The House of the Dead


The House of the Dead is a video game franchise created by Sega, which began with the 1997 game of the same name. Many games in the series were originally released in arcades and utilize a light gun, but can be played with standard controllers on consoles and with a mouse or keyboard on home computers; for the PlayStation Network releases of III and 4, they can also be played using the PlayStation Move controller.
There are six House of the Dead games originating in a first-person light gun rail shooter format. The mainline entries all have common traits including special agents pairing up to take on hordes of biologically engineered undead. The games are divided into chapters, each of which culminates in a boss battle against usually massive, terrifying creatures. The bosses in the first four games as well as the sixth are all named after the Major Arcana of occult tarot. Gameplay elements differ among the different games in the series, with each having different characters, firearms, and types of enemies. In many of the games, there are branching paths and unlockable bonuses, along with different endings based on one's performances.
Several spin-offs from the mainstream storyline have also been produced, including a virtual pinball game, an English tutorial and a typing tutorial, as well as a film trilogy. In addition, select enemy characters appearing in the first two games were adapted into fully articulated action figures by Palisades Toys. Along with Capcom's Resident Evil, The House of the Dead has been credited with popularizing zombie video games as well as re-popularizing the zombie in mainstream popular culture from the late 1990s onwards, leading to renewed interest in zombie films during the 2000s.

Gameplay

The core gameplay mechanic of games in The House of the Dead series is the on-rails shooting. The player must clear each area of enemies before advancing to the next area. The first two installments featured pistols, the third featured a shotgun, the fourth and Scarlet Dawn featured a submachine gun. Overkill features different firearms which can be changed to the players' liking. The instructions on the cabinets note that a head shot is the most effective way to kill zombies.
Successful clearing will result in boss battles. Before most battles, the game will show what the bosses' weak point is. Final bosses have no identifiable weak point. If the boss is shot enough times, it will recoil; otherwise, it will take one of the player's lives. In most of the games, the bosses are named after Major Arcana cards. They are also classified by 'types', which are shown as either a number or a Greek letter.
There are also some different branching paths in the games, that are usually accessed by shooting a door or an object and sometimes when a civilian is killed.
The first two The House of the Dead games featured civilians. If the player successfully rescued civilians from the zombies, the civilian would sometimes reward the player with an extra life. The fourth did not feature civilians. In the third game, occasionally the player's partner would get in trouble and the player would be rewarded if they saved the partner's life. Players can also obtain extra lives by shooting boxes, crates, vases and destructible scenery. Scarlet Dawn once again features the civilians from the first two games, alongside the partner rescue mechanics from the third game, alongside new mechanics such as weapon switching and quick time events.
All mainline games have multiple endings, depending on how well the player did in terms of civilians rescued, shooting percentage, score, and lives left. Every main game except the last one has a "bad" ending, usually involving one of the characters transforming into a zombie. In the first game, the character turning was Sophie Richards. 2 is Goldman, III is Daniel Curien and 4 is, once again, Goldman.

Main series

''The House of the Dead'' (1997)

On December 18, 1998, the insane and disillusioned Dr. Curien plans to mobilize his armies of undead against the unsuspecting populace. AMS agents Thomas Rogan and "G" are dispatched to his mansion to stop Curien's evil plan and rescue Rogan's future wife, Sophie Richards.

''The House of the Dead 2'' (1998)

On February 26, 2000, business magnate and scientist Caleb Goldman reveals himself to be the mastermind of the 1998 Curien Mansion case, having been responsible for financing Dr. Curien's project. Goldman initiates an undead outbreak on an unnamed Italian city while his "Emperor" project develops. AMS agents named Harry Harris, Amy Crystal, James Taylor and Gary Stewart are sent in order to stop Goldman.

''The House of the Dead III'' (2002)

In the post-apocalyptic world of 2019, Thomas Rogan and his team of commandos conduct a botched raid on the EFI Research Facility in hopes of finding the source of the planet's collapse and its connection to the Dr. Curien case. Losing contact with him, his daughter, Lisa Rogan, and his former partner, "G", set out on a search and recover mission, unaware that what awaits them has ties to the distant past and the very genesis of the undead horde. They would cross paths with Daniel Curien, the scientist's son, who later teams up with Lisa to defeat his father's resurrected form, "Wheel of Fate", alongside many undead minions.

