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Shadows of the Damned - |OT| of Demons and Girlfriends from Hell

Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
Frankfurt said:
Japanese cover censored? Is this for real? This looks like the sloppiest "censoring" i've ever seen:

http://www.examiner.com/video-game-...ned-gets-censored-picture?slide=37766016#main
Click to expand...
If anything it brings more attention to the censored part, haha.

I had a blast with this game. Part of me wants to replay it already but it's too soon. I want to forget the little details before I dive back in, especially Garcia's and Johnson's banter. And the storybooks.

Man, this game's voice acting is terrific stuff, the best I've heard all 2011 I'd say.
 
E

EXGN

Member
Just beat the game, loved it for the most part but the ending kinda bummed me out.
Sucks that there is no real resolution, there isn't really any progress from where the game starts - and Garcia is stuck fighting demons forever. Would have been good if the game ended with them dying in the pit expressing their love to each other and sharing one last moment before being consumed by darkness.

Plus, I was hoping the game would do more with Paula. Was expecting her to be revealed as the women demon hunter and an epic tag team battle at the end against Flemming, but I guess that's my fault for reading too far into things.

Overall, same comments as everyone else. Great writing - especially the Garcia/Johnson banter and the story book. The world planning and character design was off the walls bananas as well, but that's to be expected from a Suda game. Pacing was strong and the game was varied enough to keep me coming back. Glad that I bought it new, hope the sales pick up!

Only major gripe for me was the shooting - it was serviceable. Adequate in most scenarios, but there are some situations where you have to make precision shots that are almost impossible to judge without a cross hair (swinging goat head in the last boss).
 
Tokubetsu

Tokubetsu

Member
EXGN said:
Just beat the game, loved it for the most part but the ending kinda bummed me out.
Sucks that there is no real resolution, there isn't really any progress from where the game starts - and Garcia is stuck fighting demons forever. Would have been good if the game ended with them dying in the pit expressing their love to each other and sharing one last moment before being consumed by darkness.

Plus, I was hoping the game would do more with Paula. Was expecting her to be revealed as the women demon hunter and an epic tag team battle at the end against Flemming, but I guess that's my fault for reading too far into things.

Overall, same comments as everyone else. Great writing - especially the Garcia/Johnson banter and the story book. The world planning and character design was off the walls bananas as well, but that's to be expected from a Suda game. Pacing was strong and the game was varied enough to keep me coming back. Glad that I bought it new, hope the sales pick up!

Only major gripe for me was the shooting - it was serviceable. Adequate in most scenarios, but there are some situations where you have to make precision shots that are almost impossible to judge without a cross hair (swinging goat head in the last boss).
Click to expand...

Who's to say they didn't die and that wasn't Garcia's version of hell? And even though there wasn't any big reveal, I think it's safe to assume that Paula IS the demon hunter but centuries of escaping and being recaptured have made her a bit...crazy/off. She's not totally right in the head or doesen't seem to be from the little bit we know/see of her.
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
Yeah, about Paula,
she has to be the unbreakable huntress from the storybook.

Fleming, Lord of the Underworld, coming back to take her as his mistress? Check. He's pissed at Garcia for killing his demons but I think the real reason for taking Paula is simply that she belongs to him.

He kills her and brings her back to life over and over for fun? Check. Sure, he does this to taunt Garcia as well, but the storybook mentioned this very explicitly.

She keeps trying to escape to the human world where she thinks she belongs? Check. Remember Garcia tells Johnson that he just found her in a dumpster one day and took her home. She also goes crazy violent when Garcia tries to answer a certain phone call.

All the stuff from the storybook is there. The girl is pretty fierce too, just remember the ending when she puts a knife to Garcia's throat, I'd say it's pretty obvious she's the huntress. Garcia himself curses the fact that he's fallen for the Lord of the Underworld's mistress. :)
 
A

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
So I picked up the Japanese version.

Initial impressions: Much classier title screen logo, slight censoring (Paula's back was slathered with, like, blue paint instead of blood), and the tarento/film actor (i.e. non-voice actor) they hired for Garcia sucks.

Johnson is kind of fun though.

Does anyone know what they added to this version? Suda was talking up fairly major additions to the Japanese version to compensate for the delay.

(You can change the voice to English, btw, so depending on the additions this may be the "superior" version of the game...)

Edit: Oh, and the booze is "soup" in Japan :/
 
S

Sinthetic

Member
Seth, your explanation is definitely right. It makes me want to play through again (it seems the first time round I may have missed some things ;p).

Lucky I promised never to get rid of DMD from my collection.
 
X

x Maiku x

Member
Aokage said:
So I picked up the Japanese version.

Initial impressions: Much classier title screen logo, slight censoring (Paula's back was slathered with, like, blue paint instead of blood), and the tarento/film actor (i.e. non-voice actor) they hired for Garcia sucks.
Click to expand...

Regardless of whether he did a good job or not, calling Tadanobu Asano a 'tarento' is completely inaccurate.

