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House of the Dead: Overkill
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Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:27:12

Visuals are pretty great too.

The House of the Dead: Overkill Screenshot

The House of the Dead: Overkill Picture

The House of the Dead: Overkill Screenshot

Shame about the frame pops and my red and green dot Wii problem. I have upgrade my gun to avoid recoil too.

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Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:51:28
Glad you like it so far GG, otherwise I would've had to pacify a bitch!

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Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:05:55

I was quite impressed visually by a couple of the bosses. When that Screamer woman screamed for the first time, the dyanamisn and detail in her face were above what I thought Wii could acheive. It was really scary and dynamic. And this boss:

The House of the Dead: Overkill Screenshot

I'm pretty sure that it has normal mapping or some sort of shaders on it. It looks shading wise just above the monster bosses in RE4 on cube. The nappy spoils the effect though. They shoud have put a stain on the nappy.

The G jokes are hilarious and I can't decide whether "Freeze bitches" or the bit when they jump off the train is my favourite "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" LOL

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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:57:48
Hells yeah!

Got my first S! Grinning It was the hospital level I had an accuracy of 96%! Grinning Grinning Grinning Now I just need to work out where all the god damn camera changes are and go fro 100%. -_-

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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:50:06

Okay completed the normal mode last night and I can understand the "frankly amazing quality" comments and the 8/10 review scores. Personally this game hits the right notes with me so I would give it a 9/10.

Problems? Nearly all technical, the frame pops, the occasional frame rate slowdown. And the simple fact that on rails games are limited in what they can do by their very nature.

The swamp level was a total bust for me, the frame pops happened on every camera turn, but worse (nothing to do with the game) my Wii has the red and green dot problem and on this level it reaches epic proportions, covering the entire screen.

There is dramatic increase in quality over the last two levels. The visuals of the prison level are pretty swish. Imagine Condemned or the Darkness minus the fancy shading and HD resolution and you pretty much have that here. The animation, the characters, the lighting, the detail. If anything this shows that you can have brutal looking, dark bloody, atmospheric games on the system, no problem. The boiler room boss fight was actually epic compared to the other bosses, I am particularly impressed with the character models of most bosses. When the two behemoths lumbered on screen at the same time with that animation and detail and lighting, it was something I didn't think Wii could acheive, yet did. And that boiler room didn't half remind me of Bioshock visuals, although minus the mapping and roundness.

The script is sparkling. I made a blog a long time ago about comedy in games and this game really nails it all the way through, with a couple of wincingly disgusting moments to boot. Facing off against a boss with giant sagging titties is absurd and hilarious.

This team is great, they had a vision and pulled it off very well, a few technical faults aside, I love this teams energy and enthusiasm. The music is all original, it's up there with listening to MSR for the first time, all new original songs made especially for a game. The slow motion effects are epic, the booming sounds of your weapons, the drawn out sound of a wailing zombie. I love this game.

And I have to give props to SEGA for letting a team really go to work on one of their established franchises. Letting them make it this vile and funny and furious was a real licence, well done SEGA. I want these guys to make original Wii games, or revamp Virtua Cop next. I would have really loved to play this game as a FPS like a twisted Timesplitters.


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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:46:46

EDGE-magazine-review



For a game composed entirely of viscera,‭ ‬gratuitous swearing and gross-out moments that are simply wrong,‭ ‬you’ve got to admit that The House Of The Dead:‭ ‬Overkill has real class.‭

From the first flickering XXX screen warning‭ ‘‬restricted access‭’‬,‭ ‬illustrated by a‭ ‬wheelchair,‭ ‬to the inspired OST and the unbelievable ending,‭ ‬everything about it screams detail,‭ ‬polish and‭ – ‬most of all‭ – ‬love for the source material.

While this certainly includes the earlier entries in the HOTD series,‭ ‬Overkill’s style is‭ ‬dominated by the golden age of British low-budget horror.‭ ‬Amicus Productions,‭ ‬Tigon and of course Hammer Film Productions are the presiding spirits,‭ ‬inspiring everything from the level titles‭ (‘‬Papa’s‭ ‬Palace of‭ ‬Pain‭’) ‬to the brains in jars,‭ ‬secret labs,‭ ‬sexploitation,‭ ‬tumescent nasties and overarching narrator.‭

Into this mix add two buddy cops straight out of Lethal Beverly Hills Weapon,‭ ‬and‭ ‬you’ve got Overkill.‭ ‬It’s not original stuff,‭ ‬but who really cares when it’s this good‭?

