bloody and downright terrifying, but if you are a fan of the first Condemned or just like the sound of all that, then I definitely recommend you pick up Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

Taking place a year after the events of the first game, the sequel drops you into the shoes of alcoholic hobo-cop extraordinaire, Ethan Thomas. Thomas is an ex-SCU agent who continues to suffer from the traumatic events of the first game and has essentially hit rock bottom. During the course of the game, he must hunt serial killers, rabid animals, hallucinations, himself (literally and physically — very physically) and even a cult full of masochistic maniacs called the Oro.

The promises of gritty and painful looking hand-to-hand (or hand-to-lead pipe) combat and complex puzzles in the first Condemned are carried over to Bloodshot. However, many aspects of this have been added or improved such as finishing moves, combo attacks, a more responsive hit-detection system and a much bigger array of things to rip out of walls or pick up to take down any enemies you might and will come across.

Speaking of enemies, the game's AI has been improved to be more responsive, clever and violent by setting ambushes, countering your attacks and actually aiming when shooting back. Puzzles have been brought back in more abundance, but are spaced out and are actually doable without insulting the players' intelligence.

The addition of multiplayer and a "fight club" game mode add tons of replay value to this already great game. "Fight club" is full of challenges, like holding off countless enemies, a "training" arena and plenty of variations of a straight-up fistfight.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, is worth a buy itself with games modes ranging from your standard death match, to "bumrush" (cops vs. bums) and a CSI-esque mode where a team of cops must find evidence, while the opposing team of vagrants and degenerates must hide said evidence and bring down some hurt on the other team.

This game is not without its downsides, though. Slight graphical glitches, and the occasional sketchy AI make this game somewhat tedious, but this can be easily overlooked as the rest of the game is fantastic.

All in all, this game is definitely worth a buy for fans of the first game, or anyone looking for a scary and unique FPS.

Francis Trujillo is a sophomore at Academy for Technology and the Classics. E-mail him at fx-trujillo@hotmail.com.