"Why don't they teach this kinda stuff at school?"

Yes my friends, senseless blood gore and violence is the way to go. Blasting apart rotten corpses that somehow manage to creep ever closer towards you shouldn't be this much fun, but it is anyway It's like having an arcade in your home (with only one game.) Oh... and did I mention having a gun makes this game a lot better?

Graphics: 9
Zombie's don't need to be detailed to be fun, but these ones are just for the heck of it. Very nice looking and detailed city areas and so are the characters in them. Thankfully, there are many different types of zombies (and bosses) so you don't have to keep killing the same cloned dead guy. There aren't even that many duplicate NPC's. One graphic you (thankfully) won't see is an annoying little gun tip bobbing up and down.

Control: 7
Control lacks a bit in this game, although light gun games never are that accurate. This game seems to be a bit farther down the scale. Even after calibrating the gun it still isn't right on target (it's enough to pull off a nice, clean head shot or hit a boss in their weak point.) You can also use a normal controller if you prefer. The controls are completely customizable for the controller and can work quite well. I can shoot of rounds crazy fast like this, but my wrist is in massive amounts of pain afterwards.
I recommend using the gun however. You may have a little less control but it's more fun in my opinion.

Sound: 6
Ahh... sound... it's ok. The guns sound fairly real and the zombies sound like... well.. zombies I guess. The BGM isn't really all that great. Most of the time I don't even remember a BGM over all the gun fire and moaning. What really kills the sound category is the voice acting. It sounds like they're trying to be cheesy and monotone, yet put in fake enthusiasm at the same time. Actually it can be kinda funny at times.

Gameplay: 10!
This game never gets old, at least as long as I've had it. The original mode really adds a lot to the game. After playing the arcade mode for a few weeks, I decided to try the original mode. After I did, I never looked back. The original mode is a just like the arcade, except you can collect different weapons and power-up's including grenade launcher, machine guns, infinite ammo, and different character costumes. Why shoot zombies when you can just blow em up?

There are also other modes like training mode and boss mode in which you can earn extras while you practice your skill.

And of course there are the options. The difficulty level actually changes when you change it, a whole lot. Set you lives and continues, controls, even your sight cursor. I just love a game with a lot of options.

Overall: 8
Good game if you have a Dreamcast and $10, great game if you have a Dreamcast, $10, and a light gun. Definitely somethin to buy if you see it. Heck, buy another gun and invite a friend over. Nothin like bonding with a good game of The House of the Dead 2 (except maybe if you throw a 62'' HDTV in there.)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/03, Updated 06/15/03