Weisman Office Building Walkthrough

In Condemned: Criminal Origins™, you are special agent Ethan Thomas of the FBI, called in to investigate a serial murder in the worst part of the city. Your expertise in tracking a killer is put to the test when you are separated from your team. Using your wits and brute strength, you catch up to your prey only to be stripped of your weapon. The killer turns your gun on your colleagues and you are framed for their deaths.

Now you must run for your life, avoid capture, and hunt down the man responsible for your downward spiral into hell.

This isn't your ordinary assignment.

Surviving the rash of melee attacks from jacked-up hobos and homeless derelicts is only part of your mission. Finding evidence that leads you to the perp is your first and foremost goal—you must clear your name and bring this creep to justice. You also want to keep your eyes open for extra goodies along the way. We walk you through the first level of the game and give you tips on using the forensics tools.

Arrival
Before you can get out of the driver's seat, Detective Dickenson raps on the window with his flashlight, nearly causing you to leap out of your skin. He explains the situation in blunt terms—the killer has struck again, and the neighborhood is on edge. You must stop this man.

Follow your colleague into the building and down the winding, dank corridors. When Dickenson's flashlight goes out, activate your own and continue onward.

The first dead bird (collecting these is an achievement) is nearby. For the locations of all six birds in the Weisman office, consult our Bird is the Word article. Likewise, to learn the location of all three metal fragments (another achievement), skip to the section at the end of this article.

Press on until you meet up with Officer Becker. Enter the room and approach the crime scene. After a brief phone call from Rosa, your forensic analyst, it's time to collect some evidence.

Your "crime sense" tingles when you enter an area containing evidence, and you're prompted to press the X button to whip out your tools. Listen to the verbal cues from Rosa and shine the UV light on the neck of the deceased woman. When you see the highlighted handprint, you're again prompted to hit X to pull out your digital camera. Use the white arrows on the camera's screen to guide you. When all four are lit up, you may have to zoom in or out to get the best possible image. Once you've locked on your target, a green light illuminates and you can pull the right trigger to capture and send the picture to the lab.

Try to retain composure around the body.

After your lab buddy processes the images, you find that there's still more evidence to collect. Press X to whip out your laser and move to the opposite end of the table. Once Officer Becker turns down the lights, you have a clear view of the smudge on the mannequin's face. Zoom in and take a snapshot of the phosphorous blob and wait for Rosa's reply.

Before long, the action heats up and you are forced to leave the scene to pursue the suspect. Follow Dickenson up the stairs and into the next room. Approach the smoldering cigarette on the desk and watch the ensuing cut-scene.

Pursuit
Dickenson hears the perp walking upstairs. Becker is sent to check the door and you're instructed to wait for backup. The two lawmen leave you, so you're on your own. You're told that addicts are roaming the building, and they're hopped up on something that's making them very aggressive. It's time to defend yourself as you investigate the premises.

You encounter a derelict the moment you reach the next junction—take him out. Remember, you are limited to ammo found in weapons, so use your shots wisely. Aim for the head! While you could hit the dude with the butt of your gun, it takes many, many strikes before he goes down. You're best off shooting the bastard (unless your name is Hardcore, of course). There is health in the room nearby in a black cabinet—grab it if you need it.

Explore the area, and then walk up the stairs to the next floor. Scour each room and look for extras. You run into more psychos—aim for the head and take them out quickly using the least amount of ammo. There is health in the room with the windows (where you find another dead bird). Explore the area (there's not much else aside from a health kit and the deceased fowl).

Enter the electrical room. After you experience a strange hallucination, you watch a mysterious man cut the power. Poke around the area and find the power box; a freshly lit cigarette smolders nearby. Pull the lever; you get shocked. A creep looms over you and steals your gun, then runs away. Pursue him, but first grab a weapon. Approach any environmental object that looks like you could bludgeon someone with it (i.e. a pipe, conduit, rebar, etc.) and, when prompted, hit the A button to arm yourself with it.

Get comfortable collecting gruesome evidence.

When you're ready, walk up to the desk blocking your path and press A to move it. In the room to the left there's more health and a dead bird. You get a scare from one guy fleeing the scene (he climbs up a shelf and knocks some stuff onto the ground). In the next room you're assaulted by a pair of goons who literally bust through the wall and ceiling to get at you. Take 'em both down, and then move on.

Soon you come to an area with many windows and a pit in the floor. You catch a whiff of something fierce—pull out your odor finder tool and pick up the dead bird in the corner. Continue on, grab health if you need it, and go upstairs. You reach a point where Dickenson shouts to you from a building next door. He instructs you to use the fire axe to defend yourself and also tells you to use the tazer. Grab the dead bird at your feet.

Pick up the axe and backtrack to the room that requires you to bash it open. When prompted, smash the door a couple of times until it crumbles. Activate the Xbox 360™ console inside to unlock the Bronze Detective Badge achievement.

Continue onward. You encounter a pair of psychos down the road. One guy rips a conduit from the wall; don't approach him. Instead, look to your left to locate a little alcove. There's a door over there, and if you look through the busted wall you can catch sight of a guy who busts the door down, then retreats to get a weapon. Take him out first, and then deal with the fellow with the conduit.

Grab health in the cabinet if you need it. You find the final bird in the big "construction room" past the conduit guy. In the next area, go right and open the cabinet. Grab the sledgehammer and break the lock on the health box and load up. Pick up your axe again.

Continue on and kill the pair of bad guys in the next zone. When you do, you get freaked out and the sound changes, and a previously locked door opens. Step inside and get knocked out. Enjoy the show.

Metal Pieces
In addition to finding all six dead birds, you should collect every metal piece in the game. There are three per level. Here are the locations in the Weisman office.

• Following your first fight in the office, head upstairs and through a winding maze of rooms. Inspect each alcove. The first metal piece is in the back corner of a disheveled office. Eyes are painted on the wall.
• After your encounter with the pair of thugs (one guy busts through the wall while the other drops from the ceiling) you find the second metal fragment stuck in the wall at the end of the next hallway. You see the telltale eyes again.
• The last metal piece is located in the room past where you beat down the conduit guy and his friend. Round the corner to where you find the sledgehammer in the cabinet. Enter the next room and check the columns. The last scrap is on the pillar with the eye graffiti on it.
• You awake to the sound of Malcolm Van Horn's voice. After a brief conversation, you hear the police hot on your trail. It's time to get up, get moving, and find that killer.

Need more help? Check out our guide to the next level.

Article by Franklin Beans