House of the Dead: Overkill

12 Feb 2009 at 01:50:58 by

Despite the heavens spitting their dirty non-snow phlegm at the meandering London masses, at least I found refuge in the Nintendo flat tucked away off Tottenham Court Road.

I was there to look at three upcoming titles for the Wii, published by Sega, and they are all games aimed at the hardcore market. Each title’s remit is to demonstrate that there is room on the Wii for the more than just the casual or family gamer.  With more publishers concentrating on casual labels,  these games may show that there is an interest for hardcore games on the Wii.  Time will of course, tell.

The House of the Dead: Overkill

Overkill is made by London-based Headstrong Games, and dives back into Sega’s classic light-gun shooter franchise.  With updated visuals, an engaging band of characters and lashings of gore, there's a lot to get excited about.

Influenced by the B-movies, and in particular the “Grindhouse” style, The House of the Dead: Overkill (HotDO) sees survival horror make a welcome return to the Wii. Overkill is set in 1991 and serves as a prequel to the first HotD game. The game's protagonists, Agent G and Detective Isaac Washington, are in small-town Louisiana, investigating a number of mysterious disappearances.

I played through two levels of the game, and each time I was surprised with the settings, backdrops and lighting.  Cleverly, the game's art style eschews realism and instead offers a more subtle arcade feel, just a little more refined. 

Like its predecessors, the premise of Overkill is simple:  you’re surrounded by zombies and you have to just point your on-screen crosshair and shoot using the B button.  Reload by either flicking your wrist or by pressing the A button.  And that is it.  This being a rail shooter, you can forget about movement and concentrate all your efforts on dismembering the undead horde; or shooting at ammo, medical and special pick-ups to either top up your stats or give you some bonus.  Although on rails, you are able to look around just a little bit, giving you some sense of control and placing.

The game also provides you with financial reward which can be spent on new weapons and upgrades between levels.  Spend your money on what you like, and pimp out your favourite weapon.  Making sure you upgrade your weapon(s) will certainly give you more punch, making it easier and quicker to punch a hole in the wall of zombies headed your way.  More items can also be unlocked by completing the game and you'll also be rewarded with a Director's Cut, allowing you to take play through the game again, this time taking a different path.

One of the more impressive features on display in Overkill is the drop in/drop out multiplayer option which just throws the other player into the action by simply adding another cross(circle)-hair to the screen.  Although it’s sometimes hard to tell which is which as your corresponding colour is only a trail when you move the cross-hair, it’s surprisingly responsive and incredibly engaging.  You can play the campaign mode in two player co-op, and there are a further three mini-games which can see four of you involved.  We've been told that there is a dynamic zombie generator which delivers enough zombies for everyone.  I wonder how much of the screen you'll be able to see though, with four people splattering blood and guts all over the place. 

Our only concern after spending some time with Overkill is its longevity.  It’s fun of course but, as this is a pure arcade experience, don't expect a lot of depth. What it will do is give you the chance to reclaim that Wii which has either been gathering dust or being used by family members to do their exercises, or “playing” other non-gaming games; even if it’s just for a few hours to annoy them.  There is always the choice to play up to four player multiplayer, however, so you might just find you spend a lot more time with your family than you think.  Shooting those *@$# zombies.

Check back for our MadWorld and The Conduit hands-on previews soon.

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