The best news‭? ‬The shooting lives up to it,‭ ‬picking and choosing perspective tricks,‭ ‬enemy patterns and surprise tactics from the genre to keep the on-rails action fresh.‭
Mutants shamble from corners,‭ ‬alcoves,‭ ‬behind desks,‭ ‬around corners,‭ ‬sneak up‭ ‬behind you and sprint for the throat.‭ ‬Your guns stop them in their tracks,‭ ‬dismember,‭ ‬send corpses twirling backwards and turn heads into red clouds with a punctuating splash.‭

This is all in the context of intricately twisting and turning locations,‭ ‬where you’re diving through windows,‭ ‬popping out from cover and checking every angle as much as walking straight ahead.‭

Accompanied by the‭ ‬occasional banter of the protagonists,‭ ‬which is never less than foul-mouthed and grin-inducing,‭ ‬it’s a firm boot in the behind of a genre that,‭ ‬this generation,‭ ‬has been lacking.

It falls down with its bosses which,‭ ‬excepting the disturbing and disorienting Screamer,‭ ‬come across as big lumps with weak‭ ‬spots rather than threats.‭ ‬The last boss in particular is a barrel-flicking damp squib,‭ ‬when the concept and design surely begged for a rip-roaring no-quarter-given bullet-fest.

A more fundamental letdown is the difficulty level.‭ ‬Overkill isn’t a particularly challenging experience,‭ ‬even with the‭ ‘‬Extra Mutants‭’ ‬option enabled,‭ ‬and on the initial run-through compounds this with infinite continues and a gun upgrade system‭ ‬that quickly sees you toting weapons that could lay waste to an entire nation of the walking dead.‭

The Director’s Cut unlocked after a first run-through lengthens every level,‭ ‬usually at the beginning,‭ ‬and limits you to three continues on each one.‭ ‬It’s more of a challenge to maintain the lengthy combos that exponentially boost your score and lead to the immortally named‭ ‘‬goregasm‭’ ‬multipliers,‭ ‬but all of the game’s unlockables are achieved relatively easily,‭ ‬so it stands as a rather self-contained option.‭

There are enough compensations to counter these letdowns,‭ ‬and it’s difficult to be too nitpicky about one of the most flat-out entertaining games of recent times.‭

Overkill resurrects an old franchise as anything but a shambling corpse,‭ ‬and raises the bar for thirdparty production values on this generation’s best-selling console.‭ ‬Bet you’re a believer in gun control now.

8/10

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Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:37:55

I've been searching up for some boss pics but can't seem to find any.

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

These pics have no filter and some unfinished textures.

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

This character model is used a lot but in game its not as obvious as this pic.

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

The House of the Dead : Overkill new screenshots

This game has some great visuals on an SDTV. Such a shame they couldn't eliminate frame pops and get it solid.

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Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:41:33
The last two levels are beautiful aren't they? Happy

I forgot to say my highest score was 263,925. I was quite pleased, though that Doom fanboy probably pwnt me.

Oh and I'm loving the DC so far. There's a fair bit of slowdown, though, so be careful GG.

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Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:02:03

How is directors cut different from just adding zombies to the normal mode? 3 continues?

I played the DC first level and the routes were slightly different

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Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:54:44
Yeah, slightly different routes, more zombies, a few more areas within the levels too so they're a bit longer, and 3 continues. A bit longer and more zombies and a few new areas to see is pretty much why I'm loving it.

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Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:20:26

I played up to the Carny level on the DC.

Wow, even though the first level is the worst, when you replay the levels... well I started to feel what the reviews said when they said that it was infinetly replayable. I unlocked the hand cannon. Whoa, love this gun! The way it reloads when you snap it to the side makes you feel like a total badass. The story in the directors cut makes more sense as you've seen it before in the first time through.

The shotgun is perhaps overpowered and I could do away with the auto reload as I like to use all the bullets in one gun and snap switch to the next.

The extras in this game are phenomenal. They approach it like the game is a cult classic movie release on DVD and the extras or memorabilia in the game are all lovingly presented. A jukebox with full soundtrack listing? Pictures you can zoom around using the Wiimotes depth positioning? The same for really detailed 3D models? Check the model for the bosses, really they put alot of work into this game.

