| The House of the Dead 4 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Wow Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Series | The House of the Dead |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date(s) | Arcade
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| Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Cabinet | 29" Upright, 52" (4:3 Screen) Deluxe, 62" (16:9 Screen) Widescreen Deluxe |
| Arcade system | Sega Lindbergh |
| Display | Raster, XGA |
The House of the Dead 4 is a light gun arcade game with a horror theme and the fourth installment of the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Sega. The game is an interquel and takes place between the events of The House of the Dead 2 and The House of the Dead III, and introduced several new gameplay concepts. Players can control characters James Taylor, from The House of the Dead 2, or Kate Green, a new character to the series.
The House of the Dead 4 is the first game to run on the Sega Lindbergh arcade system board. Currently, it is also the last game in the series to use Tarot Cards as names for bosses. It is also the only House Of The Dead game to not currently not have received a console port, excluding The House Of The Dead 4 Special, and The House Of The Dead EX.
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The player can reload the gun by shaking it. The game also features grenades that the player can throw to destroy large numbers of enemies. Additional grenades can be earned by completing certain tasks or by shooting crates. At some points in the game, players are required to shake the gun vigorously in order to escape certain situations.
The game features branching paths. Most of the paths lead to the same point in the game's story. As with The House of the Dead III, there is an end-of-stage bonus where players can receive extra lives depending on critical shots, accuracy, and score. Another returning factor is the presence of the "Cancel" bar.
The game runs on a critical shots counter where the player is encouraged to go for headshots rather than spraying ammo at the enemy. It starts off as Good, Excellent, Amazing and then Perfect. Getting hit, or killing an enemy not by the head resets the counter.
The most common enemies have three attacks. A "normal attack", a "grab," and a "push". The foremost inflicts one point of damage, while the second forces a shaking sequence that, if successful, pushes back attackers for easier disposal, but if unsuccessful, will result in the player being bitten or the player's character being knocked down and vulnerable. Multiple zombies may also pile on top of both players in an attempt to stomp on them.
There are also a number of secrets in the game. Different hidden treasures, such as coins and golden shapes, which increase the player's score, as well as "lives", etc. can be found by interacting with the game's environments. There are also "treasure rooms" that can be accessed using different techniques (such as shooting a certain spot or throwing a grenade in a certain area), which contain multiple items that can be obtained at once within a limited time.
In 2003, former AMS agent James Taylor and an English looking newcomer Kate Green are gathering intelligence at the fifth basement floor of the AMS European branch office. The former of the two still has the events of the 2000 "Goldman Case" on his mind, and believes that the ordeal has not yet ended. A sudden earthquake rocks the room while they talk, collapsing the basement walls and leaving the agents trapped.
Several days later, Kate and James await a rescue team. James' PDA goes off, and a group of undead are seen on the security cameras. Realizing that they are in danger, James has Kate gather all the weaponry they can find in preparation for the arrival of their foes. Soon after, the two travel through the sewers to an information room where they uncover a plot to fire nuclear missiles worldwide within 24 hours' time, facing the four armed Justice and a pair of mutant tarantulas known as The Lovers along the way. Taking the subway into zombie-infested streets from an underground shopping district, the agents narrowly avoid attacks by The Empress, a double-ended chainsaw-wielding assassin, and the massive, obese, nearly impervious Temperance.
James and Kate then learn that the one-time president of the now-defunct DBR Corporation, Goldman, who committed suicide, is responsible for the resurgence of undead. After reaching the surface, finding the city about them completely obliterated, James and Kate receive a PDA message sent by Goldman that the nuclear missile launch will occur in one hour. The agents set out for the abandoned Goldman Building and arrive successfully. But when they enter the main foyer, a levitating humanoid named The Star, prevents their advance. After the Star is defeated, James is wounded when it explodes and it temporarily blinds Kate, but the duo continue onwards. Ultimately, they arrive in time to halt Goldman's plans, though it is revealed that his true intention is to revert humankind to its original state in order to prevent them from harming the planet any further. As such, his final legacy, The World, an insect-like humanoid made of ice is released in the opening of "Pandora's Box" to fulfill its role as the successor to his original Emperor project in 2000, having developed underground since his death. As the AMS agents fight it, the World continuously alters its form to meet their threats, each time growing larger and more powerful. Following the World's second defeat, James sets his PDA to self-destruct, telling Kate not to give up hope, sacrificing himself, alongside the World, followed by a violent explosion.
