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[ToyMachine228]

Title: Shadows of the Damned
Release Date: June 21st, 2011
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture in collaboration with Shinji Mikami
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms

Website: http://www.ea.com/shadows-of-the-damned

Official Description: “His name is Garcia Hotspur, hunter of demons, and his wrath will bring hell to its knees.

From the creative genius of Suda 51 (No More Heroes) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) comes an all-new psychologically twisted vision of hell unlike anything seen before. Shadows of the Damned combines visceral action with dark, grotesque horror to create a mind-shattering adventure that has to been seen to be believed.

When evil demonic creatures kidnap Garcia’s girlfriend, it’s up to him to travel to the City of the Damned to get her back. Aided by a former demon with the ability to transform into an array of vicious weapons, Garcia will once again take on the mantel of “demon hunter” and rip apart the horrifying forces of the underworld to protect what he loves most.

Players must harness the power of the light to fight the army of the dark in unique light versus darkness gameplay that will forever change the way gamers perceive puzzles, combat, and terror.

Combining the punk rock style of Suda 51 with the legendary horror design of Shinji Mikami, Shadows of the Damned will take gamers on an in-your-face thrill ride through demon-torn towns, shadow infested forests, grimy sewers and more. Featuring the most twisted boss battles ever seen, warped visuals and intense visceral combat, Shadows of the Damned will challenge gamers to break through the ultimate head-trip to help Garcia rescue his tortured girlfriend from the clutches of a mysterious enemy.
Brace yourself for one hell of a trip to the city of the damned.”

A Few Trailers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvj1ecxFIS4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEoJsJGU3jM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aT9o_MMZZU&NR=1

Shinji Mikami- Creative Producer- The Man, The Legend

People always have issues with this so let me spell it out for you. Here is a list of notables on Shinji Mikami's resume. Shinji Mikami is currently working at his recently formed studio Tango Gameworks. He has formerly worked for Capcom, and Clover Studio and has collaborated with Platinum Games. Shadows of the Damned is the result of a collaboration between Mikami and Grasshopper Manufacture.

Resident Evil (PlayStation)- Director/Producer
Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation)- Producer
Dino Crisis (PlayStation)- Director/Producer
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS)- Producer
Resident Evil: Code Veronic (PS2)- Producer
Dino Crisis 2 (PS)- Producer
Devil May Cry (PS2)- Executive Producer
Resident Evil (GameCube)- Director
Resident Evil Zero- Advisor
PN03 (GameCube)- Director
Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)- Director
Killer 7 (GameCube)- Executive Producer (Also the first collaboration between Suda 51 and Mikami)
God Hand (PS2)- Director
Vanquish (360 and PS3)- Director
Shadows of the Damned (360 and PS3)- Creative Producer

Suda 51- Executive Director- The Man, The Punk

Here is a resume for Suda 51, Executive Director of Shadows of the Damned, for clarity's sake. Suda 51 is viewed as the "head" of Grasshopper Manufacture, the developer of this game.

Michigan: Report from Hell (PS2)- Producer
Killer 7 (GameCube)- Director
Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked (PS2)- Director
Contact (DS)- Producer
No More Heroes (Wii)- Director
Fatal Frame IV (Wii)- Director
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)- Producer
Shadows of the Damned (360 and PS3)- Executive Director
Codename D (360)- TBA

Game Informer- 9.25
GameSpot- 8.5
OXM- 8.0
Destructoid- 8.5
Joystiq- 4/5
C&VG- 8.1
Giant Bomb- 4/5
GamePro- 4/5
IGN- 7.0
Eurogamer- 7.0
1up- C+

More coming soon...

GameStop Pre-Order Bonus
Pre-order Shadows of the Damned for either platform from GameStop and get yourself a copy of a 12-track soundtrack. The game's music has been done by Akira Yamaoka, best known for his work on the Silent Hill series.


Special Thanks
Special thanks ShaunBRS for the banner.
Special thanks to IGN and GameStop for the images.
Special thanks to Suda 51, Shinji Mikami, Grasshopper and EA for putting together one badass game.

