Brilliant shooter (House of the Dead 2 (DC))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	House of the Dead 2 (DC)
Date:	03/09/09 (0 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb graphics and gameplay

Disadvantages: None

Although the PlayStation's Time Crisis may be the best known light gun game on the market, it is House of the Dead 2 that is among the best of its generation, with a plot pulled right from cheesy B-movie horror films, combined with some unique boss designs, great visuals, and a whole lot of green zombie blood!

Following the events of the first film, a team of officers are dispatched to find G, an officer who has gone missing and seemingly off the rails. Four characters are sent to find him, although this is going to be a lot more difficult than they expected, as they realise within mere seconds of arriving at Venice, where a zombie invasion has overrun the city, not to mention the number of other beasties, such as zombified owls, swamp things, and giant armoured beasts too!

What impresses me most about the game is its general aesthetic - from the corny music and shoddy dialogue delivery, to the voluminous gore, this is a game loving concieved as a throwback to the cheesy B-movies of the 1970s in particular. Also, it has a subtle branching narrative system, where certain acts, such as whether you manage to save other civillians, result in you having to take a different path. It's also, as an arcade game, quite accessible to anyone - the options allow you to set the lives and continues so high that it's virtually impossible not to beat the game, or put them on more challenging settings if you're looking to get by on your shooting skill.

The light gun itself has a very sleek design and somewhat outdoes the archaic design of the PS1 gun. Also, don't think you're just making the expenditure for this game, because there are also several other great shooting games for the Dreamcast, most notably the superb Confidential Mission.

With superb boss battles, great graphics, and a knowing B-movie-inspired plot that gives the viewer a fair few winks and nudges, this is a superb light gun game, and arguably the best ever made.

Summary: One of the very best light gun games