| The House of the Dead | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the first game in the series. Each game starting from the third entry features a different logo and style. | |
| Genre(s) | Light gun shooter Horror game |
| Developer(s) | Sega Wow Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade,Saturn,Microsoft Windows,Dreamcast,PlayStation 2,Game Boy Advance,Xbox,Nintendo DS,Wii,PlayStation 3,Mobile phone,Steam,Android,iOS,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Xbox One,PlayStation 5,Xbox Series X/S |
| First release | The House of the Dead September 13, 1996[1] |
| Latest release | [[|The House of the Dead 2 : Remake]] June 7, 2025 |
The House of the Dead is ahorror-themedlight gun shootervideo game franchise created bySega in 1996. Originally released inarcades, it utilizes alight gun on the platform, but can be played with standard controllers onconsoles and a mouse or keyboard on home computers. For thePlayStation Network releases ofIII and4, they can also be played using thePlayStation Move controller.
There are sixHouse of the Dead games originating in afirst-person light gunrail shooter format. The main series all have common traits including special agents pairing up to take on hordes of biologically engineeredundead (referred to as 'creatures' in the wider series and as 'mutants' inOverkill). The games are divided into chapters, each of which culminates in a boss battle against usually massive, terrifying creatures. The bosses in the first four games as well as the sixth are all named after theMajor Arcana of occulttarot.
Gameplay elements differ among the different games in the series, with each having different characters, firearms, and types of enemies. In many of the games, there are branching paths (determined by one's actions) and unlockable bonuses, along with different endings based on one's performances.
Severalspin-offs to the mainstream storyline have also been produced, including a virtual pinball game, an English tutorial and a typing tutorial — as well as a film trilogy. In addition, select enemy characters appearing in the first two games were adapted into fully articulatedaction figures by Palisades Toys, which canceled the second toy line before street release due to limited returns from the first series.
The House of the Dead has been, along withResident Evil, credited with popularizing zombie video games as well as re-popularizing thezombie in mainstream popular culture from the late 1990s onwards, leading to renewed interest inzombie films during the 2000s.
The core gameplay mechanic of games inThe House of the Dead series is the on-rails shooting. The player must clear each area of enemies before advancing to the next area. The first two installments featured pistols, the third featured a shotgun, the fourth andScarlet Dawn featured a submachine gun.Overkill features different firearms which can be changed to the players' liking. The instructions on the cabinets note that a head shot is the most effective way to kill zombies.
Successful clearing will result inboss battles. Before most battles, the game will show what the bosses' weak point is. Final bosses have no identifiable weak point. If the boss is shot enough times, it will recoil; otherwise, it will take one of the player's lives. In most of the games, the bosses are named afterMajor Arcana cards. They are also classified by 'types', which are shown as either a number or (more rarely) a Greek letter.
There are also some different branching paths in the games, that are usually accessed by shooting a door or an object and sometimes when a civilian is killed.
The first twoThe House of the Dead games featuredcivilians. If the player successfully rescued civilians from the zombies, the civilian would sometimes reward the player with an extra life. The fourth did not feature civilians. In the third game, occasionally the player's partner would get in trouble and the player would be rewarded if he or she saved the partner's life. Players can also obtain extra lives by shooting boxes, crates, vases and destructible scenery.Scarlet Dawn once again features the civilians from the first two games, alongside the partner rescue mechanics from the third game, alongside new mechanics such as weapon switching and quick time events.
All mainline games have multiple endings, depending on how well the player did in terms of civilians rescued, shooting percentage, score, and lives left. Every main game except the last one has a "bad" ending, usually involving one of the characters transforming into a zombie. In the first game, the character turning was Sophie Richards. 2 is Goldman, III is Daniel Curien and 4 is, once again, Goldman.
| 1996 | The House of the Dead |
|---|---|
| 1997 | |
| 1998 | The House of the Dead 2 |
| 1999 | The Typing of the Dead |
| Zombie Revenge | |
| 2000 | |
| 2001 | |
| 2002 | The Pinball of the Dead |
| The House of the Dead III | |
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | |
| 2005 | The House of the Dead 4 |
| 2006 | The House of the Dead 4 Special |
| 2007 | The Typing of the Dead 2 |
| 2008 | English of the Dead |
| 2009 | The House of the Dead: Overkill |
| The House of the Dead EX | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | The House of the Dead: Overkill: Extended Cut |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | The Typing of the Dead: Overkill |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | The House of the Dead: Remake |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | The House of the Dead 2: Remake |
On December 18, 1998,[2] the insane and disillusioned Dr. Curien plans to mobilize his armies of undead against the unsuspecting populace. AMS agents Thomas Rogan and "G" are dispatched to his mansion to stop Curien's evil plan and rescue Rogan's future wife, Sophie Richards.
In 2021, a remake based on the first game titledThe House of the Dead: Remake by Forever Entertainment forNintendo Switch was announced.[3][4] In December 2021, it was announced the game's release would be delayed to Spring of 2022.[5] The game was eventually released for the Nintendo Switch on April 7, 2022, with PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions releasing on April 28, 2022.[6]
On February 26, 2000,[2] business magnate and scientist Caleb Goldman reveals himself to be the mastermind of the 1998 Curien Mansion case and is revealed to be responsible for financing Dr. Curien's project. Goldman initiates an undead outbreak on an unnamed Italian city while his "Emperor" project develops. Two AMS agents named James Taylor and Gary Stewart are sent in order to stop Goldman.
