With yesterday being Halloween, it’s only fitting that we have horror inspired $20GOTW. Produced by Goichi Suda (Killer 7, No More Heroes) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Devil May Cry), scored by Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill), and released by EA, Shadows of the Damned is a horror action-shooter that’s barely more than the sum of its parts, however, it’s still a decent game. Playing as demon hunter Garcia Hotspur, you return home to find your girlfriend Paula being kidnapped by a demon named Fleming. Along with your sidekick/weapon Johnson, you travel into hell which resembles a city slum. Players must battle their way through the game’s levels, and can upgrade Johnson to use his weapon abilities. There isn’t much to the game besides some interesting visuals. The gameplay is still solid, and it’s a fun waste of time. While SOTD may not be as psychological as Silent Hill or as esoteric as Killer 7, it’s still an excellent game from two of gaming’s most unique visionaries.

According to gaming site Aeropause, and followed up on Resident Evil/Silent Hill fansite The Horror is Alive, word has it that long-time Konami composer Akira Yamaoka has left the big-name game publisher after 16 years of dedicated duty.

Yamaoka is most well known for his work done for the Silent Hill series of games, having almost single-handedly worked on everything from the first game right up to the yet-released re-make ‘Shattered Memories’. Combining haunting ambient melodies with soft rock tunes, Yamaoka has been praised for helping make the survival-horror series what it is today. He is also credited with having worked on the soundtracks to Gradius III & IV, Contra: Shattered Solider, and Rumble Roses.

One can only hope that this is just heavy rumor, as no official word from Konami has been released thus far, though this could be in an attempt to smooth things over. Speaking as a avid fan of the Silent Hill series, I can say with certainty that if these rumor do indeed prove true, then Konami has lost one of their pinnacle members, as well as the last remaining key of Team Silent. That is a truly devastating thing to think about for this little fan.