Topic: The House of the Dead: Overkill

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

>> The House of the Dead: Overkill * 480p
The Making of HotD:OK, part 4
The Making of HotD:OK, part 5
The Making of HotD:OK, part 6
Launch trailer

[Stogi]

Oh man i forgot about that Maxi, thanks for reminding me of such a ROTFLMFAO moment!

LOL. Oh God, I just realized what happened. Damn you *new* tag! I didn't even see Adrock's post.

[Caterkiller]

Picked up my copy with deadly creatures. Pretty fun, kinda funny. Enjoying deadly creatures more.

[Tanatoes]

I think Deadly Creatures has more polish overall but HOTD is better for a quick blast of fun.  Some of the 70s film style in the cutscenes is really making me grin (like the glaring continuity error in the scene before the first boss battle.)  And dammit - there's just nothing as fun as exploding zombie (I mean mutant) heads.  Except maybe slicing up hundreds of zombies -- time for more Onechanbara now.

[Morari]

Overkill is far too dark visually, lags like Hell, and quickly becomes obnoxious with its ridiculous abundance of the word "****". It's definitely a sour spot in the series' history. It also doesn't come anywhere close to pulling off what Umbrella Chronicles did in terms of arcade-free rail shooters.

[NWR_Neal]

Personally, I'm loving this game.
Although it is kind of dark, and a little laggy.
Aside from that, its a joyously fun romp through a B-movie.

[Smoke39]

Awkward loading hiccups aside, this is probably my favorite Wii rail shooter so far (GS and HotD2 tied for second, followed by HotD3 with UC at the very bottom).  Fetid Waters is the only level that strikes me as particularly dark, and even it's perfectly manageable.  The visual style is pretty cool with the scratched film look and everything.  I thought the cussing fit in with the game's shamelessly over the top style perfectly, and there's some hilarious banter between the protagonists.  I think the ice cream truck scene's my favorite.  Also dual wield mode is surprisingly entertaining. :>

I'm looking forward to a sequel with the hiccups smoothed over.

[Tanatoes]

Just beat the game on easy.  Once I stopped using the handgun for everything and started using the shotgun everything suddenly became all easy!  I even got a few Bloodbath bonuses.  I think I need to pony up for a submachine gun or assault rifle to really do justice to the last level, but I was able to stagger through it (with FOUR! continues) using the shotgun alone.

Now it's on to the director's cut, and I have to start upgrading and buying my weapons all over again.

I still haven't had a chance to try the game in two-player mode yet.  And does anybody know how to unlock dual-wield?  I want to try some John Wu stylee action.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

There's several issues that strictly keep this an "8.0" game and nothing more, directly concerning to the product's role as a home-console "light gun" game:

1.  No Nunchuk/Z-trigger support; no button configuration options.  Ghost Squad did everything right the first time, while HOTD2/3 borked Nunchuk support.  Pressing Z to fire is much more effective and less straining than pulling a shell's mechanical trigger to pull the tiny B-trigger.  Using pistol shells means fighting with the shell more than playing the game.

2.  Aim Calibration is "off".  Considerably off, erroneous.  Like the corner targets aren't drawn at the exact coordinates they're supposed to be, as if this was an afterthought and didn't get the proper QA/QC.  You have to figure out the adjustments yourself and manually determine the correct spots to shoot to make the tracking spot-on.  Ghost Squad and HOTD2/3 did it right the first time.  I'll revisit this in greater detail later.

3.  The targetting reticule is lagged, taking slightly longer to catch up to your line-of-sight than in Ghost Squad and HOTD2/3.  The tracking is smooth, but all those extra interpolations have negatively affected response time.  It's not as bad as Umbrella Chronicles, but it's easy to notice yourself physically aiming/turning/swinging faster than the software can recognize the correct coordinates.  And when you don't take the delay into account (with the reticule disabled for SERIOUS GAMER play), you'll simply miss your mark.

Were these issues clearly touched upon by the gaming media?  I don't think so.

[NWR_pap64]

There's several issues that strictly keep this an "8.0" game and nothing more, directly concerning to the product's role as a home-console "light gun" game:

1.  No Nunchuk/Z-trigger support; no button configuration options.  Ghost Squad did everything right the first time, while HOTD2/3 borked Nunchuk support.  Pressing Z to fire is much more effective and less straining than pulling a shell's mechanical trigger to pull the tiny B-trigger.  Using pistol shells means fighting with the shell more than playing the game.

2.  Aim Calibration is "off".  Considerably off, erroneous.  Like the corner targets aren't drawn at the exact coordinates they're supposed to be, as if this was an afterthought and didn't get the proper QA/QC.  You have to figure out the adjustments yourself and manually determine the correct spots to shoot to make the tracking spot-on.  Ghost Squad and HOTD2/3 did it right the first time.  I'll revisit this in greater detail later.

