House of the Dead Overkill (and other Rail Shooters)

Where did it come from?

I remember when rail shooters had a major arcade resurgence in the late 90's. I had a friend in High School who would dual-gun Area 51 at arcades (he'd practically memorized the game) and it was always a joy to watch. Part of the excitement came from the peripherals involved: I'd grown up with Nintendo's Zapper and Duck Hunt, and these new lightgun arcade games were the same concept, just updated for the 90's.

That's why I was overcome with envy when I visited some family friends and discovered that the first Time Crisis had been ported to the Playstation. There was a new generation of lightgun games, and a new generation of lightguns in Namco's Guncon accessory. These games and their lightguns never came to my Nintendo 64, or my GameCube.

How is it coming to the Wii?

Fast forward to the present and the Wii is getting an exclusive in House of the Dead: Overkill. When did this genre decide to migrate back onto Nintendo systems, returning to the makers of Duck Hunt? I think back to envying the people who played Time Crisis II on the PlayStation 2... and now as a Wii owner I face the surprising prospect of actually obtaining the object of my envy. It's a strange feeling, and a gratifying one.

I guess we have the Wii Remote to thank for that. While the cost of the latest Guncon 3 accessory drove the price for the (still) PS3 exclusive Time Crisis 4 port up to $70, developers are bringing light gun games like Ghost Squad to the Wii for as little as $30. With even original games like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles landing on the Wii, it's almost as if the Wii has had its own little light gun game renaissance.

The Wii's more modest technical ambitions don't hurt either: lower risk for developers means more choice for me. Who ever played a light gun game for the graphics, anyways? Bring me those vintage Area 51 aliens any day!