The house of the dead is a rather simple game. I don't own the game but the arcade version is easily found. The story is rather simple going into a house swarming with zombies to rescue a loved one, then attempting revenge against the one responsible. The game uses the traditional light gun, a controller used quite often in first person shooters. To reload you have to aim outside the screen and fire.
Several bonuses are hidden throughout the levels, mostly hidden behind crates or other breakable items.
The game is unique because of a choosing your own adventure way of playing. By saving certain people or killing certain zombies you can go completely different paths. The paths don't serve anything to the story however, it just allows different exploration. There are four main bosses, each are named after one of the primary tarot fortune telling cards. The graphics are detailed but simple, exact clones appear through out the entire game.
Attacking the zombies is fun as well; the zombies are interactive because the parts you shoot are the parts that explode in a bloody mess. Also the blood comes in a variety of colours from simple red to greens, and purples. The first time I played the game
was in an arcade in Vancouver, easily it was one of the first, first person shooters I played, except for Jurassic park. I ran out of money before I could even beat the game, it's really fast paced and a little frightening. The game isn't lighting dark but the zombies can scare you by popping out of nowhere.
The house of the dead is the first in a series with three sequels so far as well as rumours of a fifth game. But easily my favourite is the first, you can't beat the original. Easily I liked fighting the bosses, they got easy after a while but I would challenge myself to see if I could beat them without losing any life. The bosses are creative, spanning away from typical giant zombies, Chariot looks like a science fiction creature, Hangedman a gargoyle, Hermit a spider, and Magician is pretty creative.
The game-play itself is really simple but it’s hard to get tired of. With all the zombie games out there, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc, The House of the Dead is easily one of the best.
