house of the dead |

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Modern Dream

Release Date: 10/29/2013

Available Exclusively On

The House of the Dead was a hit zombie light-gun game back in the 90s in arcades. This huge Sega hit spawned a game called Typing of the Dead that featured Agent G and heroes wielding keyboards instead of guns. The game was highly addictive as words and sentences popped up on enemies. If you typed everything correctly, the zombie would die. A reimagining using the Wii hit House of the Dead: Overkill takes the main game and turns it into a keyboard typing fest, and it’s a blast.

The story and voice acting are intentionally left to be cheesy to make fun of the absolutely abysmal voice acting from the original games. It adds a comedy factor. While it’s not nearly as bad as previous games, it’s still enough to bring back memories. Agent G and Washington are after a man named Papa Caesar who has somehow killed Washington’s father and released a zombie virus around the world. Along the way, you meet various characters, but none of them are really memorable. The wacky story and over-the-top adult content, such as swearing and gore, are a blast.

The game is on the rails like any light-gun shooter. As zombies pop up, you just type away with what you see. Each level is unique, with its own themed zombies and bosses. The zombies are well done, and the game can sometimes be downright gross. The bosses are both funny and disgusting to look at, but overall, the typing portion of the game is only as difficult as your typing skills permit. Thankfully, you don’t have to include punctuation or anything like that. Just type what you see as fast as you can. Sometimes you have to save civilians for more points, but outside of killing zombies, there’s nothing else in the levels. If you spam the Tab key, you can get all the hidden extras, which makes it much easier to unlock everything.

Thankfully, this is only half the game. The other half is the actual light gun game, using the mouse to shoot. Basically, it’s two games in one, but if you play through one, it will be tough to get through another due to repetition. It’s not like you can choose another ending or go down multiple paths. The game is really only good for one playthrough unless you are extremely bored. The extras aren’t really anything worth unlocking either.

For what it is, the game offers a lot of content for a small price, but playing through the game twice in different modes just doesn’t seem appealing for the amount of cheese the game layers on.

Reviewed On

Keyboard & Mouse

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Headstrong Games

Release Date: 2/10/2009

Available On

claps Yessss, thank you, Sega, for making one of the few mature-rated games for us adults out there. Thank you. House of the Dead: Overkill plays more on the great HotD series that started back in the early 90s in the arcades. You play Agent G with his foul-mouthed partner Isaac Washington (yes, he’s black!) as you figure out why zombies are plaguing the US. While the story is hilarious, vulgar, rude, and completely dirty, there are tons of funny voice acting and dialog to enjoy. The characters are played out very well, and you get pretty attached early on (there are only about 8 levels or so), along with the major hottie, Varla Gunns.

The game plays like a typical on-rails FPS where the game controls where you move and you just worry about the shooting. The game has many locales, from jails to hospitals to swamps to theme parks, so you won’t get bored one little bit. There are many guns to buy and upgrade, along with some great unlockables for beating the game. While you wander through levels, there are a few temperature upgrades you can shoot (I wish there were more), such as health, grenades, green blobs that slow downtime for a little while, and gold braids. Yes, collect all these brains, and you unlock artwork, videos, etc. Now upgrading your weapons is mandatory, such as less recoil, clip size, damage, and the whole nine yards. You can have up to two weapons equipped, and switching back and forth between these two is a great strategy when you have too many zombies to deal with. You start off the game with a pistol, and if you save up your money (more on how later), you can buy more weapons. Buying a shotgun first is great since you use all your rounds to clear most of the zombies out and then switch to your pistol to finish off stubborn stragglers.

One great thing about OK is that it never gets too frustrating. When you die, you start off right where you were with no continues. Of course, you take a score hit, but people who don’t care about this won’t break their Wiimotes in anger. The levels are just the right length, taking about 10–15 minutes to complete with super-fun boss fights. Each boss will have their weak point circled in red, and all you have to do is shoot whatever projectile they fire at you and keep on them. The bosses are disgusting, grotesque, and very funny-looking. You’re probably all great, but there’s more!

MULTIPLAYER MAN!! That’s the best ever. While it’s the same as a single player, having someone help you can always be fun. Now, if you beat the game, you get the director’s cut (I won’t say what it is!!). Along with being able to dual-wield weapons, yes, it’s sweet, super fun, and adds lots of replay value. Wouldn’t that make the game too easy, you say? Well, use the “Extra Mutants” tweak before each level, and you have an extra challenge. Sadly, there is no online play, but hopefully, a future HotD will have it. I HIGHLY recommend this super fun game to any adult who has dust collecting on their Wii.