Sega has delighted as well as terrified owners of PlayStation 3 with House of the Dead: Overkill as well as House of the Dead 3. The deadly series doesn’t stop there as we are now seeing The House of the Dead 4 coming as a console release for the very first time since it made its appearance in the arcades back in 2005. So get your guns ready (in this case, it would be your trusty PlayStation Move) as the zombies are coming to get you!
For a little background, the plot takes place in the events between The House of the Dead 2 and 3. So it’s not really a sequel but more of a prequel. Three years after the agents, James and Gary came to put a stop to the evil businessman, Goldman, which led to him committing suicide, we see James partnering up with Kate, a new AMS member. They end up stuck inside a room because of an earthquake. They equip themselves with weapons and begin the terrible ordeal against the undead once again.
It shouldn’t come to a surprise that this game here is classified as a rail shooter where you make use of the Playstation Move or the controller. You reload your gun by shaking the Move which is more convenient then shooting outside the screen. The downside to this is that it makes the aiming more difficult as you’re basically shaking the cross hair on screen around. Despite this, you still get a very authentic arcade experience when playing with the PlayStation Move. The controller is also very straightforward when used instead but it’s a lot more fun when you’re wailing your arms around rather than just your fingers.
House of the Dead 4 offers plenty of alternate paths you can take where each will guide you to different sets of challenges and can vary in difficulty depending on what you choose. There are paths that will bring you to unique enemies and special rooms. Others will also give you benefits like more lives.
Whatever path you take, you’ll still come across many types of enemies. The beauty of House of the Dead 4 is that in this particular game, you won’t find the undead being recycled often. Every stage consists of distinctive enemies that will always catch you off guard as they not only appear differently, but also have their own patterns of offensive and defensive attacks. By having such variety, House of the Dead 4 leaves players intensified with the suspense and uncertainty.
As for the graphical quality, House of the Dead 4 really shows improvements over the previous games in the series. The enemies and background looks crisp and clear. However, considering the age of this game, there is still some room for improvement. Apart from that, the game prevents itself from look dull while the levels and enemies are diversified. The voice acting does seem corny as expected from the House of the Dead series. But with all the moaning and splatters, you’ll still feel your heart pumping from all the excitement.
If played in one sitting, House of the Dead 4 takes less than an hour to complete. However, you’ll have reasons to come back to this game as there are four different endings to watch. That’s not all. You will also be introduced to a new mode called The House of the Dead 4 Special once you complete the game. This is actually another arcade that was never released in North America. There’s only 10 minutes of gameplay where the setting takes place shortly after House of the Dead 4 and features G. Here, there’s also multiple endings to watch and thus makes you play the game more than once.
House of the Dead 4 is a wonderful addition to the PlayStation library of games. You get two arcade games for only paying $9.99 which is a really good deal. If it’s been a while since you’ve played with the PlayStation Move, this game will certainly bring it back from the dead.
