Shadows of the Damned. A game of art? Or a mishmash of ideas?
Graphics: 8/10
It uses the tried and true Unreal 3 engine. I'm probably not on the side of players that want to see this engine gone, since so many people use it now, (Alice Madness Returns, and now Shadows of the Damned, so close to each others release dates) but I'm also not on the team that say it's a beautiful engine. I would rather just not see it, at all. It's a relic of the past, and while it was breath taking when it first came out, it's now too easy to spot the issues. Textures are certain objects don't seem to fit with everything else. Textures need to load up, enemies arrive at your location as blobs of color, but don't get me wrong. This game still looks good. I just wish Unreal 4 or something would come out if people insist on using it.
Music:8/10
Ah, this is familiar. I'm a huge fan of Silent Hill, so it didn't take me long to spot the sound effects and unique music scores. I already knew Akira Yamaoka was doing the music, but once you play it, it became painfully aware. Now I say painfully, because he didn't make something truly unique. The button sounds are right from Silent Hill 2, and when the darkness leaves, you hear similar sounds from Silent Hill 3. That 's the only reason it gets an 8 out of 10 instead of something higher. I know Akira is a fantastic sound designer, that is why I was hoping for something more unique. This just makes him look like "Silent Hill sound is all I got". Besides that, the rest of the music in this game is just fine. It carries the pace well.
Gameplay: 8/10
Another 8, because while the game is stiff, but fun, it tries to mix it up with side games that just aren't fully cooked. Don't get me wrong, I do love interesting creative designs, and I'm not the hardest person to please, but I at least demand similar quality in all aspects. Don't settle for something less, in the name of creative pursuit. On Act 4's paper craft side scrolling game play, I demand better hit detection and the ability to not get stuck in objects. It was a very lazy attempt at being unique. It also needed to be faster, with better aiming. The fact you can't aim behind you, means if an enemy sandwiches you against a wall you are toast, enjoy.
The way the papercraft parts play out, at this point, is that it feels more like something you would play at a loading screen.
Story. 8/10
Eight again, why? Because it's something that is funny, the characters get along well, and if you really look for it, I know a lot of people don't really want to do this, but if you look deep into it. You can spot a deeper, more attached story progress. We are left at the ending with a cliff hanger that suggests many things, and the stories you read about the boss fights, how the two connect, seems slightly placed on purpose. The story that is included in the game, is not that great, but the "Potential" of a story is vast, I hope to see what happens if they make a Shadows of the Damned 2.
So, should you play it? Well, in my opinion, it does a lot good (8), but it doesn't do anything great, but for me at the time, it didn't need to. Just go and blow off some heads.
P.S, my favorite character was Christopher. So random..so in his words, happy trails!