House of the Dead:Overkill is a shining example of a Wii game done right.It's a game that will appeal to any adult Wii gamer,casual or hardcore.The graphics and sound are great,the controls are spot on and the '70's grindhouse style feel is a blast.As someone who has played all of the other House of the Dead games,I was intrigued when I heard that Sega had handed the reigns over to Headstrong Games,the first american dev to work on the game.The result is a game that is far and away the best in the series.
The fact that this is an arcade style shooter means that anyone can jump right in and have a good time with it,but for those that want something more,there is plenty of depth to be found.A big part of that depth is the ability to upgrade you weapon's damage,rate of fire,clip size,recoil, and reload speed.This is done with money given at the end of a level depending on your score.Points can be attained in several different ways,the most obvious being killing zombies.Stringing kills together and scoring headshots will get you more points as will saving civilians.You can also use your money earned to buy new guns that range from shotguns to assault rifles.And then there are powerups scattered throughout the levels that each have different effects like giving bonus points,grenades,health or slowing down time for maximum headshots.
The game has tons of replay value as well.Upon completing the story mode you unlock the "Director's Cut",which is the story with new areas and only 3 continues per level(as opposed to the unlimited continues alotted in the regular story mode).Other unlockable goodies (which I won't spoil here)can be attained by playing through the game.Headstong also included several fun mini games that can be played with up to 4 people.Two player co-op is available for the story mode from the start and while the game is great fun by yourself,it's even better with someone else.
Unfortunately if you have kids you'll want to play this while they're gone or asleep as the language and scenarios are very adult.This game has more f bombs than a Chris Rock standup and could potentially shock even adults with it's campy humor.I was hoping for a way to turn the profanity off,so I could show it to my wife without her rolling her eyes at all the profanity,but considering the game's dialogue is probably 90% profanity it would be easier to just mute it.I did find that turning down the cutscene volume in the options menu helps.Having somekind of gun attachment for your wiimote is almost a necessity,but that should go without saying with this type of game.I have a Nyko Perfect Shot that I use but I plan on buying one of the "Hand Cannons" packaged with "Big Bang Box Set" version of the game.
House of the Dead:Overkill caught me completely off guard.I picked it up expecting the usual arcade shooter that I would play for a few minutes and then put down for a while.What I got was a game that I've been playing nonstop trying to unlock more guns so that I can upgrade them and kill even more zombies.Headstrong has done something that so many have tried and failed to do,they have made a once stale franchise exciting and fun again.
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