Also, it looks like the game isn't doing any better in Japan sales wise, unfortunately.
 
kyubajin

kyubajin

Member
With so many great games coming soon and all my back catalogue I doubt I'll be playing this game any time soon :( It looks very cool and on par with RE4 in term of fun.
 
W

Wizpig

Member
Aokage said:
Does anyone know what they added to this version? Suda was talking up fairly major additions to the Japanese version to compensate for the delay.

(You can change the voice to English, btw, so depending on the additions this may be the "superior" version of the game...)
Click to expand...
What are the additions?
 
C

Criminal Upper

Banned
Really having trouble finding the energy to finish the game, and I bought it day 1. My heart’s not in it anymore, as I find the game really started to drag after the Evil Dead send-up.

Currently stuck at that large open area where Garcia goes, “Ohh, I bet if I open the door again, all the demons will be gone, right?”

I keep getting stuck fighting the electric type wave of demons that run after you, and initiate the QTE grabs. Really, really finding it hard to get through this.

Any words of encouragement GAF?
 
T

TheOddOne

Member
Criminal Upper said:
Really having trouble finding the energy to finish the game, and I bought it day 1. My heart’s not in it anymore, as I find the game really started to drag after the Evil Dead send-up.

Currently stuck at that large open area where Garcia goes, “Ohh, I bet if I open the door again, all the demons will be gone, right?”

I keep getting stuck fighting the electric type wave of demons that run after you, and initiate the QTE grabs. Really, really finding it hard to get through this.

Any words of encouragement GAF?
Click to expand...
Dodge, Dodge, Hot Bone, Dodge, Dodge, Shoot.

Rinse and repeat.
 
Facism

Facism

Member
Criminal Upper said:
Really having trouble finding the energy to finish the game, and I bought it day 1. My heart’s not in it anymore, as I find the game really started to drag after the Evil Dead send-up.

Currently stuck at that large open area where Garcia goes, “Ohh, I bet if I open the door again, all the demons will be gone, right?”

I keep getting stuck fighting the electric type wave of demons that run after you, and initiate the QTE grabs. Really, really finding it hard to get through this.

Any words of encouragement GAF?
Click to expand...

The electric demons are easy. Charged lightshots instead of aiming at the rods on their back. Works wonders.
 
T

The Mana Legend

Banned
I am almost done this (Act 5, Chapter 2). I started on the hardest difficulty, and I have to say, this has to be one of the easiest games I've ever played when on the hardest difficulty. This almost feels like an easy mode.

I am enjoying it though. Kind of disappointed in the janky aiming (RE4 spoiled me with its perfection), not so great hit detection (another thing RE4 spoiled me with) and the numerous graphical glitches (one scene, Garcia's model didn't even load, so half of the cutscene was just a disembodied voice). The game also does not stay fresh very long, and the schmup parts were a lot lamer than I thought they'd be.

That said, the game is occasionally funny, though the juvenile humor if it gets really old after the first couple of Acts. I am barely laughing at it now considering they are recycling 90% of the same jokes from the first two Acts.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment, however, are the bosses. Not only will the bosses not hit you most of the time due to the broken dodge mechanic, but some of them go on for WAY too long considering how easy they are. Each boss feels like they stay alive three times as long as they should.

Overall, even though I still have most of Act 5 to go, I don't see the rest changing my opinion all that much. The game plays fine, looks fine, and sounds fine. But it really is not any better, in my opinion, than a 7/7.5 at this point. It also is definitely not worth the $60 pricetag it was given when it was released, and I am happy that I only spent $20 on it.
 
B

BaronLundi

Member
The Mana Legend said:
Not only will the bosses not hit you most of the time due to the broken dodge mechanic, but some of them go on for WAY too long considering how easy they are. Each boss feels like they stay alive three times as long as they should.
Click to expand...

And you haven't finished the game. Uh oh...

Regarding the funny parts I hope you got to Garcia's performance of the crow book. So good.
 
T

The Mana Legend

Banned
BaronLundi said:
And you haven't finished the game. Uh oh...

Regarding the funny parts I hope you got to Garcia's performance of the crow book. So good.
Click to expand...

Okay, so right now I am...

The part where you fight Fleming in "The Final Chapter

This has to be one of the worst fights I've ever fought in a video game. Seriously. I'm not even joking. I've been on it for 30 or so minutes now, and I've barely gotten hit, but I can't seem to break it apart the third time to get the final part. This is an incredibly easy battle, but it is so incredibly frustrating because of how poorly designed it is. Seriously one of the worst battles I've ever played through.
 
T

The Mana Legend

Banned
Just beat the game.

Those last couple of bosses were so damn poorly designed, and the whole ending reminded me of why the main romance didn't work: It had no development at all.

Oh, and the difficulty achievements not stacking is annoying. I won't mind playing this game again on the easier difficulties, but come on.
 
A

areal

Member
Aokage said:
So I picked up the Japanese version.

(You can change the voice to English, btw, so depending on the additions this may be the "superior" version of the game...)
Click to expand...
On PS3? Does this have full English support (menus, etc.) or just English audio?
 
