The House of the Dead 2

"Updated now that I've played the game with the gun, it still has a niche in the genre..."

The Dreamcast, and even Sega in general has been known to create some pretty interesting games that instill a wide variety of fast paced action in some good old fashioned basics. House of the Dead 2 is just an example of what Sega can do with their games when they are trying hard enough to covert them from arcade to home consoles. Spanning across several stages with a number of seemingly endless zombies and monsters to shoot and destroy, House of the Dead 2 is a pretty amazing game! With lush visuals, fast and furious game play with a good gun interface and sound that it little more than perfect from the arcade version, this is another example of how well a port can be when done correctly.

House of the Dead offers you everything that the Arcade version did and then a little more, various modes include the Arcade version, which is a straight port of the big quarter eating machine. The Original version, which is a special Dreamcast only version, a Training Mode, and a Boss Attack Mode. Each mode offers it's own challenges and secrets that you can find through playing. The Original version is something that is a treat, allowing you to collect items through the game, if you're fast enough, to be able to use from the get go when you start playing. The only problem with this little feature is that you can only use the items once, and you can only select two at the beginning of the game!

The Training Mode offers you the option to practice various different scenarios, and the challenge goes up every time that you play through for some maximum difficulty. Once you've found your way through the Training Mode, you'll see that it helps you to be fast on the draw in the actual game! The Boss Attack mode gives you the opportunity to fight different bosses at different levels of difficulty. While this may seem a daunting task, you'll be more and more likely to survive the game if you know just how and when to take the bosses down. The in-game difficulty, even at very easy, is enough to give a skilled gamer some challenge.

Probably some of the more intense game play comes from just playing the original version of the game in which you have none of the extra power-ups. If you’re really good, you’ll be able to make it through most of the game without ever having to use a continue to keep you going. As you roll through the stages, you’ll find that depending on where you hit your enemy rates how fast you’ll take them down. Now six leg shots will never beat out two chest shots, where a pair of head shots will eliminate an enemy immediately! The more you shoot and the more you play through, the better off you’ll be in knowing how and where to hit the different enemies. If you’re still having problems with this, you can always return back to the practice option of the game and test out the different aspects of the game.

The only complaint that could be found with the control at the time was possibly that there isn't a gun attachment that you can use. It does offer you the option to use the Dreamcast Arcade stick, but that is rather cumbersome to use in the middle of the gunfights. While shooting, you'll find that some of the buttons are configured to be a little difficult, but after some practice, even novice gamers won't have a problem with the oversized buttons. However, now that I’ve been able to find and use a gun on this game, I can only say that the game takes on a whole new meaning in terms of what you can and cannot do! The speed of the gun is as good as the calibration job that you have to do at the beginning of game, but using the gun merely opens up more options and a better accuracy rating for you to obtain. Recommendations on a specific gun type would be the Pelican, because it’s lightweight, has a rapid-fire option and it fits comfortably in the hand.

A perfect Arcade port that features everything that the arcade version did and then some. Smooth textures coupled with a ton of fast moving enemies and mind-blowing action leaves you wanting just a little more out of a first person shooter! Enemy designs, colors and various other designs make you wonder if you're really playing the Arcade version instead of just the Dreamcast Version, but regardless of that, you're immersed back into that violent overtaking of the living, by hordes of the dead. Some of the newer visuals in the game come from the training mode and in portions of the original mode, but really don’t do much to enhance the game past the point of its arcade brother. Smooth textures and gory blood flying everywhere really bring to life the overall darkness that the House of the Dead is supposed to create!

Excellent music on a stereo system, giving you all of the highs and lows that it's big brother Arcade version gave you and then some. Crystal clear music rings out on every stage and fits the mood and path that you may take as you go along. Sound effects from gunshots, to the splattering of zombie heads ring out in your ears, and to top it off, the screams of victims dying or about to die come out as if they are right in the room with you. First rate stuff. However, you’ll find that the game music does tend to repeat, and in certain points, there is a high pitched whistling that just gets on your nerves! I’m not sure if this is an added effect to get your attention, or just a mistake in the programming, but I can honestly say that it’ll both get your attention and annoy you half to death before it’s done!

One of the best Dreamcast games out there at the moment, you'll find your fingers almost bleeding with as much as you'll play it. Multiple paths and different difficulty levels tied in with a ton of different modes that you can play give any Dreamcast owner something to enjoy for weeks on end. Worth at the very least a long-term rental, you'll spend weeks before you've been down different paths, finished off the game at a near perfect rate and the like.
It's absolutely worth the disc it's programmed on, and will stay a long-term top shelf gaming choice for any hardcore Dreamcast owner!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/00, Updated 11/20/01