Mini Review: House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return (Wii)

[Flack]

I knew it had been too long since I had stepped in an arcade when I happened across House of the Dead 4 at my local mall and my first question was, "wow, did I miss House of the Dead 1 through 3?"

The House of the Dead games are rail shooters -- first person shooting games where players do not control their character's paths. Characters travel through the game along a predetermined path, and gamers are only responsible for pointing and shooting. Don't worry, that part alone will keep you plenty busy. The two games included here are both ports from previous console systems (House of the Dead 2 is a port of the Dreamcast version; House of the Dead 3 came from the Xbox), with both games modified to work with the Wii's controls. The Wii's controllers, with or without any additional gun accessories, work amazingly well. Aiming is smooth, not jittery at all, and responsive. I had no frustrations with the controls at all. For those who feel a difference between using a bare controller vs. one of the zappers out there, the game includes a quick calibration mode that works great (more games should include this).

Those unfamiliar with the House of the Dead storyline shouldn't have any trouble jumping into House of the Dead 2 and 3 with both feet. Both games' storylines are, by and large, moot. The goal here is to shoot zombies in the head and avoid shooting humans in the head. That's pretty much it. Along with the games' original arcade mode, there are other modes including Extreme Mode (where everything's a little tougher) and a training mode that tests your reflexes.

If I had any bones to pick at all, it would be with the disc's loading times. During the arcade/story mode things's aren't bad, but the training mode spends ten seconds reloading every time you fail (which turns out to be quite often, in my case). House of the Dead 3 has some in-game slowdown as well. There are two other basic complaints about the game floating around on the net, neither of which I agree with. One concerns the game's graphics, which have not been significantly updated since the Dreamcast/Xbox versions. I quit buying Wii games for their graphical quality a long time ago. The other common complaint I've read is that the game is priced too high -- again, I disagree. $30 for two games with no major bugs sounds pretty good to me, especially compared to some of the stinkers currently available for the Wii that are priced higher than that. Fans of rail shooters are certainly getting their money's worth with this package.

[Captain Wrong]

Even shorter review: buy!

(This is my favortie Wii game, which probably tells you something about me and about the software on the Wii.)

[namzep]

I've enjoyed what time I've been able to play it. The Wii is perfectly made for arcade ports of shooters.

[DragonMaster Sam]

Good review. I've been considering buying the game for some time, and Gamestop has it for $19.99 in their "GamerDays" bin.

[MarioAllStar2600]

I'm loving it as of right now. It has been me and all my friends game when were at my house. The training mode is tough though, I can't get past the destroy all barrels thing. Do they only need to be shot once or completely destroyed?

[Acadin]

Is there something that makes shooting in this game any better than previous atempts with the Wii? So far I haven't been impressed with whats been done, which is a shame, House was a fun game.

[spoon]

Flacks review is pretty much straight on. Loving this game. A great way to spend thirty bucks. Especially if you have or know some one with another zapper.

My only complaint is, where the hell is the original House of the dead?

Acadin- I'm guessing you have tried and disliked RE Umbrella Chronicles and Ghost Squad. I enjoy both of these games.

Ghost Squad is a bit on the short side, but, it has a bit to unlock and different ways to go. Also features four player I believe. Plays well with the Zapper.

RE Umbrella chronicles I have only played a few times. more fun with another player and graphics are nice. Only thing that bothered me was that is was a bit harder to play with the Zapper, as, it was not really designed for it I don't think. Easier to play with the Zapper if you unhook the nunchuck, since you have to shake it.

[Flack]

Is there something that makes shooting in this game any better than previous atempts with the Wii? So far I haven't been impressed with whats been done, which is a shame, House was a fun game.

Reasons why I think this is better than most other Wii shooting games:

01. Controls are smooth and flawless. No "jiterring" like I get on some games.
02. Two games for the price of one. (A cheap one, no less.) Ghost Squad is $50.
03. Calibration mode. This solves the problem that some people have with the Wii Zapper shooting too high or low.

My only complaint is, where the hell is the original House of the dead?

So far I've read two theories. One is that HOTD2 is a port of the Dreamcast version and HOTD3 is a port of the Xbox version. There is no modern port of HOTD1 and it wasn't worth the cost to port the original one over. Another theory/rumor I've read is that the Saturn version HOTD may end up as a Wii VC game at some point.

[c0ldb33r]

Another theory/rumor I've read is that the Saturn version HOTD may end up as a Wii VC game at some point.

Source?

Just another reason that we need more storage space on the wii! My wristwatch has 2GB of storage on it, why does my wii only have 512MB? I realize I'm preaching to the choir, but I can't understand releasing cd-rom games onto the wii without additional storage (although I know they're already doing it).

[Neil Koch]

Are there even any working Saturn emulators? I haven't been into the emu scene for a while, but it was always really tough to emulate due to the frankenstein-esque nature of the processors.