 

[randomwab]

So much hype! Can't wait to grab this.

 

[dallow_bg]

Way too early...

EDIT: Thought it was July not June. Sweet!

 

[Nemesis_]

EJACULATE EVERYWHERE!

PS. It's out next week (June 21st)

 

[meltingparappa]

I got a heart palpitation thinking "oh wow, it comes out this soon!?!" then realized it's over a month away.

I cannot believe there hasn't been better marketing for this. How in the world are people not excited for a potentially crazier version of RE4?

 

[burgerdog]

Thread is up a bit early if the release date is July 21st.

 

[randomwab]

Way too early....

It's out next Tuesday in the US and Friday in Europe.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Thread is up a bit early if the release date is July 21st.

It's June 21st. Was a typo. It's been fixed. The game hits next week.

 

[jett]

Really excited for this, although I could use a demo.

 

[RobotNinjaHornets]

Well this is kind of weird. I'd completely forgotten about this game until this morning, and decided to look for threads on it. A couple of hours this pops up.

Anyway. HYPED.

 

[dallow_bg]

Ok, I was wrong. OP originally said July 21st.

It's June 21st. Was a typo. It's been fixed. The game hits next week.

Ah no wonder.
Wow, can't believe it was this quick!

 

[Interfectum]

is this game supposed to be any good? it looks awesome but there seems to be zero hype around it.

 

[Tizoc]

Sunova IT'S OUT THIS MONTH?!
Will try to get it X3

 

[Irish]

Wait... the hell? I thought this wouldn't be out for a very long time. It's out next week? Yep, definitely going to play this bad boy for the craziness.

 

[ToyMachine228]

is this game supposed to be any good? it looks awesome but there seems to be zero hype around it.

Yeah EA has done a bad job promoting it. They just released a "Enlarge your Johnson" promo for it online but I haven't seen much for it outside of the internet.

It's Suda 51, Mikami, and Grasshopper? How could you go wrong? A lot of GAF is also fond of Akira Yamaoka who's doing the music.

 

[burgerdog]

Way to fail, EA. If it wasn't for this thread I would have most likely skipped this game because I had no idea it was releasing next week.

 

[Gravijah]

This comes out in a week? What the fuck?

 

[near]

Wasn't going to buy this day one, but since there isn't anything else that's worthwhile coming out any time soon count me in!

 

[semiconscious]

yes! - really in the mood for something deliberately, intentionally dumb, &'ve been looking forward to this greatly ...

 

[plagiarize]

i will likely be playing Ocarina of Time, DNF and Alice when this comes out next week.

they will all get shoved aside until i beat Shadows of the Damned

 

[Rad-]

This comes out next week?!?!

 

[near]

Way to fail, EA. If it wasn't for this thread I would have most likely skipped this game because I had no idea it was releasing next week.

The marketing for this game really has been quite weak. It's a shame as well since the production values presented in this game look exceptionally impressive for what Grasshopper normally produces.

 

[Otacon]

lol@all the gaffers being surprised by its next week release
we really need a GAF release calendar...

definitely have high hopes for it
might be a pretty crazy RE4
trailers and marketing have been pretty meh, though
I WANT it to be good, but somehow fear for the worst
will wait for impressions by days 1 gaffers next week

 

[Dave1988]

Yeah EA has done a bad job promoting it. They just released a "Enlarge your Johnson" promo for it online but I haven't seen much for it outside of the internet.

It's Suda 51, Mikami, and Grasshopper? How could you go wrong? A lot of GAF is also fond of Akira Yamaoka who's doing the music.

They probably don't see SotD as profitable enough to warrant a marketing campaign. And IIRC Vanquish didn't sell all that hot even though it got stellar reviews, so I can see where they're coming from.

 

[Irish]

lol@all the gaffers being surprised by its next week release
we really need a GAF release calendar...

trailers and marketing have been pretty meh, though

This game just didn't go through the normal cycle like every other game though. Don't blame us!

 

[the chris]

I'm hyped for this, but didn't some gameplay impression come back less than favorable?

