Running screaming through an evil forest with familiar scenery in the third chapter of Shadows of the Damned.
Grasshopper Manufacture's resident impresario, Suda 51, has made mention of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse again and again in marketing and interviews for his upcoming HD debut, Shadows of the Damned. But after making my way through the first half of the game, it's clear there are other 80's horror icons that belong in that list of influences. Five or so hours in, and it also seems like your ability to appreciate the multi-dimensional references to eight and sixteen-bit era gaming conventions and VHS horror mainstays might determine your ability to appreciate Shadows of the Damned as a game.
Publisher EA and Grasshopper Manufacture have already shown the first two chapters of Shadows of the Damned a couple of times before, but chapter three is unlike anything they've exposed us to previously. It also kicks Shadows of the Damned's horror homage into overdrive. Where earlier levels of Shadows of the Damned reference the style of the Tarantinos and Tobe Hoopers (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the third chapter features an extended tribute to Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 and their director, Sam Raimi.
While he's better known now for his directing work on the Spider-man films, Raimi made his bones (no pun intended) writing, directing and producing the Evil Dead films. In the middle of Shadows of the Damned's third chapter, the Evil Dead worship isn't just evident, it assaults you. Running screaming through the woods, our hero Garcia (F*cking) Hotspur is fleeing the deranged corpse (possibly? Shadows wallows in nebulous explanations of weird sh*t) of his suicide girlfriend Paula, taking refuge in wooden cabins, screaming to the world "How do you stop them?" I had to stop and take a moment to process the familiarity, the audacious, wholesale lifting of visual cues, right down to the roaring intangible spirit trying to break down the cabin door.
Then an undead monster banged its head up into the cellar door and cackled maniacally, staring at Garcia through the crack left by the rope securing the portal, and I'm pretty sure it said something about swallowing my soul.
As a fan of Raimi's work, it's hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of kinship with Suda 51 for his clear love of Evil Dead ad infinitum. It's that building psuedo-relationship, that kinship of appreciation, that's pulling me through Shadows of the Damned where otherwise I don't know that I'd be so inclined to continue. The wacky, over the top gore, the fantastic and diverse score by Silent Hill composer and fiction-caretaker Akira Yamaoka, the Ghouls and Ghosts inspired progress map between chapters, these are all attaching themselves to the threads of nostalgia in my brain. The gameplay? Not so much.
So far, my earlier issues with Shadows of the Damned from a mechanical point of view are borne out in this review build of the game. Shooting is a little clunky, and a little slow in the way that third party Unreal Engine 3 third person shooters often are. The camera doesn't always play nice despite the relatively simple demands placed on it. The character animation is often laughably bad, and Shadows of the Damned so far desperately panders and stoops to every possible dick joke and phallic reference it can stretch to - it's like the video game equivalent of that douche at the party who never stops with the "that's what she said" refrain.
As a fan of Raimi's work, it's hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of kinship with Suda 51 for his clear love of Evil Dead ad infinitum. It's that building psuedo-relationship, that kinship of appreciation, that's pulling me through Shadows of the Damned where otherwise I don't know that I'd be so inclined to continue. The wacky, over the top gore, the fantastic and diverse score by Silent Hill composer and fiction-caretaker Akira Yamaoka, the Ghouls and Ghosts inspired progress map between chapters, these are all attaching themselves to the threads of nostalgia in my brain. The gameplay? Not so much.
So far, my earlier issues with Shadows of the Damned from a mechanical point of view are borne out in this review build of the game. Shooting is a little clunky, and a little slow in the way that third party Unreal Engine 3 third person shooters often are. The camera doesn't always play nice despite the relatively simple demands placed on it. The character animation is often laughably bad, and Shadows of the Damned so far desperately panders and stoops to every possible dick joke and phallic reference it can stretch to - it's like the video game equivalent of that douche at the party who never stops with the "that's what she said" refrain.
While he's better known now for his directing work on the Spider-man films, Raimi made his bones (no pun intended) writing, directing and producing the Evil Dead films. In the middle of Shadows of the Damned's third chapter, the Evil Dead worship isn't just evident, it assaults you. Running screaming through the woods, our hero Garcia (F*cking) Hotspur is fleeing the deranged corpse (possibly? Shadows wallows in nebulous explanations of weird sh*t) of his suicide girlfriend Paula, taking refuge in wooden cabins, screaming to the world "How do you stop them?" I had to stop and take a moment to process the familiarity, the audacious, wholesale lifting of visual cues, right down to the roaring intangible spirit trying to break down the cabin door.
Then an undead monster banged its head up into the cellar door and cackled maniacally, staring at Garcia through the crack left by the rope securing the portal, and I'm pretty sure it said something about swallowing my soul.
As a fan of Raimi's work, it's hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of kinship with Suda 51 for his clear love of Evil Dead ad infinitum. It's that building psuedo-relationship, that kinship of appreciation, that's pulling me through Shadows of the Damned where otherwise I don't know that I'd be so inclined to continue. The wacky, over the top gore, the fantastic and diverse score by Silent Hill composer and fiction-caretaker Akira Yamaoka, the Ghouls and Ghosts inspired progress map between chapters, these are all attaching themselves to the threads of nostalgia in my brain. The gameplay? Not so much.
So far, my earlier issues with Shadows of the Damned from a mechanical point of view are borne out in this review build of the game. Shooting is a little clunky, and a little slow in the way that third party Unreal Engine 3 third person shooters often are. The camera doesn't always play nice despite the relatively simple demands placed on it. The character animation is often laughably bad, and Shadows of the Damned so far desperately panders and stoops to every possible dick joke and phallic reference it can stretch to - it's like the video game equivalent of that douche at the party who never stops with the "that's what she said" refrain.
Then an undead monster banged its head up into the cellar door and cackled maniacally, staring at Garcia through the crack left by the rope securing the portal, and I'm pretty sure it said something about swallowing my soul.
As a fan of Raimi's work, it's hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of kinship with Suda 51 for his clear love of Evil Dead ad infinitum. It's that building psuedo-relationship, that kinship of appreciation, that's pulling me through Shadows of the Damned where otherwise I don't know that I'd be so inclined to continue. The wacky, over the top gore, the fantastic and diverse score by Silent Hill composer and fiction-caretaker Akira Yamaoka, the Ghouls and Ghosts inspired progress map between chapters, these are all attaching themselves to the threads of nostalgia in my brain. The gameplay? Not so much.
So far, my earlier issues with Shadows of the Damned from a mechanical point of view are borne out in this review build of the game. Shooting is a little clunky, and a little slow in the way that third party Unreal Engine 3 third person shooters often are. The camera doesn't always play nice despite the relatively simple demands placed on it. The character animation is often laughably bad, and Shadows of the Damned so far desperately panders and stoops to every possible dick joke and phallic reference it can stretch to - it's like the video game equivalent of that douche at the party who never stops with the "that's what she said" refrain.
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