In the game's "standard" ending, the view returns to the computer in Goldman's office, continuing the former president's pre-recorded message. Goldman gives a final statement as he walks away: "Ah yes, there is one thing I forgot. The human race has not been eliminated. Travel north...hope is such a splendid thing." The bad ending is the same scene, but the camera then focuses on Goldman's face (which begins to drastically change), which implies that he could have become the World.
In one of the game's alternate endings, a mysterious and unidentified man (previously seen in one of House of the Dead 3's endings) sits at a desk in the corner of an office. He claims that Goldman was "soft" and that "wretched humans have no need of hope," stating that the "true end" will soon begin and that there is more than one "Pandora's Box".
In another ending, perhaps the "good" ending, G appears at outside Goldman's building, telling James that the undead crisis is not over yet and says: "We'll fight this back to the source. It's time for you to rest now, James." As G walks out of the camera, a zoom is made on Goldman's building.
At the end of all of the endings, it is written "The story continues in House of the Dead 3" which chronologically takes place after this game.
The House of the Dead 4 was the first arcade light gun game to feature a high definition widescreen display. The different displays used for each of the models are as follows: Mitsubishi's 2005 62" rear-projection DLP 16:9 ratio widescreen model for the "Super Deluxe" cabinet (although later models of the game would use Toshiba, Zenith, and LG rear-projections), LG's 2005 52" rear-projection DLP 4:3 ratio model for the "Deluxe" sized cabinet, and Sanwa's 29" CRT 4:3 ratio television for the "upright" cabinet (although it is a CRT set, it has a high screen resolution of 676 dots by 625 lines). The game runs in 1080i on the Deluxe and Super Deluxe and in 480i on the standard cabinet.
The video signal is connected via a DVI to HDMI adapter for the Super Deluxe cabinet, VGA for the Deluxe cabinet, and S-Video for the Standard cabinet.
The House of the Dead 4 Special is a two-player attraction based on The House of the Dead 4. Players enter an enclosed room, sit down, and buckle up. The game makes use of two 100-inch screens, one in front of the players and another behind, as well as a five-speaker sound system, giving the impression that enemies are attacking from all directions. The seat shakes when zombies attack, and players are blasted with air whenever they take on damage. The seat automatically rotates to face the players towards whichever screen zombies are attacking from. The game also features a new addition of a life bar. As the players are hit the life bar diminishes. If the life bar is reduced to zero the game is over. There are no continues.
This game features a side story in The House of the Dead plotline, taking place shortly after The House of the Dead 4, with Kate Green teaming up with G to destroy the zombie infestation at its source, leading them to confront Magician (Type 0), a boss character who returns after having been obliterated in the two first installments. This game only features two bosses, Justice (Type 0053), whom G and Kate encounter in an underpass where James and Gary once encountered Judgment for the second time in The House Of The Dead 2, and Magician (Type 0), whom G and Kate encounter in a room of a building (which G believes it to be the source of the zombie infestation, and the building's interior is similar to the EFI research facility in The House Of The Dead III). In the end, players have to blast a button with a grenade. The button itself will activate Magician's clones if it's not blasted with the grenade.
In a two-player game, players are judged on how compatible they are based on performance alone.[2]
In America there are currently no locations that this version of the game can be seen: The machine at GameWorks in Schaumburg, Illinois was retired due to constant breakdowns. The machine that GameWorks in Las Vegas, Nevada had has since been sold to a private collector. This game has also been spotted in Europe, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Dubai, the Macau Fisherman's Wharf, and in Hong Kong Mega Box.
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