The House of the Dead III

"Part three to the best shooter for arcade and consoles!!"

The House of the Dead first began as a coin op in the arcades. The graphics were phenominal and was as fun as playing could get. Then the House of the Dead made it's first appearance on the console DreamCast and true to the arcade version HoftD was spectacular. Now the HotD returns with part III to the X-Box. It's been unfair that many reviews have been critical mostly of the length of game play which is tru but the addition of part II plus a whole lot of unlockables realy adds the so called lack of length.

Game:

You tag up with a partner and are in search of the creator of the zombies. The game adds much needed ''story'' to the game. A scientisty looking to save his son Daniel unleashes this hell. This time around you are equiped with a pump action shotgun and there are no power ups for your weapon. Thee need to reload your weapon has also been changed to an automatic function. Your journey takes you through the building and rooms where you meet up with various sub bosses. There are many hidden items and also a new save your partner addition for your extra life has been added.

Graphics:

The House of the Dead has been always known for it's top notch graphics and III makes no exception. Every creature is gruesome and the ability to shoot off limbs and torso is very interesting. There is no slow down and really III takes advantage of the X boxes horse power. The enviroment is semi destructible which is a let down as windows cannot be shot out and shots don't leave an impression in the walls.

Game Play:

The game is a rail game where you are taken along a pre determined path. There are branches where you can choose where to go next but the end result is that you end up needing to go through each branch anyway and more or less just choose the way you want to get there. The loss of weapon upgrades is a definite loss as you only have the shotgun. There is two player where two players can go co op.

Sound:

The characters are rather plain and won't win an goty for there performance however the monsters sound very good. As does your shot gun. Each ghoul has it's own moan so to speak as well as the birds and bats. The music is good with the tempo being increased as your reach dangerous areas.

Replayability:

The game is rather short maby two hours in length. However the addition of HotDII is a much added bonus basically two games in one. This is a real bonus if you never had a DC to play II. There are many unlockables as well as time mode where you have to complete the game in a certain time length. Yes the III is short but they added alot of bonus material to make the game worth the effort.

Over All:

This is a definite buy to any gun fan and especially those SEGA fans of this series. You will be sure to have alot of playing to unlock the extras and once you complete II then theres III.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/11/03, Updated 02/11/03