Tokyo Game Show: Horror Game Dream Team Assembles for Shadow of the Damned

[Fintan Monaghan]

Tokyo Game Show: Horror Game Dream Team Assembles for Shadow of the Damned

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What do you get when you mix the creator of No More Heroes, the director of Resident Evil 4, and the composer for Silent Hill? Probably something crazy.

EA's pre-TGS press conference closed with a big announcement from Japanese game company Grasshopper Manufacture. Suda51, director of No More Heroes, will join forces with Resident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami to produce a new psychological action thriller: Shadows of the Damned. Music will come courtesy of Silent Hill sound director Akira Yamaoka.

Stemming from a deal announced a few months ago [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98023-Silent-Hill-Composer-and-No-More-Heroes-Creator-Join-Forces], Grasshopper Manufacture will partner with EA to distribute the game.

Sharing the stage in Tokyo's Keio Plaza hotel, the three men waxed lyrical about each other's genius. Suda praised Mikami's influence on the gameplay mechanics, hailing him as the "... No.1 game creator in the industry", while Mikami paid homage to Suda's distinctive visual style. Both agreed that no one but Yamaoka could have scored the game, and Yamaoka admitted that his "... creativity had definitely been ignited" from working with the other two. "This is the greatest game I have ever worked on in my lifetime," said Suda.

So what about the game? The teaser trailer revealed our hero, Garcia Hotspur. Covered in scars and tattoos, his rings and guns adorned with skulls, its safe to say he's the bad-ass type. Not to mention that he rides a motorbike.

Garcia's lady love Paula has been abducted by underworld demons and its up to our man to fight his way in to the depths of hell to rescue her, all guns blazing. The trailer appears to show Garcia literally kicking in the gates of hell, bellowing "Let the blood bath begin!" Tongue firmly in cheek, Suda clarified that this is not a romance game but a psychological action thriller. Battles with hordes of grotesque demons await, but we are promised some lighter moments as well.

No word on a release date yet.

TGS 2010 reporting is done jointly by Fintan Monaghan and Lisa Gay.

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[Jonny The Kay]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees. I've been waiting for this game for forever. Ever since they talked about it like years ago on the Gametrailers podcast.

 

[hazabaza1]

Looks like a generic shooter filled with monster spam and mindless combat.
SO WHY DO I WANT IT SO MUCH?!

 

[FinalDream]

It sounded perfect, but it looks less than stellar. I prefer my horror to be slightly more realistic, with vulnerable heros. I'll buy it though.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

Mikami is involved? Consider this bought.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Looks like a generic shooter filled with monster spam and mindless combat.
SO WHY DO I WANT IT SO MUCH?!

The developer pedigree...

OT:

This game could only get more awesome if they announced Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry 1, Bayonetta).

 

[Azaraxzealot]

this doesn't look like a "survival horror" game, it looks like a (as yahtzee once said) "action game with a bunch of enemies that had arms growing out of their tits."

EDIT: But if they market it as an action game... then I'd accept it, but they TOTALLY aren't.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

I doubt it'll be scary or a horror game, more like an action shooter with monster designs grosser than usual. You know, something mediocre like Dead Space. Also, I sense a lot of narm and areas that feel "stitched" where you can feel which Director had most influence on.

It doesn't look interesting from the trailer, just another shooter like there have been thousands of before, nothing innovative or groundbreaking, just more of the safe recipe...

 

[SantoUno]

Resident Evil 4 is one my favorite games of all time.

No More Heroes' style is quite awesome.

Silent Hill just does everything right...except the combat.

If this game can get all the things right about the previous games I will insta-buy it.

 

[Distorted Stu]

That was... intresting? I would like to see a bit moee gameplay rather than a horrible voice acted spainish fella shout at 1 second montages. Still, the sound track to the trailer was good.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well, it's a better main character then the new Dante. Then again, that's not saying much.

But Mikami's involved so it's bound to have some quality.

I hope they're not gonna go all "grindhouse" with it though.

 

[Boneasse]

I don't like his Antonio Banderaz accent. Other than that, it looks all right I reckon. I mean. Mikami, amirite?!

 

[Teh Magic Man]

I dunno that trailer looked really really bad. the dialogue was painful, the enemies are pretty standard looking horror bad guys, and the game play looks, well kinda like resident evil 4 combat if you could move and shoot at the same time.

overall not impressed. especially with a development team like that. could have been better, but i guess well know for sure when it comes out.

 

[Sneaky-Pie]

And I bet it won't be half as scary as Amnesia...

 

[Jaxs]

This game seems to be filled with just the right amount of campiness and bad-assery, can't wait.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

The funniest part about this game is that it looks more like a Devil May Cry game than that thing Ninja Theory is working on.

 

[SeanTheSheep]

Oh dear. From the looks of things, this is going to be a gothic, horror-themed but otherwise generic over-the-shoulder shooter with little to its name other than a credits screen full of big names.

While the soundtrack will likely be great as is usual from Yamaoka, the names of Suda 51 and Mikami aren't really filling me with hopes of a spectacular horror experience from the game except probably a few creepy parts if they do things right.
No More Heroes was a good game, as was Resident Evil 4, but neither of them were particularly memorable for the sense of dread the games filled you with because of the mind-rendingly terrifying sequences within.