The House of the Dead (arcade game)
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This article is about the arcade game. For the 2003 film, see House of the Dead (film).
| The House of the Dead | |
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| Developer(s) | AM1 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Release date(s) | 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Microsoft Windows, Sega Saturn |
| Input | Light gun, 1 button |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Sega Model 2 |
| Arcade display | Raster, medium resolution horizontal orientation |
The House of the Dead is a first-person, light gun rail shooter arcade game released in 1996 by Sega, where the player assumes the role of a government agent who must shoot his or her way through an army of recently resurrected zombies and other undead mutants.
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[edit] Gameplay
The House of the Dead is a straightforward rail shooter light gun game. Players simply use a light gun to aim at approaching enemies, and click the trigger to shoot them. The characters' pistols use magazines for rounds, and are thus required to reload once each mag is spent. This is done by pointing the gun away from the screen and pressing the trigger. A set of torches next to each player's magazine shows their remaining health. Anytime a player is attacked or shoots a civilian, one of their torches is put out. A player is considered "dead" when all of that player's torches are lost. A player may then continue by inserting more money (or selecting the "continue" option in the home versions). First-aid packs can restore health, and are available throughout stages, with some provided by civilians who are saved from death.
This game was one of the first such games to incorporate the possibilities of multiple routes. For instance, in the beginning of the game, a male civilian is about to be thrown off the bridge to his death. If players shoot the zombie and save the civilian, they will enter the house, but if the civilian dies, players go down an underground route through the sewer. There are other critical points in which the players' actions decide where they go. This branching path system was also implemented in subsequent installments to the series.
[edit] Story
In the year 1998, AMS agents Thomas Rogan and "G" are sent on an assignment to investigate a panicked phone call and a series of disappearances at the Curien Mansion, home laboratory of mad scientist, Dr. Curien. Curien was known for performing dangerous, inhumane experiments, and the result of these horrors are apparent the moment the agents arrive: biologically engineered zombies, murderous and thirsty for blood.
Rogan and "G" must use their wits and their weapons to find Curien and stop him before the Monsters can escape and reach civilization. The fight is more personal for Rogan, whose fiancee Sophie called his phone number in a panic.
[edit] Characters
- Thomas Rogan
An agent of the AMS, Rogan was part of the investigation of the strange occurrences within the Curien Mansion. Concerned for his girlfriend Sophie Richards, who was one of the scientists working for Curien, he became the hero of the Curien Mansion incident in 1998, then aged 32. He is the father of Lisa Rogan, who teams up with "G" to rescue her father in The House of the Dead III.
- "G"
Not much is known about "G," apart from the fact that he is a frequent partner of Thomas Rogan. "G" has been present as a character in all the games in the series thus far, having returned to aid the protagonists of the second installment, teaming up with Lisa Rogan in the third, and making a cameo appearance in the fourth (also as a playable character in The House of the Dead 4 Special). It is speculated by fans that his true name is "Gaiden."
- Sophie Richards
A scientist for the DBR Corporation and Rogan's girlfriend, Sophie was one of the researchers who had been assigned to help Dr. Curien with his scientific research into the nature of life and death. She is thrown against a wall by the Chariot before she can be rescued. The game has multiple endings depending on the player's score, determining if Sophie survives or later reappears as a zombie. The first outcome is thought to be canonical, due to the appearance of Thomas Rogan's 19-year old daughter in The House of the Dead III.
- 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. He converted his family mansion into a research facility, with scientists from the DBR Corporation to assist him. The nature of the experiments performed, however, drove Dr. Curien insane, resulting in him releasing his experimental subjects onto the unsuspecting world. Thomas Rogan and "G" fought their way through the hoard of undead, confronting Curien as he released his greatest masterpiece, the Magician, in a last attempt to destroy them. Ironically, however, the Magician rebelled against its programming and killed its creator. He returns, resurrected, as the Wheel of Fate, in The House of the Dead III.
[edit] Bosses
- The Chariot (Type 27)
A 3-meter-tall zombie covered in plate armor carrying a large polearm axe. Slow-moving despite its strength, the Chariot emerged from the ceiling of the room where Sophie was found for the second time by Rogan and "G," striking her across the torso. A duplicate is faced shortly before the final battle with the Magician.
- The Hangedman (Type 041)
A dark, green-skinned humanoid with large bat-like wings and claws resembling a gargoyle. The Hangedman was a sentient creature capable of speech and manipulating bats telepathically. When Sophie managed to escape to the mansion courtyard, it was the Hangedman who swooped down and carried her back inside. A duplicate is faced shortly before the final battle with the Magician.
- The Hermit (Type 6803)
A ferocious mutant spider equipped with bony carapace and pronged legs, capable of expelling packed webbing from its opisthosoma. This beast guarded the passageway leading to Dr. Curien's restricted research area, where the Magician project was taking place.
- The Magician (Type 0)
The Magician was Dr. Curien's most powerful experimental subject. A horned, half-armored humanoid, this creature had the ability to move quickly, levitate, and emit fire as a weapon. There was a flaw in its programming which caused it to rebel and kill its creator. To prevent the Magician from escaping the mansion, Rogan and "G" killed it inside Curien's restricted research area before any harm could be done. It is resurrected by Goldman in The House of the Dead 2.
[edit] External links
- The House of the Dead entry on the Killer List of Videogames
- The House of the Dead at MobyGames
