The House Of The Dead 2 Game by Sega Reviewed by Robby Cox koi@magicnet.net Save: VMU-7 blocks Released: 9-9-99 Works with: VMU, Jump Pack, Light Gun. **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: I never played the original HOTD, but I was a big fan of Sega's Virtua Cop series. I figured that this game would be good, so I figured that I would give it a shot. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: The House Of The Dead 2 is a really cool shooter that you can play with a light gun or without. I don't have a light gun yet, so my review will be based on playing with the control pad. The main plot of HOTD2 is that the town has been overrun by zombies and monsters and you need to eviscerate the troublesome pests. You control a cursor on the screen and try to kill everything that moves, other than the citizens, of course. The zomibes and monsters take several shots to kill unless you get a perfect head shot. The zombies spew lots of blood and they will lose limbs or heads. It's pretty cool when you blast the entire upper torso off of a zombie. Anyways, there are 6 levels and the game's pretty hard. Each level ends with a pretty impressive boss and they have weak spots and patterns to learn. There are a few different modes. They include the Arcade Mode, Original Mode, Training, and Boss Mode. Arcade Mode is what you would expect. Original is different. You get 5 credits and you have access to a car's trunk. In the trunk, you will keep all of the power-ups that you find. This is kind of a cool idea, but you lose your power-up once you use it. This is rather lame. The Boss Mode is a mode where you can take on each boss that you have defeated. This is basically a boss training mode. The actual Training Mode is a mode where you have strange objectives to complete. The objectives range from destroying all of the barrels on a screen in 30 seconds to killing all of the zombies with 30 bullets and 2 lives. This can be cool, but it gets frustrating very quickly. The Arcade Mode is the way to play this game. Just be sure to adjust the options to Very Easy, 5 Lives, and 9 Continues and you will have a blast killing zombies. Oh yeah, this game whips Virtua Cop's ass! Liked: Sweet gameplay. Hated: Slightly too hard? **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The graphics are extremely nice. The zombies and humans are very detailed polygon models. They're not blocky at all and look very reallistic. The backgrounds look like the real thing. This game just looks nice. Liked: Great graphics. Hated: Nothing. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: HOTD2 sounds great. The music sounds kinda like standard videogame music, but it's extremely well done. The sound fx are pretty good, but the voice acting is laughable. It may be worse than Resident Evil. Liked: Good music. Hated: Pitiful voice acting. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: The controls are nicely done. They are simple and very responsive. The game design is good and there are lots of things to do. Liked: Good controls. Hated: Nothing. **************************************************************************** Improve: Easier gameplay. RIYL: The House Of The Dead, Virtua Cop 1 & 2. **************************************************************************** Final Words: This is a very cool game that won't get the attention that it deserves. It is fun without a light gun and is a blast with 2 players. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ***** Graphics: ***** Sound/Music: **** Play Control/Game Design: ***** Personal Opinion: ***** Total: 24 out of 25 Final Score: 96 % **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: None. Template courtesy of Philip Wesley.