Video Game Review: B-Movie Glee of ‘House of the Dead: Overkill’

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CHICAGO – “House of the Dead: Overkill” is not unlike “Grindhouse” for shooter fans. Remember the total chaos of Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror”? Imagine that insane, B-movie violence, gore, and ridiculous dialogue in video game form. Much to the surprise of those of us who had written off any chance of adult-driven games on the Nintendo Wii, the “House of the Dead” game hit the platform in 2009 and was a fun ride. Now the game has been upgraded, remastered, and Move-enabled for PS3 fans. If you have one of those remarkably-underused motion devices for your Sony machine, this is one of the best things you could possibly do with it.

Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

If you’re not familiar with the Wii version of this game, you should be warned — your grandma is not going to like you playing it. This is the kind of insane title that includes multiple uses of profanity in the same sentence, shoot-outs at strip clubs, and enough offensive humor to embarrass Uwe Boll. It’s meant to be insulting. It’s meant to be over-the-top. It’s meant to be, well, pretty dumb. Think of the over-the-top movies of the Troma era (if you’re old enough to get that reference) and then imagine converting them into a rail shooter. It was honestly a stroke of genius to take this arcade hit and tap into the B-movie vein. It can take someone smart to make something this stupid.

House of the Dead: Overkill
Photo credit: Sega

The game is noticeably better on the PS3 — smoother framerates, more-responsive controls, etc. We have seen a lot of old games upgraded to new consoles recently — it’s the trend of Fall 2011 — and this is easily one of the most notable of the sub-genre. The graphics look better, the voice work sounds more professional, and the game nearly feels developed for the Sony Playstation 3, not merely imported to it. If you gave this game to someone with no awareness of its history, they probably would never know it’s an import from a less graphically impressive system. It looks that good.

House of the Dead: Overkill Photo credit: Sega

One of the reasons for its success is that this “Extended Cut” of the game is not just the same levels and enemies with a new coat of paint. There are new enemies and even two new levels. If you played the original in 2009, you could play through this one and get more enjoyment out of it than you might expect by virtue of not just the visual upgrade but the in-game differences.

What’s “House of the Dead: Overkill” about? Who cares? Seriously, it’s about shooting zombies. They’ve overrun a town. You’re one of four badasses who can take them down. Commence ass-kicking. The whole game copies the look of a grindhouse-era film complete with cheesy narration and scratchy film reels.

You can play alone but you’ll do a lot better if you have a friend to do help you out like two kids at an arcade. The game also allows for play with an old-fashioned controller but this is arguably the most responsive the Move has been for any game yet. I recommend using it if you have one on hand and probably looking elsewhere for a shooter experience if you don’t.

What are the drawbacks? Even with two new levels, the game is remarkably short but the scoring/combo system along with hitting new secrets and collectibles for the first time allows for some intense replayability. Like the best/worst B-movies, you’ll want to show it to your friends.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com