Chain attacks differ from finishing moves, which as the name implies, refer to fatal attacks that make good use of the surrounding environment. Once an enemy has been exhausted, they collapse to their knees at which point you can pick them up using your hands. Look around the level and you locate context-sensitive skull icons marking areas where you can perform a finishing move. One particularly ‘electrifying’ attack thrusts a guy's head into a fuse box. Another jammed a man's skull through a glass window, snapping his neck in the process. Condemned 2 isn’t for the kids.

The sheer depth of combat is staggering, particularly when taking into account complex enemy behaviors. Figuring out the best attack for a given situation is half the battle. Confronting drunken bums and psychotic thieves with punches and kicks makes sense, but you can't use the same tactic against tar creatures that scurry on all fours at blinding speed. These creatures don't necessarily take arms alongside your human foes; in fact, they are just as likely to attack each other as you. Hantzopoulos demonstrates how it's possible to step back from a fight and let a few of your opponents knock each other out. A comprehensive materials system also enables you to interact with characters and enemies in dynamic ways. Chuck a Molotov cocktail at a creature, for instance, and it'll catch on fire. The resulting panic that ensues makes it likely that it'll set another enemy or two ablaze as it runs around furiously.

For all the amazing potential of its combat system, it's only one piece of the Condemned 2 puzzle. Other components come together to form a delicate balance between hard-hitting, gritty action and thoughtful interaction. Body awareness, which is vital to combat, is also important when navigating through levels. Straightforward platform challenges abound from figuring out how to lower a fire escape ladder using a brick to working through the ruins of a dilapidated apartment complex. Creative thinking becomes even more vital when tackling forensic sequences. A multiple choice question-and-answer session joins each investigative section, completed with a range of tools from a digital camera, ultraviolet light, and others.

There's just so much packed into Condemned 2 that it feels less like a first-person shooter and more like a varied action game that happens to be played from the first-person perspective. The game melds action, platforming, and adventuring all in one package. And this is just from what we've seen of the campaign--an entire slate of online multiplayer modes, as well as extra single player options offer even more gameplay. Condemned 2 at this stage looks absolutely remarkable. Hopefully this first impression lasts throughout the course of the full game. Minor adjustments ahead of its March 11 ship date are currently underway, after which we'll be bringing you a full review.