The House of the Dead (arcade game)

Infobox VG
title = The House of the Dead


developer = Wow Entertainment
publisher = Sega
designer = Atsushi Seimiya
series = "The House of the Dead"
engine =
released = Arcade
flagicon|Japan flagicon|United States flagicon|Europe 1996

genre = Rail shooter
modes = Single player, multiplayer
cabinet = Upright
display = Raster, medium resolution horizontal orientation
arcade system = Sega Model 2
platforms = Arcade, Sega Saturn, PC
input = Light gun, 1 button

"The House of the Dead" is a first-person, light gun arcade game released in 1996 by Sega.

Players assume the role of government agents Thomas Rogan and "G" in their efforts to repel the dangerous, inhumane experiments of Dr. Curien.

Gameplay

"The House of the Dead" is a rail shooter light gun game. Players use a light gun (or mouse, in the PC version) to aim and shoot at approaching enemies. The characters' pistols use magazines, and are required to reload once each magazine is empty. A set of torches next to the magazine of each player represents remaining health. When a player is hurt or shoots a civilian, one of their torches is removed, signifying damage. A player is dead when all torches are lost. A player may then continue by inserting more credits, if playing on an arcade machine, and pressing the "continue" or "start" button. There are first-aid packs available throughout the game that will restore one torch. These are found either in the possession of civilians that the player has rescued or inside breakable objects. Similarly, there are also special items located in breakable objects that will grant a bonus to whoever shoots it.

Throughout the course of the game, players are given numerous situations in which their actions will have an effect on the direction of gameplay. For instance, in the beginning of the game, a civilian is about to be thrown off the bridge to his death. If players save the civilian, they will enter the house directly through the front door; however, if the civilian dies, players are redirected to an underground route through the sewers. This branching path system was also implemented in the sequels.

tory

AMS agents Thomas Rogan and "G" are sent on an assignment to investigate a panicked phone call from Rogan's fiancée, Sophie Richards, and a series of disappearances at the Curien Mansion, home laboratory of Dr. Curien, an acclaimed biochemist and geneticist. Dr. Curien was obsessed with discovering the very nature of life and death, backed by the DBR Corporation and its scientists. The nature of the experiments, however, drove Dr. Curien insane, resulting in him releasing his experimental subjects onto the unsuspecting world.

Amidst the chaos wrought by Curien, Rogan and "G" face many formidable foes, including The Chariot (Type 27), a plated undead warrior who mortally wounds Sophie; The Hangedman (Type 41), a gargoyle-like creature which sees to it that she cannot escape the mansion grounds, and also kills two DBR scientists in the grand courtyard; and The Hermit (Type 6803), a mutant spider crab guarding the passageway leading to Curien's restricted research area.

Upon confronting Curien, the AMS agents are treated to his greatest masterpiece, The Magician (Type 0), a humanoid creature with mastery over fire. Ironically, after he releases the creature from its incubation chamber, Dr. Curien is killed by his creation; "The Magician" seemed to have reached a state of sentience in which he feels an inferior being such as a human has no place in giving him orders. To prevent the Magician from escaping the mansion and destroying the world, Rogan and "G" are forced to confront it in one final battle. After a long and difficult battle, they succeeded in destroying Curien's creation and were given one last warning from the Magician itself, "You haven't seen anything yet!"

With those words, the Magician exploded and ceased to exist. (Nevertheless, he returns in "The House of the Dead 2" and "The House of the Dead 4 Special", which proves the warning.) Rogan and G leave the mansion, taking one last look at it from the outside, then the game ends.

There are however, alternate endings in which the camera pans to the foyer one last time; the doors then open, showing either Sophie alive (suggesting that she might be the mother of Lisa Rogan in "House of the Dead III"), or Sophie as one of the undead (which therefore might not be canon), depending on the player's score and the number of continues used.

Reception

"The House of the Dead" was well received. Three arcade sequels have been made, The House of the Dead 2, The House of the Dead III, and The House of the Dead 4 and ported to consoles. The original Saturn release is rare and used copies consistently sells for more than $50 US and upwards of $125 US new. Headstrong Games is currently developing , a grindhouse film inspired installment for the Nintendo Wii to be published by Sega in early 2009. cite web|title=VideoGamePriceCharts.com|url=http://www.videogamepricecharts.com/game/sega-saturn/the-house-of-the-dead|accessdate=2008-05-12]

References

External links

*KLOV game|id=8153|name=The House of the Dead
* [http://www.segasaturn.co.uk/games/pal/T/thehouseofthedead/index.htm "The House of the Dead" at SegaSaturn.co.uk] - Information, box scan, screenshots and review of the Sega Saturn version.