The House of the Dead

"Arcade games are meant for the arcade, Or pehaps Sega's Laziness?"

House Of The Dead Is The conversion of the hugely popular Arcade game from Sega, but have Declined to develop it themselves and have given the responsibility to Tantalus, Who Converted Manx TT to the Saturn, faithfully. But can they emulate the success of one of the best Arcade games ever?

Graphics

Backgrounds are not Pre rendered, which may have worked better. Instead they are Blocky, Gray and Downright ugly, and for this type of game it is frankly awful. Virtua Cop, Die hard and Even Maximum Force/Area 51 looked better than this, but in this type of fast paced Arcade action, you wont Care much. It's Ugly, but it isn't that bad. There is a lot of Variation in the enemies, Fat Zombies, Knife throwing Zombies and bosses, all in 3D and looking a little plain. Still there is at least some variety.

Sound

You wont care much for the music, It Whip's buy fast, but again, you’ll be so busy shooting the Zombies that you wont bother. Still if you do, It isn’t that good anyway.

Sound effects are average. Moans and groans are quite good, but the gunshots are crap, to be Blunt.

Game Play
The Game is quite Linear. Tantalus have imported some choice of way, but you always end up in the same place, It just isn’t good enough. The Monsters are varied, and all have different hit points, leaving you with a lot of ways for a kill. Go for a head shot and drop him in one - or waste time pumping his chest with a full clip, The choice is yours, and soon you'll find the best ways to take them out. It is fast paced, but a little too linear, which is the main problem with these types of games.

Controls
Indescribable. You use a gun and you shoot. Aim it away from the screen, and you reload. If you don't have a lightgun, It is Compensated somewhat with an alternate Joypad control, with a small dot to aim with, But actually, I found this easier to use, as the Cursor moves across the screen fast and you can aim well. Still I'd recommend using the gun - all I'm saying is you don’t have to have it.

Challenge
To put it simply, If you have played the arcade game don't even consider getting this. Ok that may be a little harsh, with the Cheapness of Saturn games and all, It's just it was not what I expected. So if you've played the Arcade game don't get it because It is Exactly the same. 3 Levels is hardly Taxing, and after you complete it there is not much to come back for - Alternate Clothing is meaningless in Shooting games, The linear Style is Boring when you've played it for the 3rd time, and even the Saturn mode is virtually Identical to the arcade, and It really is bad replay value.

Overall
Tantalus has failed in their attempt to recreate one of Sega's finest moments. Lacking in Substance, Lastability and 'Looks', Sega Should have left this game in the Arcades or at least had a go at developing the game Themselves. Let's face it, these games aren't really meant for Consoles (Hence the Small Challenge), and if Sega had bothered to develop it or use the Virtua Cop Engine, Which they could have, We may have been looking at a good game, But Alas, We Didn't.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/01, Updated 03/05/02