02. Two games for the price of one. (A cheap one, no less.) Ghost Squad is $50.

Ghost Squad's MSRP's been $30 since it came out...

[BydoEmpire]

RE Umbrella chronicles I have only played a few times. more fun with another player and graphics are nice. Only thing that bothered me was that is was a bit harder to play with the Zapper, as, it was not really designed for it I don't think. Easier to play with the Zapper if you unhook the nunchuck, since you have to shake it.

RE: UC is absolutely fantastic. It's one of my favorite Wii titles, and one of the best surprises this generation. Finally, someone has done a light gun-style game specifically designed for a home console: lots of unlocakbles, branching paths, extra missions, upgradable weapons, etc. I didn't play it with the Zapper, and it's almost more of a rail shooter than light gun game, but it's an absolutely blast. I've spent 10-15 hours on it easy, and I've only unlocked a small portion of the mission files and pictures, not to mention trying to get A ratings on each stage.

I'd like to get HotD 2&3, but since I already have them on prior platforms, there doesn't seem to be any real compelling reason to rebuy them on the Wii. I wish they had added online rankings & co-op, or HotD1. Any of those would have been enough for me to buy.

[zektor]

I can believe the theory that HoTD2 is a port from the Dreamcast...it is identical. This game was the first DC title (along with Sonic Adventure) I had purchased and I played it to death....looks and sounds exact. This is a GOOD thing tho. I loved it there, and I love it here. The Wii compilation is a great deal for $30, and I am really glad I picked this up. Well worth it to me as a fan of these games.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Is there something that makes shooting in this game any better than previous atempts with the Wii? So far I haven't been impressed with whats been done, which is a shame, House was a fun game.

I don't know whaat you're talking about either. I have Ghost Squad, and thought it controlled great (didn't like it with the zapper though). I've been saying I need to pick this game up, so I just need to go do it now that I have the Wii hooked up to a bigger TV. I'll also get RE when it comes down in price. Thanks for the review Flack. And you're right, Wii graphics aren't any worse than any XBOX game- which I still get more use out of than any system.

[Nesmaster]

Picked this up at EB last weekend for $20 new. Grabbed RE: UC for $10 new too. Haven't tried them yet but I look forward to replaying HotD 2, with a "gun", on my home TV.

I'd like to grab Ghost Squad sometime too...

[Flack]

I don't know whaat you're talking about either. I have Ghost Squad, and thought it controlled great (didn't like it with the zapper though).

Some people have complained that while using the zapper you have to aim lower (or higher) than if you don't use the zapper (I don't have one; couldn't tell ya). Regardless of what zapper you're using or how you're aiming, the configuration in HOTD allows you to quickly calibrate your remote so that you don't have to aim low or high or whatever.

[unwinddesign]

The Zapper is a piece of junk. Nyko Perfect Shot ftw. I have this HotD package for Wii, and I think it's worth the bones for the multiplayer. $15 a piece for each game isn't bad -- they were $1 a credit in the arcade when they came out, so whatever. They're better than the loads of budget XBLA arcade titles and other junk for the Wii.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Picked this up today finally. And wound of playing it for half an hour or so Then my hand started to hurt and I decided I needed to nap. Looks pretty good on the 46" TV. A lot like I remember the arcade being.

The girls behind the GS counter recommended the Nyko gun too. They also recommended playing it as a drinking game, but I'm all out of beer. I'm probably gonna pick up the gun in a few weeks... I just didn't want to spend the extra money today.

Oh and the voice acting is awesomely bad.

"The chaos in the city is increasing."

[unwinddesign]

I don't know about drinking games, but I tried to play the game after smoking a blunt and...I failed. If your reflexes are not spot on, you are oh so hosed in these games.

Sequence would go as such:

"Oh, fuck, zombie!"
*rapid gunfire, empties entire clip into left side of the screen*
*another zombie pops up*
RELOAD! RELOAD! ...since I forgot to do so afterwards.
...I die. Again.

-game over, on level 2...with five lives and like 8 credits-

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I don't know about drinking games, but I tried to play the game after smoking a blunt and...I failed. If your reflexes are not spot on, you are oh so hosed in these games.

Sequence would go as such:

"Oh, fuck, zombie!"
*rapid gunfire, empties entire clip into left side of the screen*
*another zombie pops up*
RELOAD! RELOAD! ...since I forgot to do so afterwards.
...I die. Again.

-game over, on level 2...with five lives and like 8 credits-

I agree. I was pretty bad at it on normal mode. But you know how gamestop employees are. You either get the super weird ones or the really arrogant ones- cool ones are few and far between.

[Emuaust]

Source?

Just another reason that we need more storage space on the wii! My wristwatch has 2GB of storage on it, why does my wii only have 512MB? I realize I'm preaching to the choir, but I can't understand releasing cd-rom games onto the wii without additional storage (although I know they're already doing it).

I wouldnt talk to loudly, you may be branded a Geek or an Otaku...