Shadows of the Damned (PS3) Review

One hell of a trip.

 Ultraviolent and twisted, Shadows of the Damned was one of developer Suda51's more well known games of the past generation; mainly due to the fact that it was a sweet collaboration between Suda and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Joining the duo is Silent Hill sound designer, Akira Yamaoka, who composes the soundtrack. Focusing on a demon hunter's wild quest to rescue his girlfriend from the demon overlord, Shadows of the Damned is often noted as one of Suda's more mainstream works, especially when you got the likes of EA backing the game. With that said, let's dive into the twisted world of Shadows of the Damned and see what does it have in store for us.

 You take the role of demon hunter Garcia Hotspur, whose girlfriend Paula has been captured by the demon lord himself, Fleming, who plans to make her his mistress. With his trusty demonic weapon and best friend, a talking skull named "Johnson", Garcia is hellbent on destroying any demons in his way, all to save his one true love. Together, the pair dive into the depths of hell in order to rescue Paula and beat the demon lord for good. The story was over-the-top and wacky, with many sex jokes packed in and some dark humor to boot. I especially liked the characters, Garcia with his no-nonsense attitude and Johnson's wisecracking personality, there's chemistry between the two. That aside you also learn of Paula's origins, Fleming's rule in the underworld, and about demons in general through character conversations or by finding text books or various posters scattered throughout the levels.

Join Garcia and Johnson in the 

twisted world of hell.

 If by any chance you've played Resident Evil 4 then Shadows of the Damned plays pretty much like it. It's a third-person shooter where you control Garcia as he moves from level to level punching and shooting demons along the way. Johnson functions as your trusty melee weapon and gun. You also get a laser sight when aiming for accurate shots. Unlike RE4, you can move and shoot at the same time. Garcia is also quick as he can dodge enemy attacks before they hit as well as stomping on enemies when they're down. Demons come in all forms and sizes and there's a neat variety to them, though its best to take care since they manage to hit hard.

Damned plays more like a refined RE4.

 Thanks to Johnson, you'll have a neat selection of weapons ranging from the standard "boner" handgun to more demon-unfriendly weapons such as a shotgun and machine guns. Beating bosses will net you special blue gems, which can upgrade your weapons to more outrageous forms with outrageous names like the "Hot Boner" and "Big Boner".... yeah, I'm serious. Johnson can also transform into a torch, in which Garcia can use him as a melee weapon. Personally, I never bothered using or even upgrading it since using the guns worked just fine against enemies.

 Sprinkled in levels are White Gems that allow you to buy alcoholic drinks to restore health and ammunition while the more rare Red Gems will upgrade your weapons as well as health and melee attacks, though they're far and few to find. Meeting the giant demon Christopher, will give you a chance to exchange any white gems for either ammo, drinks, or even red gems, so it's better to save up. One aspect that was disappointing was the lack of a New Game+ mode where you get to replay the game again with your saved data. It especially sucks since the game packs potential replay-value despite the brief 8 hour ride.

Fun surprises are in store!

 Shadows of the Damned holds up pretty well for a 7-year-old game. The visuals aren't what I call gorgeous, but have enough variety to keep things interesting, notably the colorful 2D levels. Character models and environments look good by PS3 standards though I noticed frequent pop-up textures and frame-rate drops when using melee attacks. The voicework is undoubtedly great with Steve Blum and Greg Ellis being obvious standouts as Garcia and Johnson, respectively. The soundtrack is also worth noting as Akira Yamaoka delivers some eerie tracks that complements the hellish vibe of the game as well as featuring some action-packed ones. My favorite easily is the slow and wacky tracks of the 2D stages.

Technical issues aside, Damned holds up 

fine by today's standards.

 Looking back, Shadows of the Damned was one of the few weirdly unique games that we hardly see in today's Triple-A market. While it definitly sucks that the constant pressure from EA made Suda alter his intial vision of the game multiple times, I still found the end product to be entertaining with a twisted story coupled with likable characters and some funny as hell innuendos. The gameplay and levels were also interesting, as the constant upgrades and changes in sceneries always kept me hooked. And let's not forgot the creepy as hell soundtrack as well. Fans of Suda51 will probably have played Shadows of the Damned already, but for those still rocking a PS3 or Xbox 360 and are looking for an action-filled slaughterhouse, then Damned is one hell of a trip.