''The House of the Dead 4'' (2005)

In the year 2003, veteran AMS agent James Taylor returns to Europe, accompanied by newcomer Kate Green to investigate the Goldman Incident of 2000. Following a sudden earthquake, they are shocked to discover that the undead from three years prior have returned, seemingly unharmed, and locked in a lab, but they soon break out and wreak havoc once again. Intent on preventing a nuclear disaster, they must once again cross paths with the seemingly deceased Goldman.

''The House of the Dead 4 Special'' (2006)

Set shortly after the end of The House of the Dead 4, AMS agent Kate Green joins forces with veteran AMS agent "G" in order to destroy the "source" of the outbreak.

''House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn'' (2018)

On January 14, 2018, Sega announced House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn for arcades.
On December 6, 2006, three years after the events of The House of the Dead 4, Kate Green joins forces with Ryan Taylor - the brother of her late partner, James Taylor - on an undercover mission at a dinner event within Scarecrow Manor, until the mysterious evil manager unleashes his army of creatures upon the dinner guests, and soon the world.

Future

In September 2019, director Takashi Oda revealed during an interview with Sega Interactive that he wants to produce three more games for the series as well as a House of the Dead first-person shooter if there is enough demand.

Spin-offs

''The Typing of the Dead'' (1999)

The Typing of the Dead is a revision of The House of the Dead 2 that replaces the game's light guns with QWERTY keyboards. Enemies are defeated by quickly typing out words that appear on the screen, and introduces a variety of challenges. Although designed to improve typing skills, the game has been lauded by critics for its humor and originality. The game was released for arcades, Dreamcast and PC, while a revised version was released for the PlayStation 2 only in Japan.

''Zombie Revenge'' (1999)

Zombie Revenge is a beat 'em up title that was released in arcades and the Dreamcast. After a zombie outbreak devastates the city, AMS agents Stick Breitling, Linda Rotta and Rikiya Busujima are sent to eliminate the threat using their guns, fists and a variety of other weapons, while uncovering the truth behind the mysterious Zed. The game makes numerous references to the series on which it is based, including the Curien Mansion from The House of the Dead serving as the final stage. Also, some of the zombie noises were recycled from the first House of the Dead game.

''The Pinball of the Dead'' (2002)

The Pinball of the Dead is a pinball game released for the Game Boy Advance. Tables, bosses and enemy designs are derived from The House of the Dead 2.

''The Typing of the Dead 2'' (2007)

Similar to its predecessor, The Typing of the Dead 2 is a revision of The House of the Dead III while retaining the typing gameplay elements of the previous title. It was only released in Japan for the PC.

''English of the Dead'' (2008)

Released in Japan exclusively for the Nintendo DS, the game is designed to help Japanese speakers improve their English language skills. Playing similar to the Typing of the Dead games, enemies are defeated when Japanese words shown on-screen are translated into English. The game makes use of the DS touch screen and speakers.

''The House of the Dead: Overkill'' (2009)

In 1991 Agent G, on his first assignment, is sent to investigate mysterious disappearances in Louisiana and runs afoul with homicide detective Isaac Washington. They encounter hordes of mutants in Bayou County, forcing them to team up in order to survive, and find the outbreak linked to local sugar plantation owner Papa Caeser, whom Isaac is pursuing to avenge the death of his father. The pair chase him through numerous locales throughout Bayou County and unearth a far deeper conspiracy than they initially thought.

''The House of the Dead EX'' (2009)

The House of the Dead EX is a more casual spin-off to the main games and adds a more humorous twist to the series. Players play either as Zobio or Zobiko, a pair of young zombies in love, who seek to escape from captivity. As opposed to the general gameplay of the series, EX's levels are made up of a series of minigames. Sections are split up into various paths, some of which use the lightgun, such as shooting apples, and others which use a foot pedal on the machine, such as stomping on spiders. The goal of each level is to fulfil a quota within the time limit, indicated by long hands reaching towards each other. It runs on the Lindbergh arcade system and is also the first game in the series to use a pedal. The game was slated for release in December 2008, but was released later in 2009.