The House of the Dead 2

Release Date - November 20, 1998 (JP)
Developer - Sega AM1
Publisher - Sega
Platform - Arcade (Naomi)

The House of the Dead (1996) stands alongside Resident Evil (1996) as one of the games that reinvigorated something of a zombie craze in video games. While Resident Evil was a much more nuanced and slower paced horror affair, The House of the Dead was far more bombastic and fast paced game. Resident Evil was a console smash-hit, but Sega’s The House of the Dead was a coin-operated success story. House of the Dead became one of the most iconic light-gun franchises of the 90s, alongside Sega’s own Virtua Cop franchise and Namco’s Time Crisis games.

In another similarity with Resident Evil, both games saw their sequels arrive in 1998! The House of the Dead 2 was the first game to release on Sega’s new Naomi arcade board. The Naomi board was very similar to the Dreamcast console, and as such was capable of putting out some of the best looking games of the 90s.

*The game gets very gory, very quickly.*

In typical zombie fiction fashion, the stakes have been raised in this sequel; the first game was confined to a creepy mansion, but the second game sees the zombies threatening the entire city! (If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the exact same escalation as, you guessed it, Resident Evil! That’s not to say there was any imitation going on between the two, but the similarities are amusing). This time, the action takes place across the picturesque city of Venice, Italy.

*Zombie designs vary greatly through the game, from the very traditional, shuffling corpse to the more outlandish ones with weapons.*

The story picks up with agents from a group known as the ‘AMS’ following up on the events of the first game. They arrive in Venice looking for the financier of the first game’s villain and creator of the zombie creatures, Dr Curien. When they arrive however, they discover a city already under attack from more zombies and engineered monsters!

*Fan-favourite character ‘G’ returns, and provides a lot of helpful tips.*

The House of the Dead 2 is a light-gun game and thus features on-rails, non stop action. Alongside the typical shuffling, slow moving zombies looking to bite a chunk out of the heroes, there’s some very cool enemy variety on display. This makes the gameplay all the more exciting, as you have to contend with large, slow moving zombies trying to get within arm’s reach while also shooting down projectiles or smaller faster moving enemies like creepy frogs or worms! You’ll also have to be careful in the heat of the action to avoid shooting the many civilians dotted around the city, as shooting one will cost you a hitpoint.

*Saving an innocent civilian will often yield a reward, or an alternate path!*

To add to the usual on-rails shooter formula, both The House of the Dead and The House of the Dead 2 feature branching pathways. These are activated by spotting and shooting open doors or hatches, or by saving civilians who might provide you with a key or advice. The House of the Dead 2 builds on this by having even more paths, and more varied routes. This time, they even can affect where you’ll fight the game’s bosses!

Yes, the bosses have returned, and they’re just as impressive as before. There’s even more to fight than in the first game, and feature varied designs from big dudes with chainsaws to hydra monsters with multiple heads to shoot off.

*Once again, the bosses are named after Tarot Cards. They all have a weakness, and thanks to G’s notebook, you can exploit them!*

Thanks to the power of the Naomi board, the game looks absolutely fantastic, and was a big factor in attracting punters at the arcade. The game had some impressively detailed 3D models for the characters, enemies and environment. The zombies in particular are extremely well modelled with some magnificent detail. Wait until you see their eyes rolling around inside (or outside) their heads! It was tied together nicely with a dark and dreary art direction, to really make it feel like an old zombie movie.

The soundtrack also must be praised, with the game having a great mix of orchestral instruments such as organs or string instruments combined with synthetic and more modern stylings to create a perfect ambient soundtrack for the fast-paced action-horror game. In a stark comparison to the quality of the soundtrack and graphics however is the voice acting. The House of the Dead 2 features some of the worst voice acting to ever grace a video game, and it really must be heard to be believed. While it was criticised at launch, the horrible acting has become so iconic of the game it’s now actually fondly remembered by players!

Much like the first game, The House of the Dead 2 would go on to become an arcade hit, with arcade machines being sent around the world. An inevitable Dreamcast port would follow in 1999, garnering critical praise with the same great gameplay, but a number of added features and content for the home market.

The series would spawn several more direct sequels; House of the Dead III (2002), House of the Dead 4 (2005) and House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn (2018). In addition, the franchise also had a number of spin-off titles like Typing of the Dead (1999) and the console exclusive House of the Dead: Overkill (2009). Needless to say, the game was a key release in what would become one of Sega’s most beloved franchises.

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