Few games (such as Resident Evil or FEAR) have ever truly captured the aspect of horror in the video game industry. Well another game has come along that can easily compete and be named among these as a great horror/thriller game. Comdemned: Criminal Origins from SEGA has truly brought a new level of fear and raised the bar for this genre.

Graphics: 8.5 / 10
The graphics are absolutely amazing. The light effects are truly breath taking: everything from the shining of the flashlight to the area effects of a television set turned on. Everything effects the global lighting and the shadows.

The attention to detail everywhere is great, from the graphiti on the walls to the facial expressions, everything has a sense of being real. The walls have realistic cracks in them and look as if you truly are in the run-down section of a city. The combat graphics are great when blocking -- the recoil hits both of the combatants and it looks as if someone had just driven a strike against them.

One complaint I have though is the amount of gore. There is a little bit of blood that shows up when you hit them, but it looks almost as if they had just dragged a red pen across the arm or leg. Then when it comes to finishing moves, there is an entire mist of blood that comes out when you hit them. The levels of blood vary too much and they should either have it have more blood on the normal strikes or reduce the amount of blood on the finishing moves.

Sound: 7.75 / 10
The sound in this game is incredibly realistic. You can hear weapons dropping onto the floor like they are right next to you. If an enemy moves a box you can hear it faintly tumble across the room like it should. It is so realistic that you can tell that something is in the other room before ever even seeing it and you can tell how big the enemy is usually just from hearing them.

A nice feature in the sound department is that as you get weaker you can hear your heart thumping louder, trying to pump enough blood to keep you alive. With all of the great detail paid attention to the sound, it is hard for me to believe how they could possibly mess up, but the voices are too low and often you have to turn the volume up just for the speaking if you actually want to hear it instead of reading the subtitles.

Controls: 7 / 10
At first the controls for this game seem hard to grasp. I often found myself having to stop and just think for a second about what button did what in the beginning. Thankfully, after about 15 minutes of game play they became easier to comprehend and became almost second nature. Considering how many different things you can do, it is relatively easy to get the hang of.

Gameplay: 9.5 / 10
The game play is by far the stand out feature of this game. It runs very smoothly and is lifelike. Everything just enhances the game. For instance on weapons there seemed like an infinite amount of things to use, from 2x4’s and rebar to fire axes and pump shotguns. You can even pick up the arm of a mannequin and smack people with that if you so desire.

The lighting truly enhances the game play. It is light enough that you can go without a flashlight, but whether it be out of fear, wanting to find all the secrets, or just to see the enemies better, you want to use it. It starts a little slow, but once the game starts going you find yourself not wanting to stop and you get wrapped up in the game.

The one thing that I personally did not like about the game play was how slow you move. Even when sprinting you seem to move unrealistically slow compared to the enemies. With the exception of the slow movement, the game play is flawless.

Overall: 8.75 / 10
Overall, this game is by far one of the standout games so far, and a nice change from the games SEGA normally puts out. Once you start you will not want to stop. I would strongly recommend picking this up and adding it to your collection. Fans of strategy games, shooters, and thrillers all will enjoy this game. Be warned -- it is not your run-of-the-mill horror game. It truly will scare you.