Even a Madworld trailer tucked unobtrusively in there. The more I play, the more I love this game. The only sticking point is the first boss in the game as its your first time through you have crappy weapons so he's a long slug through boring pain in the ass. And the frame pops. I got a goregasm combo and I get an american flag in the corners of the screen? But isn't it suppossed to unfurl across the entire screen?

It is too easy though to upgrade weapons. Last night I was in the zone, hit all the gold brains, got combos etc. I could buy hand cannons and upgrade them easily with all the cash.

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Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:06:16

On another note I have to shout this out LOUD because I know people are preoccupied with SFIV and Killzone 2 and all sorts. But I completed HOTD Overkill on Directors cut last night.

And I...

MOTHER******* LOVE THIS MOTHER******* GAME!

Please don't ignore it guys, it deserves to sell, it deserves a sequel and the guys who made it had some chops. The slowdown I feared barely materialised either and the frame pops sort of.... well almost.... added to the game. When you shotgun a guy in the chest and for a split second you see a freeze frame of gushing blood splattering on the wall behind him, it adds to the gorey sensory overload. I doubt there will be a more flat out entertaining game this year.

Anyhow, I couldn't pass the prison level on DC without upgrading to the assault rifle and upgrading it. After completing it though I dont find that many differences between normal and DC modes. So it's harder and you only get 3 continues. Apart from that all I noticed were a couple of changed paths and the new Screamer bit on the hospital level?

There is a goldeneye style acheivement system in place I just noticed last night Happy To unlock the memorabilia it sets you challenges, like beat the Carny level with just the hand cannon and no deaths. Awesome, I will be taking up those challenges. Happy

I really want a sequel as the script was hilarious and I want to see a sequel to this movie like presentation.

Oh yeah and in the 3-D memorabilia section, holy check check out the train boss. The animation and modelling is pretty damn stunning.

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Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:15:02

ONM-review

(Extracts only)

When we watched a particular cut-scene at the end of the first level our mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Did they really just say that? That's, ummm, a brave move." These thoughts continued throughout the rest of the game as we got progressively more surprised by what we were seeing and amazed at what they were getting away with, right up to the ending. THAT ending.

It's really refreshing to see a Wii game that's clearly had a lot of work put into it. You can tell that the developers really care about entertaining anyone who plays Overkill because every single aspect of the game is of an extremely high quality. The soundtrack is absolutely spot-on (and features some extremely tasteless songs about necrophilia and the like), the gameplay has been finely tuned in such a way that casual players can have fun just playing through it while the more dedicated types can spend hours and hours perfecting their high scores.

House Of The Dead: Overkill is everything you could hope for in a lightgun game. It's frantic, it's hugely satisfying and (assuming you're a high score chaser) it'll last you ages. But we have to finish this review like we started it, because we can't stress this enough: this game is categorically NOT for younger audiences. Seriously, THAT ending...

9/10


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Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:27:41

screenshot_15483.jpg


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Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:31:25
Co-op is a lot of fun, but its' a huge hinderance in everything other than saving the civillians. It's offical, though: everybody loves the sound track. My uncle was tapping his feet along to it as well.

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Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:51:00
How is it a hinderance? I was playing it last night again. Damn they get stingy with the cash. It floods in on your first playthrough, but trying to upgrade or buy all the weapons is hard work.

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Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:35:13
Mostly because when the weapons upgraded the zombies die with one hit, so when you're both aiming at the one guy one will kill it the other most likely lose the combo. Which is good for competition I suppose.

Now why the hell can't I find any decent pictures of explosions? The flames looked pretty good to me.


But crap like that is all I can find. LOL

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Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:06:44

Talk about the ultimate mind-@#%.  GG.  C'mon man.  Is this game worth it or not?  I'm reading nothing but polarities on this thing and don;t know who to trust.

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Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:11:07

aspro73 said:

Talk about the ultimate mind-@#%.  GG.  C'mon man.  Is this game worth it or not?  I'm reading nothing but polarities on this thing and don;t know who to trust.

Come on GG, show him the motherfucking way, or I'll have to pacify a bitch.

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Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:08:44

Foolz said:

aspro73 said:

Talk about the ultimate mind-@#%.  GG.  C'mon man.  Is this game worth it or not?  I'm reading nothing but polarities on this thing and don;t know who to trust.

Come on GG, show him the motherfucking way, or I'll have to pacify a bitch.

LOL

Aspro you can just scroll up to my impressions. It's a must buy personally. It is short though, took me 4 days to complete both modes, although it will take ages to unlock everything. Awesome fun though.

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