Xbox 360
Created by the wonderful people at Sega's AMS division, House of the Dead originally hit the arcades in 1990, wowing shooter fans with its neat horror twist, relentless undead enemies and inventive bosses. Players went behind the gun of two agents sent to investigate the disturbing outbreak of zombies at the chilling Curien Mansion, working their way through claustrophobic tunnels and dank cellars. It was a hit, so it was only a matter of time before a sequel was developed.
House of the Dead 2 is the better of the two games on the disc and, as they are very similar, is the main focus of this review. The game fast forwards a bit from the original and the zombies infection has found it's way out of the mansion and into the city (wait a minute...are Capcom aware of this oddly-familiar plot progression?) and it's up to the our heroes to save the world once again. The first thing you will notice when playing is how accurate the Wiimote feels. If playing without the Zapper attachment, you may feel the lack of a gun handle a bit distracting but it actually feels a little less clunky after a while. It's a personal choice and one you will discover after a few plays.
HotD games are on rails, which means you are guided through the level with no movement control of your own. However, by meeting certain criteria such as shooting a key, saving a civilian and so on, alternate routes open up, adding a bit of variety for each play through. Save enough people and you are rewarded with bonus health at the end of each stage. It's tricky though, and in order to perform well you will need to memorise when some attacks are coming. Quick yet steady hands are the key to success.
This isn't an easy game, and so if (when) you get killed enough times, you gain the option to increase your health size or continue count from the options menu. A somewhat naff system though which actually rewards failure. An odd choice, as this feature is absent from the sublime Dreamcast port which allowed tweaking of these options from the off.
Zombies eat up a hell of a lot of bullets before they hit the dirt. In true B-movie fashion, the best way to take down the undead is to aim for their head and the same rings true here. Bosses are also nails, especially the third stage boss and his chainsaw friend (you'll see). It takes a bit of practice before you can suss out their attack patterns and weakspots, although some of them remain a challenge even then.
Graphically HotD hasn't aged too well, but it still retains that 'arcade' feel. A truly nostalgic port for any that played the coin-op, and the truly awful dialogue will have you in tears.
House of the Dead 3 is a curious game, it still feels like a member of the family tree yet looks very different and may appear alien to those who haven't played it yet. Still, it's all good Zombie-based fun, just with a bizarre Mad-Max twang of apocalyptica about it.
All in all, you get two games for a decent price. While they cannot stand shoulder to shoulder against the next-gen shooters, it is still a worthy challenge; with tons of target practice modes and hidden routes offering replay value. One of the best on the rails shooters out there.