The House of the Dead (video game)
| The House of the Dead | |
|---|---|
| Logo | |
| Developer(s) | AM1 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Release | 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Sega Model 2 |
The House of the Dead is a first-person, light gun rail shooter arcade game released in 1996 by Sega, where the player assumes the role of a government agent who must shoot his or her way through an army of recently resurrected zombies.
Gameplay
The House of the Dead is a straightforward Rail shooter light gun game. Players simply use a light gun to aim at approaching enemies, and click the trigger to shoot them. The characters' pistols use clips of rounds, so even though the player has infinite ammo, they must reload once each clip is spent. This is done by pointing the gun away from the screen and pressing the trigger. A set of torches next to each player's clip shows their health. Anytime a player is attacked or shoots a civilian, one of their torches is put out. A player is considered "dead" when all of that player's torches are out. A dead player may continue by inserting more money (or selecting continue in the home versions). Sometimes a first-aid pack can be shot to restore health, and some civilians will give first-aid packs to the player if he or she saves them.
This game was one of the first such games to incorporate the possibilities of multiple routes. For instance, in the beginning of the game, a male civilian is about to be thrown off the bridge to his death. If players shoot the zombie and save the civilian, they will enter the house. If the civilian dies, players go down an underground route through the sewer. There are other critical points in which the players' actions decides where they go. This "choose-your-path" was later implemented in its three arcade sequels.
Story and characters
In the year 1998, AMS agents Thomas Rogan and "G" are sent on an assignment to investigate a panicked phone call and a series of disappearances at a mansion inhabited by Dr. Curien, a mad scientist. Curien was known for dangerous, inhumane experiments. The result of the experiments are apparent the moment they arrive - biologically engineered zombies, murderous and thirsty for blood.
Rogan and "G" must use their wits and their weapons to find Curien and stop him before the Monsters can escape and reach civilization. The fight is more personal for Rogan, whose fiancee Sophie called his phone number in a panic.
- Thomas Rogan
One of the main protagonists of the first game. An agent of the AMS, Rogan was part of the investigation of the strange occurrences within the Curien Mansion. Rogan was also concerned for Sophie Richards, his girlfriend and one of the scientists working in the mansion. He was the hero of the Curien mansion incident of 1998, then aged 32. He is also the father of Lisa Rogan, who teams up with G to rescue her father in The House of the Dead III. Rogan's career after the incident continued to be marked with his courage and excellent judgement. His AMS codename is "Eager Eagle".
- "G"
Not much is known about "G", apart from the fact that he is a frequent partner of Thomas Rogan. "G" has been present as a character in all the HOTD games thus far. Some of the fans say that his name might be "Gaiden". In the second game, he is seen during in game movies. In The House of the Dead III he teams up with Lisa Rogan, when contact with her father, Thomas Rogan, in the EFI facility is lost. In House of the Dead 4 Special, "G" is teamed up with Kate Green in a side story, replacing the normal player one protagonist James Taylor. His AMS codename is "Silver Fang".
- Sophie Richards
A scientist for the DBR Financial Group and Rogan's girlfriend, Sophie was one of the researchers who had been assigned to help Dr. Curien with his scientific research into the nature of life and death. She is thrown against a wall by The Chariot {see below} before she can be rescued. The game has multiple endings depending on the player's score, determining if Sophie survives or later reappears as a zombie. The first outcome is thought to be canonical, due to the appearance of Thomas Rogan's 19-year old daughter (Lisa Rogan) in The House of the Dead III, which is set in 2019.
- Dr. R. Curien
A noted biochemist and geneticist, Dr. Roy Curien researched the very nature of life and death, backed by the DBR Financial Group. Dr. Curien converted his family mansion into a research facility, with scientists from the DBR Financial Group to assist him. Unfortunately, the nature of the experiments performed drove Dr. Curien insane, resulting in him releasing his experimental subjects - bloodthristy zombies and mutants - onto the unsuspecting world. The AMS agents, Thomas Rogan and "G", fought their way through the hoard of undead, confronting Curien as he released what he called his "greatest" achievement, The Magician, in one last bid to stop them both from destroying his work. Ironically, however, The Magician rebelled against its programming and killed its creator. He returns, resurrected, as the Wheel of Fate, in House of the Dead III.
