His name is Garcia Hotspur, hunter of demons, and his wrath will bring hell to its knees. From the creative genius of Suda 51 (No More Heroes) and Shinji

. With such an impressive pedigree, therefore, we had high hopes for Grasshopper's latest underworld action title.

When a hot-blooded Mexican with the unlikely name of Garcia Hotspur finds his girlfriend  hanging from a noose, his bad day's just beginning. See, Paula just bought herself a trip to Hell, where a pervy six-eyed demon lord plans to make her his concubine for all eternity.

+ Excellent basic combat; fun boss battles; constant weapon upgrades, + Looks and sounds great; humorous tone nicely complements the grim atmosphere

- Hunting keys along linear paths dulls the novelty of exploring hell; starts off slow, ?

Shadows of the Damned is a damn good comedy horror game, with quality shooting sections, awesome enemies, great puzzles, plenty of variety and a whole heap of humour. The sick adult gags won't be to everyone's taste, but overall the game is imaginative, disturbing and funny.

Honestly, even if you forget about the demons constantly trying to kill you, hell is a pretty lousy place. Take, for instance, an ordinary act like turning on the lights. While residing on the earthly plane, you just flick a switch and your world is bathed in a fluorescent glow.

Uniformly outstanding sound design; Challenging and terrifying boss fights; Good array of different gameplay activities; all of them fun; Clever use of darkness mechanics; Morphing guns are a pleasure to shoot

No New Game; Stiff movement animation

Shadows of the Damned is an enjoyable experience while it lasts, but with only an engaging story and likeable cast of characters really leading the charge, you're going to feel short-changed when it comes to the rest of the game.

To say that things until now have been normal would be gross exaggeration stumbling into an outright lie.

Good humour; finely-crafted gameplay; great soundtrack; that "just see what's round the corner before bed" feeling

Not huge on replay value

By now, fans will know what to expect from a Suda 51 experience. This self proclaimed "punk rock" developer has become famous for abstract games that buck trends, break all the rules, and lay on heavy helpings of satire and adolescent humor.

Gaming is filled with craftsmen and creators, but few dream as big as Suda51. Head of Grasshopper Manufacture, the team responsible for...

Shooting hell beasts is always fun; Unique sensibility draws you in; Lowbrow humor eventually wins you over

Probably too many dick jokes for some; A little too linear; Virtually no replay value

I'm a huge Goichi Suda fan. Shinji Mikami (the man behind Resident Evil and the recently released Vanquish) also ranks among my favorite game designers. So when these highly regarded designers decided to join forces for Shadows of the Damned - their first collaborative effort since the Gamecube cult...