Bloodspear's Game Review

Shadows of the Damned
Platform: PS3 & XB360
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Executive Director: Goichi Suda (Suda 51) (No More Heroes, Killer 7)
Creative Producer: Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Vanquish)
Notable mentions: Music by Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill)

Shadows of the Damned's gameplay is similar to Resident Evil 4

This is a fucking awesome game. Plain and simple. Take the control-scheme and action from Resident Evil 4, the silliness from No More Heroes and the sound design (and some design cues) from the Silent Hill games and you got one of the industry's most interesting games. The Story is, as with many of the games by Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami, bordering on the absurd and there is really not much to elaborate on; you're Garcia Hotspur, a demon hunter who's girlfriend had been abducted by the Lord of the Demon World and it's up to you as the player to guide Garcia through the demon dimensions to reach your loved one. A demon in the form a skull named Johnson is your weapon and your companion, taking many different shaped and also standing in as a tool for opening doors and lightning fireworks. The dialogue is very self-aware and feels like a Tarantino/Rodriguez script filled with dirty word, obscenities and cheap one-liners. Don't let this fool you though, these guys know what they are doing and with the design, dialogue and feel of the game they have created a grind house story filled with gore, phallic references and a very dark, eerie world.

Garcia's adventure is filled with gore and phallic references

The games Mikami and Suda makes live and die by their game play, since gamers with an appetite for story and exposition will not find their fill at this party. Shadows of the Damned deliverers good action akin to the one experienced in Resident Evil 4 and anyone who has played both of them will immediately feel the similarities. The controll scheme might feel a bit sluggish at times compared to the more extravagant hack ´n slash games out there like Bayonetta or even Vanquish, but the solid game design makes up for any temporary irritations that might arise from control issues. Some enemies feel ridiculously hard to crowd control, but apart from that the flow of the game is smooth and keeps you on edge. While the graphics aren't much more than on par with this generations standard, some textures do take quite a bit of time to load, making the game seem somewhat unpolished and rough around the edges.

Some parts of the game plays out in a Paper Mario-esque 2D platform shooter

The music is worth mentioning more than once. Even if you have missed the musical landscapes of the Silent Hill series, Akria Yamaoka delivers a fine score with ambiance, heavy guitar solos and haunting vocals reminiscent of the music heard in the Silent Hill games. This together with a decent voice acting makes for a memorable experience that is, of course, best heard with a full 5.1 surround sound.

Johnson, Garcia's companion, takes many forms

Shadows of the damned can best be described as a connoisseur game for those who revel in the more far-out Japanese games and who have a taste for solid and challenging action. The defining moments of the game are many and not far between, this game will keep you entertained till the end and although the replay value is not ideal, this game will leave you thirsty for more.

Bloodspear's Rating: 9.5