And if that's still doesn't hit the mark, stunned opponents can be dragged in a headlock to their screaming doom via environment kills, which are signaled by transparent skull icons. When the time is right, the action slows down, trigger prompts appear, and a resulting neck snap or equivalent fatality plays out for your displeasure. As you fight, successful blows build up a meter in the top-right of the screen, which, when full, enables you to pull off crazed, close-up finishing moves.
For once, the BBFC's 18 certificate is something people should take very seriously - this is vicious, close-up pugilism full of desperate grunting and the schlocking sound of metal on bone. You get a bit wide-eyed and feral while playing, and it's definitely not for those who dive behind the sofa during the creepy bits.
Once you figure out the predictable timing to block and then strike in one motion, it all slots into place, and you can go about decking all-comers with manic, frothing abandon. Knocking opponents off-balance, for instance, is the key to building up one-twos and numerous other combos that deal much more damage than trigger-mashing.Īt first, you get your arse handed to you, and it's a little disconcerting, but patience and practice quickly sees you through. Right from the off, Bloodshot puts you in the bear pit, forcing you to learn advanced hand-to-hand and general melee combo techniques. You can actually use your fists this time, with left and right punches assigned to left and right triggers, and blocking by forming an X with your arms, which is done by pulling both triggers at the same time. You could also use your stun gun now and then, but that was about as complex as it got. In the first game, the melee system had you swinging a pipe, axe or other instrument with the right trigger, blocking with the left and doing a comedy kick by clicking the left analogue.
(You can see exactly how violent the game actually is in our recent Eurogamer TV show special.) Maybe the moral nannies will catch up with it later (I can hardly wait), but for now Monolith's excellent sequel to the undervalued Xbox 360 launch game serves as a one-of-a-kind horror title with much to commend, improved in every area - melee combat, investigations and production values among the most noticeable. In Manhunt 2, much of the violence is optional, but in Condemned 2: Bloodshot you have no choice but to pummel your assailants. I find it darkly amusing that while Manhunt 2 gets kicked all over the place, Condemned's far more gratuitous and realistic brutality slips past almost unnoticed.