 

[Otacon]

This game just didn't go through the normal cycle like every other game though. Don't blame us!

hehe
I give you that
I was surprised when they announced a June release as I was totally expecting it to be another Fall game - which would fit better given it's "dark" tone (similar to last year's Alan Wake)

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

Really looking forward to this. Day one for the UK version!

Good job on the OP by the way.

 

[meltingparappa]

Worth mentioning that Amazon has .99 release day shipping for those without prime.


...but if you're in a very small group of people who pre-ordered it using a billion gift credits, gold box deals and things like that, there's no way to change your order to release date shipping for $.99, only to "one day shipping" for $9.99, inexplicably.

 

[taoofjord]

I had no idea the game was being released so soon either. Crazy. I sure hope it's good.

 

[Takao]

Comes out on my birthday.

Will not buy.

 

[Rollo Tomasi]

I'm definitely going to pick this up, but I'll wait until it inevitably goes down in price in a few weeks.

 

[BlueWord]

Didn't realize this was so close. I know where my next paycheck is going.

 

[Interfectum]

A little off topic but... it's funny how trained we are (or I am anyway) to be skeptical of a game that doesn't have a bloated marketing budget. Even with the pedigree of developers behind this game I still fear it's going to be shit based off lack of marketing. Pretty sad.

 

[Akkad]

Either this or Infamous 2 will be my next purchase.

 

[TheApatheticOne]

Preordered with RDD from Amazon using previous credits for $42.98. Game looks awesome.

 

[Zenith]

also surprised this is releasing next week.

 

[John Harker]

Can't wait!

I think we need a banner mocked up with all the talent who worked on this game...

A badass, movie-style collabo poser with Mikami, Suda, and Yamaoka is more likely to sell this game itself than EA is.

 

[Chairhome]

hmm. i want this game, but I probably will wait. Wonder if there's a price drop coming by the time I'm ready to play. Its weird that I haven't heard much in the way of previews for this game, was it pretty much absent from E3?

 

[mescalineeyes]

This is literally the 2nd last video-game I'll ever buy.
I hope Suda and Yamaoka don't disappoint.

 

[near]

A little off topic but... it's funny how trained we are (or I am anyway) to be skeptical of a game that doesn't have a bloated marketing budget. Even with the pedigree of developers behind this game I still fear it's going to be shit based off lack of marketing. Pretty sad.

I'm the complete opposite on occasions like this. Sometimes developers aren't given respectable marketing budgets because the producers feel the game isn't so mainstream and the investment would hence return a loss, making the game appear niche to some degree. I generally admire those type games because there is that sense of hope that the game is given more creative and original investment while in production. Not to say SotD will be like this ofcourse.

 

[∀ Narayan]

HOLY SHIT!!!

This is coming out next week?! AND ON THE SAME DAY AS INCARNA! BEST WEEK, EVER!

HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Cant wait!

I had no idea this was so close, and I read GAF. They must have some truly bleak market research.

 

[StuBurns]

Any word on if we're getting a demo?

I assumed this would be a bigger deal for EA, they haven't pushed it very hard.

 

[UberTag]

hmm. i want this game, but I probably will wait. Wonder if there's a price drop coming by the time I'm ready to play. Its weird that I haven't heard much in the way of previews for this game, was it pretty much absent from E3?

Why spend time at E3 focusing on a game that's coming out two weeks later that you've already got review copies for?
Especially a Japanese game. Nobody buys those.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I had no idea this game would be out so soon.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Gamefly queue is ready. Fucking hate Suda51 but I'll give it a shot (for Mikami).

 

[mug]

Holy shit I completely forgot this was coming out so soon! Day fucking 1.

 

[Trevelyon]

Yeah, I dunno. reviews will really have to be stellar for me to consider this. I'd rather use this relatively slow months to hit up the backlog before the Holiday crush, but we'll see.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

I can't wait!

With the talent behind it and from what I've seen from the trailers it looks awesome, I've been waiting for it since it was called the Mikami/Suda project. And all the themes are stuff I'm interested in made in a B-movie way which is great!

Oh man so hyped.