Wow, it’s been one whole year, and over 100 reviews. I am surprised that my blog made it this far. Now, I had a really bad game planned to review, since I started this blog with a really good game. However, due to time constraints, and Gamefly not sending me the game I was going to do, I had to change things around, and I have decided to do a sequel to one of my favorite arcade franchises, House of the Dead. So far, there are only two House of the Dead games for the Wii. I am doing the latest and, in my opinion, one of the best sequels in this game series history, House of the Dead Overkill. Let’s start, shall we?
While Zombies are nothing new since the coming of Ghost and Goblins, Resident Evil, and etc, they seem to become pretty popular in games. There was always one franchise that I liked to play every time I was in an arcade, House of the Dead. It didn’t do anything innovational, but it was just a blast to play. The latest in the franchise is House of the Dead: Overkill, for the Wii. Let’s get into the rotting flesh and review this game!
The whole game is set up kind of like good old-fashioned grindhouse film, like Planet Terror. You’ve got your stereotypical agent named Agent G. He teams up with a black cop who keeps dropping the “F” bomb every 5 minutes as they chase down an evil madman with a bad accent. They later find out that the plot is much bigger then they expect, and I won’t spoil what it is. You also get the hot chick that is a stripper, and is the main girl in the game. The plot is pretty much like Planet Terror, so if you haven’t seen the movie, I would check it out and then play this game. The game was made by Headstrong Games, which is known for games like Battalion Wars, for the Gamecube, and Battalion Wars 2, for the Wii.
The game play is a classic horror survival rail shooter, where you mostly rely on fast reflexes, and know when to pull the trigger with the Wii mote. You basically shoot the zombies, or as Agent G calls them, “Mutants”, since he finds the Z (zombie) word offensive. You go through 7 levels, which are about 20 minutes, or less if you have a second player with you, since it’s more fun to shoot zomb…I mean mutants with a friend. During the level, you can shoot stuff like health packs, grenades, slow-down icons, and golden brains that can multiply your score. You’ve got your basic array of mutants, big and small. But you do get a couple of different ones as the game progresses, which are a little more challenging to kill. You also get to fight Grindhouse-like boss fights, like the girl’s crippled, Steven Hawking-like brother, who gets turned into a psychic mutant, a giant praying mantis, and much much more which I won’t spoil for gamers who haven’t played this game yet.
Graphically it looks great. The added bonus comes from the whole grindhouse look, in which the game has scratched footage, horrible B-movie acting, and the fan favorite, dancing stripper intro. Every character is likable, which is odd, since you don’t care about characters in this kind of game. The music is also fitting, with a late 70’s to 80’s funk. The difficulty is a little easy, but there is an unlockable Director’s Cut mode, which is harder. You can also put more mutants into past levels, which is cool since mutants are fun to blow up with a pistol. You can also choose different guns and upgrade them. I think the ending of the game is also a classic. Sorry, I’m a big fan of Planet Terror and those kinds of movies, so I like all the references this game makes. They definitely made some smart moves at Headstrong Games, making all the Grindhouse film references. It is also funny that this game got into the book of world records because you hear the “F” bomb 189 times in the game.
So, let’s see… awesome game play, funny acting, great references, and just all around fun. So what is the catch, Cam? Well, one of the things I don’t like is that it’s short. I beat the game in about 2 hours and 39 minutes. It would have been less if I had someone playing with me. The enemy variety is also very slim, and I wish there were more mutants. I wish the guns weren’t so expensive, because I usually got through the game with the pistol fully upgraded since I couldn’t afford the other guns. The multiplayer is also slim, since it’s mostly stuff you can do within the game itself. I know it’s silly that the cop drops the “F” bomb a lot, but sometimes it gets annoying. Then again, it’s a grindhouse-like film, umm, I mean game, so basically, these are all just small gripes.
Overall, I personally loved this game. This game won’t be for everyone, but if you like mutants, grindhouse flicks, and just a fun game to play from time to time, then I would recommend picking this up. Though it does nothing to innovate the Wii or the game itself, it does do well with what it has, mindless fun with a lot of charm.
This game gets a solid 8 out of 10.
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