Repetitive arcade action just doesn't translate
well to PC.
The House of the Dead, Sega's
zombie-blasting, arcade thriller makes its way to the PC. Sega's past forays into the PC
biz have received mixed receptions. Past arcade ports were hindered by lack of 3D support
out of the box, and most importantly "off" game play. Let's face it, it's hard
to get the same feel for Virtua Fighter playing in your computer room, than it is at the
local arcade or on your trusty Saturn. Well aware of the mistakes in the past, Sega's PC
division attempts to rectify its wrongs in their HOTD outing; were they successful?
The first thing you'll notice when you load up HOTD is ready-made support for Microsoft's
Direct 3D (D3D) protocol. This 3D API interfaces with every major 3D accelerator on the
market; Sega wanted to make sure that as many people as
possible got to enjoy HOTD as it was intended. That means that if you don't own at least a
basic 3D accelerator, you might as well forget about HOTD right now. Software rendering
just doesn't cut it. HOTD's graphics are typical D3D fare, that is to say better than
Saturn but not quite Model 2. The game simply isn't as polished as the arcade version,
which probably says more for the power of Model 2 than for the port job Sega did with
HOTD. Keeping things in perspective, HOTD PC is a good looking game. High-resolution
textures and a fast engine keep the game going. Shooting at different areas of a monster's
body produces a different graphical effect: headshots are the most gruesome and the most
effective. Nail one of those dead suckers on the noggin and you'll get treated to a
polygon
head smashing into pieces, complete with eyes falling out of their respective sockets and
blood squirting out everywhere. Graphical deficiencies are few, but they're there. Some of
the models aren't constructed as tightly as they should have been, developing seams and
unsightly gaps. The other problem comes from the CD loading; when the game tries to loop
the level background music around, there's a slight pause in the game play while the
CD-ROM seeks. The graphics may look almost as good as the arcade, but how is HOTD suppose
to play without a gun? Surprisingly well. Sure it's not the same thing as blasting of a
few rounds with your stunner, or wielding the arcade's super-cool gun, but blasting the
undead with a mouse does have its benefits. Pinpoint, pixel perfect control for one. Using
the mouse's analog capabilities, with HOTD's cross hairs, you can hit
zombies where you want, when you want to, and do it with style. If you like to conserve
bullets, aim straight for the head for a one to two shot kill. If you dig gore, you can
take the monsters apart limb by limb. All this, and your arm doesn't get tired from
holding the gun for hours on end. Thing is, your
brain might start to go numb after a few plays through the HOTD.
Sega's HOTD PC port does its best offer variety to fight the inevitable boredom that comes
from shooting baddies, over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. The arcade mode
is just like it says: the same play as the Model 2 HOTD, complete with branching paths and
other mayhem. PC mode is the same as arcade, save you get to select which character you
wish to control (different characters have different power, health, etc.). Boss mode
allows you to skip
the generic monsters and challenge HOTD's big-daddies straight up. All of this variety
aside, HOTD can't escape its arcade roots. Shooting baddies is good for a quick thrill at
the arcade, where concentration is usually at its worse, and patience for learning a
complex game system at its least. But at home, repetitive shooting action, gets, well,
repetitive. After nailing the 100th Zombie in a row, your brain begins to go numb, and the
last thing you care about is some evil-dude
named Curien trying to take over the world.
HOTD's sound does its job effectively. Cranking the game through a decent sound system
with a sub-woofer provides ample and hearty samples. Guns blast off clear and solid;
zombies blow up nice and squishy, and helpless scientists scream for help half-heatedly,
yet crystal clear. "Help me!" *BANG!* woopsie, heh, heh. The stage music is the
typical AM gun-game stuff. Jazzy, fruity, with a touch of horror sounding samples. Not
exactly what'd you expect from a so-called "serious horror game", but it's
adrenaline inducing, so it passes.
When it comes down to purchase-time, it all depends on the kind of gamer you are. If
you're the sort of person who can be satisfied with mindless shooting, or if you're a
really big fan of the arcade game, then House of the Dead PC is for you. If, on the other
hand, you're the kind of person who wants to sit down and actual invoke your mental skills
(no matter how basic) when gaming, then you'll have to look elsewhere. I'm sorry, but when
looking at Sega's arcade line-up, House of
the Dead would be the last game I would port to PC. PC gamers won't stand for mindless
action, and if they do, they certainly won't shell out forty bucks for it. Sorry Sega,
House of the PC was a lost cause from its inception. If someone out
there would rent PC titles, I'd say give House of the Dead a three-day spin, but alas,
you'll just have to ignore it altogether.
Game Pictures
Click on images for
larger picture
No pesky blood codes needed here.
"Get out of the... too late."
Even the undead feel pain; ouch baby, that smarts!
"Okay, who forgot to give Uncle Ed his medication?"
