Flip Him the Bird: Shadows of the Damned Boss Gameplay

Watch Shadows of the Damned protagonist Garcia Fucking Hotspur (his words, not mine) challenge a massive demon bird in this boss battle gameplay clip. 

I come away from this chunk of action really loving the music, but this is the work of Akira Yamaoka, so of course the beats are fresh. That may be about it, as the rest of the battle is a yawn-inducing strafing and shooting affair. I was hot for Shadows of the Damned early in it's marketing cycle - mostly because of the killer combination of Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, and Yamaoka - but have since cooled on the third person action title. Not to say it doesn't have some good things going for it, because it certainly does. The light/dark gameplay mechanic sounds cool, but I could see it becoming easily tiresome. There's a nice selection of dynamic weapons housed within a shapeshifting skull named Johnson. And there's plenty of ridiculous and dirty humor being tossed around, if that's your thing.

What's the consensus on Shadows of the Damned, readers? If you're thinking it's a buy, it may be worth the preorder to secure a free copy of Yamaoka's superbly scored soundtrack, something that rarely comes up short. You better act soon though, Shadows releases this coming Tuesday, June 21.

Happy Halloween, from Shadows of the Damned

All has been quiet on the Shadows of the Damned front. The survival horror slash action title involving gaming heavyweights Shinji Mikami, Suda51, Akira Yamaoka, and EA Games reminds you that it's still kickin' by way of this trailer. 

Mainly to give you an idea of the uglies you'll have to blow apart with your transforming skull gun, Shadows of the Damned also wishes you a Happy Halloween! And why not? Grasshopper is trying to put the emphasis on horror, a gaming genre that hasn't been represented too well over the past forever.

TGS 2010: Shadows of the Damned introduces Gaming's Holy Trinity

Goichi Suda, also known as Suda51, the idealistic creator whose ahead of the curve ideas has spawned titles such as Killer7 and the No More Heroes series. Shinji Mikami, former Capcom ace and mind behind iconic titles such as the Resident Evil series, and more recently, the hotly anticipated Vanquish. Akira Yamaoka, one of gaming's greatest composers, known primarily for his one of a kind work in the Silent Hill series. 

These three fine gentlemen have decided to form gaming's Holy Trinity of sorts, pooling their talents to create Shadows of the Damned, an action/horror title where the protagonist dives into a world controlled by demons to get his girlfriend back. The premise may be a little cliche, but any game that involves one of either Suda, Mikami, or Yamaoka deserves to be noticed. This game, involving all three of them, will have the chance to reach epic proportions. 

Shadows of the Damned's release trailer has a little bit of everything for fans of the above. It feels like a mix of Silent Hill and Resident Evil 4, with a bit of some grindhouse films thrown in for awesome. Gaming's Holy Trinity, with EA Games behind them, looks to make a huge splash in 2011, and hopefully, far beyond.

Shadows of the Damned gallery (5 images)