Shadows of the Damned

Suda 51 is back with his latest creation. This time the game has found its way on the XBOX360 and will have you playing the part of Garcia Hotspur, Demon Hunter. After another successful outing Hotspur comes home to his hot girlfriend only to find that the current bad-ass in Hell, Fleming, has decided that he's had enough with Hotspur's murders and steals away the girlfriend. This leaves Hotspur with only one choice, he must journey into hell and rescue her. The problem is that there's going to be a lot of really pissed off demons between him and Fleming. As you play the game, however, I think you'll find that Garcia Hotspur doesn't mind having to mow down hundreds of demons.

Graphically this game looks good. It kind of has this old Transylvanian feel to it, and it really works for the game. There's also the darkness mechanic which gives you a difference perspective, while you're trying to survive, and introduces a vital puzzle piece to the game play. The different demons that you have to face off against are spot on for what I'd envisioned walked around in hell. The best character design though has to go to the bosses that will crop up from time to time to really give you a challenge. The in between levels load screen reminds me of a Castlevania-esque approach. You'll see the level and you'll see your character walk from one area into the next on a map, which for some reason just screams Castlevania to me.

Now the sound is where there might be a problem for some people. The dialogue is not for everyone, and sometimes its a bit over the top. There are some parts where you just have to shake your head, and there are other parts that might just have you laughing your ass off. The music keeps with the theme of the world and doesn't really blow you away, but it definitely adds something to the game.

As you go through the game you're going to find that your controller is going to be able to do more and more. That's the wonders of unlocking gameplay at a pace so that the gamer can get comfortable with the other controls first. I will tell you this, the light shot is your friend, so don't forget about it, that is all.

So you are the bad-ass Garcia Hotspur. You've got a chip on your shoulder because this punk demon has taken your girl, and now its time to bash some heads. This to me definitely got me hooked and I had to know where the game would go, and did it go. The overall game was solid, sure there was a couple of hiccups here and there, such as a bit of lag when trying to save the game while you're running around, but overall there wasn't too much to complain about. I will say that it took me a bit to figure out how to take out some of the stronger demons, but once I found out what the universal weak spot was, that became just a bit easier to handle. Now let's take a second to talk about the guns. Your main gun shoots bones, and so to keep things simple the gun is called the Boner. You'll soon find that you'll be adding a machine gun to your arsenal that shoots teeth, and that will be called the Teether. Now the real interesting thing about the weapon system is the fact that you're not having to tote around those weapons and having to reach into a bag to switch them out. Your good old floating skull, ex-demon, Johnson actually changes into all the weapons that you'll be using. To make like a bit easier every gun you'll have will be color coded. So if you check the color of Johnson's "glow" you'll figure out real quick what gun you have equipped.

There's some puzzle aspects to this game that kind of remind me of trying to find the red key to get into the next room in Doom. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled for an eyeball, a brain, and a strawberry. There will be doors that will require one of these items to open up, sometimes its required to get through the level, other times you'll just want to use them to unlock ammo stashes or the wonderful red gem (which allows for upgrades). There's also another puzzle mechanic, though, this one deals with having to be in the darkness to destroy a "sensor" that will open up a door, which is usually described as covered in demon pubes.

This game definitely is for the more matured, and maybe slightly demented, but this game is good. I really enjoyed playing this game from end to end, and I think there's room for a second game in the series. Sure there was moments where I had to wonder why I was playing this with some of the over the top parts, but overall I just couldn't put the controller down long enough to really contemplate that kind of thing. If you like what Suda 51 has done in the past you're not going to be disappointed with this game. I have to give this game a 9.3 out of 10.