The House of the Dead
The House of the Dead is my favorite arcade lightgun game. In the year 2000 I worked in a movie theater concession stand which was perhaps the worst job I have ever worked. The shining beacon however was the arcade room. On my breaks I would drop a dollar or two in quarters into the House of the Dead cabinet. My friend Arthur was more into Crypt Killer because of its pump action shot gun which was pretty cool but for me it was the Curien mansion. I feel like I am in the minority on this one but House of the Dead 1 and 4 are my favorites in the series. I feel like most people got into the series on the Dreamcast with House of the Dead 2 which is an amazing game for sure but my first experience was with the original coin op and that's where my heart is.
The Chariot slaps Sophie's shit up.
Just last night (10/04/2024) I fired up the Switch remake of House of the Dead and was pleasantly surprised to see they added touch controls when playing in handheld mode. That was pretty fun! It actually made the game so easy I was able to see the good ending for the first time lmao. But I did have fun playing through it with my kids. It's honestly no different then HotD1's PC port with mouse support. Just another way to blow through the game. Also as of this writing HotD is for sale on the Nintendo Eshop for just under $7. Definitely worth a go at that bargain. I actually went ahead and bought it as a download just to always have it on my Switch and to free up a cart slot in my travel case so what's your excuse fella?
The good ending
Unfortunately I do not own a legit copy of House of the Dead for the Saturn but it is by far my most played version of the game. First on a CDR with a modchip and then later on my M.O.D.E. Optical Drive emulator. I think people over state how glitchy it is. Out of every 10 runs through the game there might be a single monster with a texture that doesn't load which is the only glitch I've personally ever encountered. Here's a poto of the Switch version which is alright. Using the joycons motion controller actually works ok but I would have much preferred a Wii style remake. The Wii's best feature was briefly reviving lightgun games in the home! The Wii ports of House of the Dead 2 and 3 are also pretty solid.
This game wasn't made in house at Sega but the team that did it have a love for 70's exploitation material as well as the Hosue of the Dead. The two pair up quite well. This is a spin off prequel that is non canon and the first entry in the series to be developed as a home console game and not an arcade attraction. Usually all of that would be a turn off but this is a real gem of a game. The budddy cop dynamic of G and Washington works well. Honestly the Wii game is great but the two bonus levels of the PS3 version are excellent especially the level in the titty bar. 10/10 entertainment.
The year House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn came out I asked my BB to take me to Dave and Busters just so I could play through the game. This was the highlight of the event.
Do not stick your finger in the hole
If memory serves this was one of those games where air blasts you and it sprinkles mist for an enhanced experience. The hole may be related to air blasting or something.
I took video of my entire playthrough of the game with my phone in a tripod. It looks like crap but here are some screen shots.
Classic chainsaw chopping creature.
This is the second appearance of my faovrite creature The Chariot and here he is tossing another creature at you. Very cool.
The most recent addition to my House of the Dead collection is this cool House of the Dead III hotwheel. Like most things over the past 5 years I saw this on Instagram and had to have it. I was thinking about buying a loose one.
The real tragedy is that the second wave of House of the Dead figures never meterialized due to low sales. I believe there was a prototype figure for Magician Type 0 and The Chariot. I would have loved to have a figure of The Chariot the coolest looking boss creature.
Zombie Revenge is an amazing House of the Dead spinoff even if the title misses a key point of House of the Dead lore. In the mainline HOTD series the word Zombie is never used they are referred to as creatures. But honestly lore doesn't matter in this intense 3D beat 'em up style arcade masterpiece.
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