Shadows of the Damned has been released on 360 and been provided for us to preview/review by the publisher.

Believe it or not we are still playing it. Here are some extracts of what we made of it in chronological order:

"Shadows of the Damned 360 is a horror shooter filled with over the top violence and crude innuendo. Beneath the bluster though, there lies some surprising subtleties..."
- Story Gamer (Mon, 11 Jul 2011)

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Shadows of the Damned 360 Release

04/06/2011 16:51

Shadows of the Damned brings together an eccentric, all-star trio of creators to develop an insanely over-the-top schlock horror blockbuster.

Suda 51 directed such cultish, eccentric games as Killer7 and No More Heroes. Shinji Mikami created Capcom's Resident Evil series, his last contribution to the series being the huge mainstream hit Resident Evil 4. Akira Yamaoka is the composer who gave the Silent Hill series its distinct musical identity, as well as the producer of Silent Hill 4: The Room.

One eccentric videogame auteur, and two of the men behind the biggest franchises in survival horror. Together they're working on Shadows of the Damned, and it looks as unique as a collaboration between such diverse talents would be, a gonzo horror action game that retains its ability to disturb while also being ridiculously over the top: a grindhouse experience with the benefit of a triple A budget.

The story, such as it is, sees the brilliantly named Garcia Hotspur taking on all the forces of Hell to rescue his girlfriend. His companion in this insane rescue mission is Johnson, a floating skull demon who can transform into a gun (which can also be used as a club for melee attacks) or a motorcycle. As Johnson's name suggests, the game isn't afraid of vulgarity, with Johnson becoming bigger and wilder weapons with very rude names.

It all looks wonderfully insane: a disturbing, gory and innuendo ridden third person shooter with Garcia firing an ever-changing Johnson at legions of weird demons against a backdrop of a grotesque, lurid Hell. If the end product can successfully marry Suda 51's vivid imagination to Mikami's knack for super-slick mainstream thrills then Shadows of the Damned should be demented, horrible fun for adolescents of all ages.

Shadows of the Damned is released on 24 June 2011 for Xbox 360 and PS3.