- The Chariot (Type 27)
A 3-meter-tall zombie covered in plate armor carrying a large polearm axe. The only crack in its armor, a hole above its heart. Quite slow in its movements despite its strength. The Chariot was the monster who attacked Sophie Richards right after she was found a second time by Rogan and "G". It was revived and re-battled shortly before the Magician. In The House of the Dead II, Goldman tried to recreate both the Chariot and the Hangedman, according to Curien's notes: the result, however, was a partial failure, as both copies were unable to express the same genetic makeups of the original. The imperfect Chariot was headless and, therefore, a mindless doll, whereas the imperfect Hangedman severely lacked strength and body mass, instead expressing psychic powers and higher mobility in the air. Those copies were called respectively Kuarl and Zeal and merged into a single creature, the Judgement(Type 0028). His weak point is the breach on his breastplate: after sustaining enough damage, the Chariot strips willingly of his armor and all of his limbs must be shot to deplete the last portion of his life bar.
- The Hangedman (Type 041)
A dark, green-skinned humanoid with large bat-like wings and claws on its hands and feet that formed like a Gargoyle. He was also the unofficial second-in-command to the Magician. He has the ability to control bats telekinetically, he is the loyal henchman of The Magician. When Sophie managed to get out of the mansion just as Rogan and G arrived, it was The Hangedman (spelled as one word in the game) who flew down and carried her back inside. Before he flew back to the mansion, he taunted Rogan and "G", declaring "Nobody leaves here alive!". The Hangedman tried to kill Rogan and "G" as they explored the Curien Mansion further, but was killed. It was revived and re-battled just before the Magician. In The House of the Dead 2, Goldman created a mutated copy of this monster, known as "Zeal". It gave orders to "Kuarl". His weak point is pretty much everywhere, because it is so small and agile.
- The Hermit (Type 6803)
A giant, mutant hermit crab sans shell, this beast guarded the passageway leading to Dr. Curien's restricted research area, where the Magician project was hidden. In order to continue the search for Dr. Curien, Rogan and "G" destroyed it. As with most zombies, the weak pont is the head.
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- The Magician (Type 0)
The Magician was Dr. Curien's most powerful experimental subject. A horned, half-armored humanoid, this creature had the ability to move quickly, levitate and emit energy as an attack. It turned against its creator, Dr. Curien, and killed him, with the intention of releasing the zombies across the world, under its control. To prevent The Magician from escaping the mansion, Rogan and "G" killed it inside Curien's restricted research area before any harm could be done. The Magician reappears in House of the Dead 2. The weak point is anywhere that has visible wires. In House Of The Dead 4, the Star (0001) is an upgraded duplitcate of Magician, using his DNA.
Sequels
Wildly popular in North America, The House of the Dead was followed by The House of the Dead 2 in 1998, the beat 'em up spin-off Zombie Revenge, and The House of the Dead III in 2002. A House of the Dead 4 is now available for arcades
There is also a separate version of The House of the Dead II, called The Typing of the Dead, released in arcades and on the PC and Dreamcast. Played with a standard keyboard instead of a light gun (the arcade version had dual keyboards, and the PC version could be played over a LAN), every enemy zombie has a certain word written above it, which the player has to type in order to kill. As the gameplay progresses, the words get longer, harder to type, and often more bizarre (often involving keyboardized variants of tongue twisters), and bosses usually require long sentences or other special typing to finish off. All in all, TOTD is significantly more bizarre and humorous than the original, with popups such as «Balloon Heads» (all players' heads grow), «Monkey» (you turn into a monkey), and the 3D characters running around with giant Dreamcasts on their backs and keyboards instead of guns.
Another game based on The House of the Dead 2 was released on the Game Boy Advance, entitled The Pinball of the Dead. Although it was a completely different genre of game, it featured level designs from The House of the Dead 2, complete with their respective bosses and enemies.
Film
In 2003, a film version titled House of the Dead was released. It was directed by Uwe Boll and produced by Brightlight Pictures, was given limited theatrical release with the intent of becoming a cult film. It was a prequel to the game (it was revealed that the last name of the protagonist is Curien, the villain in the first game). It received poor reviews and little box office return.
In 2004, a sequel titled House of the Dead 2 (film) was greenlit. The previous director Uwe Boll was unable to direct the sequel due to commitments to his other films. Michael Hurst was chosen as the director.
External links
- House of the Dead entry on the Killer List of Videogames
- The House of the Dead at MobyGames