The Bear is a boss enemy encountered in Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Large, rabid and aggressive, the bear is one of the most dangerous enemies fought in Condemned 2. It attacks Ethan Thomas as well as several SCU agents in the Service Building during the Black Lake Lodge level.
Shortly after Ethan's plane crashes in the middle of the Black Lake Region, Ethan discovers a severed arm. Upon analyzing the arm and sending the results to Rosa, Ethan discovers that whatever attacked the victim was extremely dehydrated and possibly suffering from hydrophobia. Rosa then notes that hydrophobia shows up in humans as part of the late stage of rabies. As Ethan progresses through the forest, he hears loud roars, hinting that a dangerous animal is nearby.
Ethan eventually arrives at the Service Station, where he finds the owner of the arm; A deceased SCU agent. As Ethan inspects the body, Rosa identifies him as one of Agent Dorland's men. As Ethan progresses through the Service station, he finds yet another body, as well as an injured SCU agent desperately attempting to crawl away from an unseen creature.
Ethan finally encounters the bear in the main room of the service station, where it begins to chase him around the building. After navigating through various hallways and squeezing through many small passageways, Ethan eventually arrives at a long hallway where the injured SCU agent can be found lying. He gives Ethan his shotgun, which is down to its last shot, and tells Ethan to shoot the bear on his signal. When the bear appears, Ethan fires the gun at a nearby shelf full of propane tanks. The resulting explosion sends Ethan, the bear and the SCU agent flying out the window. All three survive the ordeal, although Ethan is knocked unconscious for a while, as the bear mauls the SCU agent to death. The bear then drags Ethan away from the service station before running off, leaving Ethan lying by himself in the snow. The bear is never seen again for the rest of the game, leaving it´s final fate open to speculation. (Though given that it was infected with rabies, it can be assumed that it eventually died.)
Battle Strategy[]
The Bear reveals itself to Ethan
The bear is a unique boss enemy in that the player doesn't actually fight it, but instead must do everything possible to avoid it.
The moment the bear first appears at the end of the room, the player must immediately turn around and take the doorway to the right. The player must make sure that they have full sprint as the bear is incredibly fast and hesitating for even a second will cause it to catch up to the player. At the end of the long hallway, turn right and enter the bathroom. There is a large hole in the wall. Take refuge inside the hole as the bear attempts to force its way in, opening a new passage in the process. After a while, the bear gives up, allowing the player to step outside.
The bear will stop chasing Ethan momentarily, allowing the player to access the television nearby. The bear resumes its chase as the player begins to climb the stairs. Once at the top, take a left and enter the room. Squeeze through the hole in the wall and the bear will narrowly attack Ethan. In the next room, the player must push a large wardrobe that is blocking the door before proceeding. Turn left and run down the hallway.
An injured SCU agent at the end of the hallway will tell the player to barricade the door. Push the large dresser in front of the door before approaching the SCU agent. Failure to barricade the door will result in the bear killing the player. When the player approaches the SCU agent, he will tell Ethan to pick up the shotgun on the ground, which only has one round left in its magazine tube. Ethan will automatically point the shotgun at the doorway, where the bear will burst through. Aim for the nearby shelf and wait for the SCU agent to say "Now!". Fire the shotgun to stop the bear once and for all.
Spoilers end here.
Glitches[]
If the player fires the shotgun too late, a bizarre animation will occur that combines both the bear's and Ethan's death sequence. Following this, Ethan will spawn outside the service station as a "ghost" and can fly across the map, similar to spectator mode in Condemned 2 Multiplayer. The player can explore the entire level, including the inside of the lodge, although there will be no enemies. The player will also be able to go through walls and other solid objects.
Trivia[]
Ethan takes aim at the Bear
If the Bear catches up to the player, then he/she will automatically be killed, regardless of how much health he/she has.
When killed by the Bear, a unique death sequence occurs, where the background fades to black as the bear throws Ethan to the ground before tearing out his throat.
The Bear is one of the few non-human enemies in the game, along with the dogs encountered in Rock Bottom, Trenton District and Deadly Daycare.
A piece of concept art shows the bear with what appear to be numerous bony spikes along its back and shoulders. However, there is no indication in game that the bear is mutated/altered in any way.
When playing the Black Lake Lodge level on FPS mode, the shotgun will be fully loaded, even though the SCU agent says it has just one shot left. Furthermore, the player will still be required to pick up the shotgun even though he/she will spawn with a Lever Rifle at the beginning of the level.
At the end of the long hallway in the first segment of the bear's chase, there is a mirror facing Ethan, thus allowing the player to have an eerie view of the bear behind them as it pursues them relentlessly. The mirror is only really visible if the player misses the turn to actually escape the bear, running towards a dead end rather, as if the mirror forebodes Ethan's death.