3.  The targetting reticule is lagged, taking slightly longer to catch up to your line-of-sight than in Ghost Squad and HOTD2/3.  The tracking is smooth, but all those extra interpolations have negatively affected response time.  It's not as bad as Umbrella Chronicles, but it's easy to notice yourself physically aiming/turning/swinging faster than the software can recognize the correct coordinates.  And when you don't take the delay into account (with the reticule disabled for SERIOUS GAMER play), you'll simply miss your mark.

Were these issues clearly touched upon by the gaming media?  I don't think so.

The media doesn't care about technical things unless they are very clear and affect gameplay, and even then they ignore them (GTA IV lawl).

[Flames_of_chaos]

Just beat the game on easy.  Once I stopped using the handgun for everything and started using the shotgun everything suddenly became all easy!  I even got a few Bloodbath bonuses.  I think I need to pony up for a submachine gun or assault rifle to really do justice to the last level, but I was able to stagger through it (with FOUR! continues) using the shotgun alone.

Now it's on to the director's cut, and I have to start upgrading and buying my weapons all over again.

I still haven't had a chance to try the game in two-player mode yet.  And does anybody know how to unlock dual-wield?  I want to try some John Wu stylee action.

To unlock dual wield mode you have to beat the regular story mode and director's cut mode

[Tanatoes]

Okay.  So some work to do there.  Thanks, Flames.

[Halbred]

I love it so far, although the graphics are, honestly, pretty sub-par. I've seen better human character models on the PS2. I think full-blown CG cutscenes would have done this game well, especially considering you only really see the protagonists before and after gunplay itself. But even then, HotD3 looked better (crisper, brighter), and RE:UC looked considerably better.

However, the pure camp pretty much makes up for it. I get the feeling that, after I upgrade my weapon(s), this game'll be a cakewalk.

[GoldenPhoenix]

HOTD3 looked better? I really have to disagree there, they attempt different styles. HOTD3 was more cartoony (and I think more blocky) while HOTD O goes for a more realistic look to the visuals. Also I think HOTD O can have more enemies on the screen (though I am not 100% about that.

HOTD:0




HOTD3

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

BLAH

She's right.  Sega's original arcade games are celebrations of the cartooney and blocky, with narrow-minded level design.  Zombies only existed in *empty* hallways with little variation in how they appeared/approached.

[Tanookisuit]

HOD3 was originally cell-shaded, remember that?  I wish they would have stuck with that look.

[Halbred]

I booted up HotD2 & 3 yesterday just for comparison's sake. Yeah, they're both blockier, but the look is crisper, less fuzzy. Backgrounds are lighter (as in, "not as dark"). My biggest concern is how Agent G, Isaac, and Varla look. Like I said, I've seen better PS2 models. The main characters deserve better treatment. Maybe it's just me.

[GoldenPhoenix]

My biggest concern is how Agent G, Isaac, and Varla look. Like I said, I've seen better PS2 models. The main characters deserve better treatment. Maybe it's just me.

You hardly see the main characters beyond the cut scenes. The important visuals are of the environments and the enemies inhabiting them.

[Adrock]

The game looks significantly worse than Umbrella Chronicles which is probably the fairest comparison (both are original, made specifically for the Wii shooters). I honestly find Overkill to be more fun. No over-abundance of slug shooting and it's funnier and on purpose. UC does have Jill Valentine content which is always a plus, but loses points for not being a traditional RE game.

[Halbred]

Boy, I think the RE series translates extremely well to a rail shooter. What's with all the UC hate in this thread?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Boy, I think the RE series translates extremely well to a rail shooter. What's with all the UC hate in this thread?

I agree with you about UC being a better shooter, it is one of the most fleshed out, not to mention innovative light gun shooter in quite awhile.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

UC is a good bang-bang rail shooter overall, but a horrible light gun game.  All of Sega's light gun offerings allow for real target practice.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Just got the game today, and beat regular story mode with my sister.
I thought some parts were absolutely hilarious and by the time it was all said and done, it was like an interactive drive-in movie
p.s. don't leave the movie before the credits finish rolling

It was everything I want in a cheesy "B" horror movie (minus the gratuitous nudity & sex) all rolled up into a nice interactive "light gun" game experience. LOL @ Tarantino like analytical banter about the use of "Mother Fucker" and how he didn't use that phrase once when it was most appropriate

Overall I would give this game an 8/10
-had some hiccup isues which affected my aiming at certain items
-would hit certain items(and/or zombies mutants) repeatedly before I would get credited with the hit

+Fun two player "light gun action" with fairly decent "light gun" accuracy
+great "B" movie story line and presentation
+lots of funny lines/conversations
+looks to have decent replay value (I really want to figure out how to do a "goregasm" & upgrade my weapons)

Now I'm off to make sure atleast one of my friends purchases this game for their Wii based solely on my glowing reccomendation.

[GoldenPhoenix]

UC is a good bang-bang rail shooter overall, but a horrible light gun game.  All of Sega's light gun offerings allow for real target practice.

At least it is better then Killer 7!

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Yeah, a little.  It's 2-player.