J

JumpingTheGun

Banned
Just started playing again after plat'ing (my first) back in February. Man, I really forgot how great this game is (glitches and other faults aside). The combat is fun as hell (close quarter kills and the maxed Johnson baseball bat-like smashes are my current fav), the soundtrack is perfection and the acting/writing is beyond top notch for me. The banter between G and Johnson is some of the best buddy comedy dialogue in any game this gen (or ever for that matter). I'm considering this as my personal GOTY. It just bleeds the term "cult classic" and is my personal "Big Trouble In Little China" of videogames. It's one hell of a rollercoaster and I fucking LOVE it.

Also it occurred to me tonight while Ive been re-playing, Johnson sounds like a young:
david.jpg


and Im buying this shirt. 135 bucks and I dont give a fuck. Want.
Garcia_Long_Slee_4e2d1c830535b.jpg
 
J

Jigsaw

Banned
areal said:
On PS3? Does this have full English support (menus, etc.) or just English audio?
Click to expand...

ps3 version is completely english if you set your system language to english,trophies will be installed in english too,you can play with japanese dub and english subs,or english dub and japanese subs (...?), or no subs at all

i just finished the game yesterday and while i love the game i don't get the ending and the last few bosses were terrible
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
Aww man what? That shirt is ugly, but still I'm proud of your dedication to this baller game.

I would so buy Garcia's jacket if it was available and less than 1000 dollars.
 
Jaffaboy

Jaffaboy

Member
I've been wanting to pick this up for a while, thought it looked kinda funny but not anything that I had to buy day 1, and with it being a single player game I thought I'd wait it out until it was cheap.

Just got it today/yesterday (as it is now 4am) and I'm on Act 4 already, holy crap this game is incredible! My main concern from looking at the trailers were the visuals seemed rather poor imo, but it looks so much better now I'm actually playing it. The gameplay is superb, there's so much thought gone into the mechanics and there's so much attention to detail. And it's fucking hilarious! Man, this game is the best.
 
G

glaringradio

Member
Got it along with Resonance of Fate, £20 for the pair. Damn fine game, although I have powered through it up until 4-1 so I'm going to give it a bit of a break and try RoF. I couldn't take Garcia repeatedly saying
taste my big boner
over and over again haha.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
Akira's Dario Argento film inspired soundtrack was fucking incredible. A lot of the music could have fit right with something like Suspiria.
 
D

DJMicLuv

Member
glaringradio said:
Got it along with Resonance of Fate, £20 for the pair. Damn fine game, although I have powered through it up until 4-1 so I'm going to give it a bit of a break and try RoF. I couldn't take Garcia repeatedly saying
taste my big boner
over and over again haha.
Click to expand...

That spoilered part of the game was by far my least favourite bit of a really enjoyable title. I liked that the game tried new things - the side scroller, etc - but I really had a hard time persevering through this particular section.

Otherwise SOTD was surprisingly enjoyable - a real romp! It really seemed to have the RE4 feeling that RE5 didn't. Reminded me a bit of Bayonetta in it's OTT style, really fun to play for the most part. Definitely recommended without hesitation to fans of RE4 although the humour and style of the game might rub some people up the wrong way I personally enjoyed playing something that didn't take itself too seriously. Fun!
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
Just got this game today and started playing (my first Suda 51 game by the way). My god it's delightful. I've literally laughed out loud at some of the dialogue already, I can tell I'm really going to enjoy this one all the way through.
 
S

Sinthetic

Member
Neuromancer said:
Just got this game today and started playing (my first Suda 51 game by the way). My god it's delightful. I've literally laughed out loud at some of the dialogue already, I can tell I'm really going to enjoy this one all the way through.
Click to expand...

Good stuff! Definitely check out No More Heroes 1 & 2 after this.
 
H

Hellion

Member
Got this game on black Friday EA store.

Man is this game refreshing, the marketing on this game did it no justice!!!
The dialog and one liners has me asking for a sequel. AND I'm only the 3 act!
 
H

Hellion

Member
Hellion said:
Got this game on black Friday EA store.

Man is this game refreshing, the marketing on this game did it no justice!!!
The dialog and one liners has me asking for a sequel. AND I'm only the 3 act!
Click to expand...

I should have bought 2 more copies as Christmas presents.
 
N

Neuromancer

Member
Help needed. I'm at a door on level 5-2, just killed a whole fuck ton of dudes including 2 huge battery dudes. Took like half an hour for me to do it and now the door to the castle won't open. I don't think I got a check point. Also the fight music is still going. Is this a glitch or is there something I need to do?
 
F

FreeMufasa

Junior Member
Seth Balmore said:
If anything it brings more attention to the censored part, haha.

I had a blast with this game. Part of me wants to replay it already but it's too soon. I want to forget the little details before I dive back in, especially Garcia's and Johnson's banter. And the storybooks.

Man, this game's voice acting is terrific stuff, the best I've heard all 2011 I'd say.
Click to expand...

Same with me. Loved the game and I'll replay it in a while. I can see this becoming one of those gems talked about years later.
 
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