House of the Dead: Overkill

[SilentScreams]

Anybody else played this yet?

I've never been a fan of the "on rails" lightgun games, but damn this game is fun. It's so intentionally corny that it's funny and the action is solid, and competing for the high score in co-op mode is fun too.
I haven't tried the 4 player survival mode yet though, but if it's the same as the rest of the game it can be summed up in three words; simple and fun.

[Wedge]

It is supposed to be out today, but I can't find it anywhere!

And I am fucking pissed about it, 'cause I booked a co-op play-date for a few hours of slaughter before going to see Friday the 13th this evening.

I am fucking done being the good "support your local game store"-guy when the stores can't get a fucking game in hand for release day. The same fucking thing happened last week when Chrono Trigger DS finally released in EU. I had to check 6 stores before I found one that actually had it in stock. 6!

In addition it seems like no stores around here has even heard of the various SF4 controllers being released the same day as the game. I ordered a fightpad from england (I'm in Norway) as backup a while ago when I got worried that no stores offered pre-orders for these things, and now it seems like this was a very good idea. Amateurs!

/rant

So yeah, I am looking forwards to playing it, eventually. Thanks for giving me a thread to rant in!

[biosc1]

How's the aiming in this game? I've read that the framerate can be an issue sometimes?

[Zaro]

How's the aiming in this game? I've read that the framerate can be an issue sometimes?

You can play with a reticule or not, like Ghost Squad and House of the dead 2&3.

Sometime there's some framerate issue but rarely where you have to shoot.

[SilentScreams]

I never noticed any frame lag.
My main complaint at the moment is that they needed to make each player's reticule a bit more distinct. When things are getting frantic it can be tricky to work out which is yours in time to say...shoot a knife out of the air as it flies towards you.

It's not so bad if you use different weapons, but since we never saw the need to use anything other than the auto-shotty, that doesn't help much.

[Purple Santa]

I had this on my Gamefly Q. I'll rent it eventually or hoping someone buys it for me. I've always loved rail shooters. I suck at them truly but they are still fun to play. Now if I can get my hands on a Nerf gun...

[Tayaya]

I bought this on release day, and haven't had a chance to play it yet. Between getting ready for an upcoming job interview, getting my car fixed, working, playing Yakuza 2, and doing whatever other side projects get thrown my way it's been a busy couple of weeks for me.

I'm happy to hear some positive impressions though, and happy to see that a game of this kind, a rail shooter, is getting good press.

I've also owned, but barely played, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. I liked what I got a chance to play of that, but man can it be tough at times! How would someone compare House of the Dead: Overkill to this game?

[Tayaya]

Finally got around to playing this tonight. I don't know if I'd say it was worth $49, but it was a fun little ride, taking about 2-2.5 hours to go through, which is expected for a HotD game. The mini games are fun though not as quirky and silly as some of the ones we've seen in other light gun games. The Director's Cut mode you unlock for beating the game seems to be different enough to warrant a second play through, and is more difficult, which is a welcome thing as I found the game as-is to be too easy, compared to something like Time Crisis 4.

Definitely not a game for the kiddies. I think they squeezed more instances of the work "fuck" into the 2 hour game than you hear in about 20 hours of GTA4. Issac Washington, the black dude, says Fuck at least once in every sentence he utters.... and in the ending I think there's one sentence that had like 4 fucks in it. Not that I have a problem with the word fuck.... it just seemed a little overdone here. The story's entertaining for what it is though, and the ending is especially memorable.

If you like light gun games, though, there's a lot for you to like here. It plays well, it's got lots of zombies to blast, gives a little insight onto the origins of the HotD story (it is a prequel, after all), it looks OK if not a little dark, has some great tunes that help it keep that grindhouse feel they were going for, and it's nice to see a more adult-oriented take on HotD.

I say rent it, don't buy it (though I like it enough to keep it in the collection), unless you can find it for $29 in a month or two. $49 was too steep a price for this one, but that's not to say it's a bad game by any stretch... as long as you go into expecting a light-gun shooter and not much more.

[Urizen]

Awful.

Jerky framerate.
Enemy skins being recycled within 15 seconds.
Horrible collision detection.
Overuse of rumble.
Unforgivable pop-in.

Great campiness to the presentation, though even cut-scenes have sub-par textures. The writing and grindhouse look is charming and well-implemented.

I'm an Umbrella Chronicles fan. I thought it was a very 'RE' type of light gun game. It was hard, but meant to be played by two people. They just never balanced it for single player.

Overkill is definitely unpolished and not thoroughly play-tested. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Do not buy.

[Tayaya]

I don't know if I'd be that harsh on it... it was a decent game, just not one that's going on anybody's top 10 lists anytime soon.

The gameplay's there, and seeing the same looking zombies over and over again is one of those things you just expect with an HotD game. I agree that they could've used more of them.... it does get a little stale, but at the very least they do vary from level to level.

I think Metroid Prime 3 showed us that the Wii really can pump out the visuals when utilized properly, but honestly, how many games look as good as Metroid Prime 3 do, even games made by Nintendo? Not very many. It looks good for a Wii title, and the jerky framerate only seems to rear its head when the camera's panning around in between encounters... I never had any gamebreaking issues in combat. I will admit that the forest level was pretty asstastic looking.... but 1 level out of the 7 or 8 that are there does not an ugly game make.

The overuse of rumble probably came from having the option to make the controller rumble when you sighted a target on. I played with the zapper, so I had that and the reticule off.

I will agree with you though in saying that Umbrella Chronicles is the better of the two zombie killin' Wii games (ports of arcade games excluded.... but RE:UC is better than them too). It's HARD single-player, but it's a good, long game that doesn't let up.

[KSmitty]

I say rent it, don't buy it (though I like it enough to keep it in the collection), unless you can find it for $29 in a month or two. $49 was too steep a price for this one, but that's not to say it's a bad game by any stretch... as long as you go into expecting a light-gun shooter and not much more.Given the shorter nature of light gun games I usually wait for them to hit the $30 range.

And speaking of long running light gun franchises, where the hell is Point Blank Namco?!?

[SilentScreams]

I liked the game, as I said earlier.
I don't know if I'd have liked it if I had paid full price for it.
It's the main problem I have with getting review copies. They are free, so I'm never as critical of them as I would be if I'd paid hard earned cash for them.

[Wedge]

I and the wife have gotten plenty of hours out of it. It is pretty funny the first time through, plenty of stuff/records to go for and fun weapons. Not a single player game though, not at all, but then again I would say that about any lightgun game.

I have some issue with the frame stutters, particulary when using a shotgun (frame jerk when you gib something) and I absolutely hate the collision detection on the zomb...mutants when they are in certain animations (getting up, crawling over things). Otherwise it is simply damn fun. A perfect bargain bin title for the patient, and a prime example of a game that should retail at a lower price from day 1. Introduce flexible first day pricing in retail games now. A perfect weekend game.