In the post-apocalyptic world of 2019, Thomas Rogan and his team of commandos conduct a botched raid the EFI Research Facility in hopes of finding the source of the planet's collapse and its connection to the Dr. Curien case. Losing contact with him, his daughter, Lisa Rogan, and his former partner, "G", set out on a search and recover mission, unaware that what awaits them has ties to the distant past and the very genesis of the undead horde. Daniel Curien, the son of the late Dr. Curien, later teams up with Lisa to help complete the rest of the mission and defeat his father's resurrected form, "Wheel of Fate", alongside the scientist's undead minions.
In the year 2003, veteran AMS agent James Taylor (fromThe House of the Dead 2) returns to Europe, accompanied by newcomer Kate Green to investigate the Goldman Incident of 2000. Following a sudden earthquake, they are shocked to discover that the undead from three years prior have returned, seemingly unharmed, and locked in a lab, but they soon break out and wreak havoc once again. Intent on preventing a nuclear disaster, they must once again cross paths with the seemingly deceased Goldman.
Set shortly after the end ofThe House of the Dead 4, AMS agent Kate Green joins forces with fellow AMS agent "G" in order to destroy the "source" of the outbreak.
On January 14, 2018, Sega announcedHouse of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn for arcades.[7]
On December 6, 2006, three years after the events ofThe House of the Dead 4, Kate Green joins forces with Ryan Taylor - the brother of her late partner, James Taylor - on an undercover mission in a dinner event within Scarecrow Manor, until the mysterious evil manager unleashes his army of creatures upon the dinner guests, and soon the world.
In September 2019, director Takashi Oda revealed during an interview with Sega Interactive that he wants to produce three more games for the series as well as aHouse of the Deadfirst-person shooter if there is enough demand.[8]
The Typing of the Dead is a revision ofThe House of the Dead 2 that replaces the game's light guns withQWERTY keyboards. Enemies are defeated by quickly typing out words that appear on the screen, and introduces a variety of challenges. Although designed to improve typing skills, the game has been lauded by critics for its humor and originality. The game was released for arcades, Dreamcast and PC, while a revised version was released for thePlayStation 2 only in Japan.
Zombie Revenge is abeat 'em up title that was released in arcades and theDreamcast. After a zombie outbreak devastates the city, AMS agents Stick Breitling, Linda Rotta and Rikiya Busujima are sent to eliminate the threat using their guns, fists and a variety of other weapons, while uncovering the truth behind the mysterious Zed. The game makes numerous references to the series on which it is based, including the Curien Mansion fromThe House of the Dead serving as the final stage. Also, some of the zombie noises were recycled from the firstHouse of the Dead game.
The Pinball of the Dead is a pinball game released for theGame Boy Advance. Tables, bosses and enemy designs are derived fromThe House of the Dead 2.
Similar to its predecessor,The Typing of the Dead 2 is a revision ofThe House of the Dead III while retaining the typing gameplay elements of the previous title. It was only released in Japan for the PC.
Released in Japan exclusively for theNintendo DS, the game is designed to help Japanese speakers improve their English language skills. Playing similar to theTyping of the Dead games, enemies are defeated when Japanese words shown on-screen are translated into English. The game makes use of the DS touch screen and speakers.
In 1991 Agent G, on his first assignment, is sent to investigate mysterious disappearances inLouisiana and runs afoul with homicide detective Isaac Washington. They encounter hordes of mutants in Bayou County, forcing them to team up in order to survive, and find the outbreak linked to local sugar plantation owner Papa Caeser, whom Isaac is pursuing to avenge the death of his father. The pair chase him through numerous locales throughout Bayou County and unearth a far deeper conspiracy than they initially thought.
The House of the Dead EX is a more casual spin-off to the main games and adds a more humorous twist to the series. Players play either as Zobio or Zobiko, a pair of young zombies in love, who seek to escape from captivity. As opposed to the general gameplay of the series, EX's levels are made up of a series of minigames. Sections are split up into various paths, some of which use the lightgun, such as shooting apples, and others which use a foot pedal on the machine, such as stomping on spiders. The goal of each level is to fulfil a quota within the time limit, indicated by long hands reaching towards each other. It runs on the Lindbergh arcade system and is also the first game in the series to use a pedal.[9] The game was slated for release in December 2008, but was released later in 2009.[10][11]
Released for PC viaSteam,The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is the second sequel of the original spin-off game,The Typing of the Dead. Unlike previous installments, there is no arcade version of this game, though it does come with a mouse-based version ofThe House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut. Like its predecessors, the game replaces the usual rail-shooter gameplay with typing gameplay elements, this time with a modifiedThe House of the Dead: Overkill engine.
Darts of the Dead is an unreleased darts game themed aroundHouse of the Dead on the DARTSLIVE2 platform.[12] The title was trademarked by SEGA in September 2017,[13][14] and showcased on the DARTSLIVEvideo YouTube channel in October,[12][15] but since then nothing has come of the title's release to the general public.
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return is a re-release ofThe House of the Dead 2 andIII for theWii. It is largely the same as the originals, except for minor changes. A new melee attack can be used to defend oneself and the game is Wii Zapper compatible.
In 2003, the first film, directed byUwe Boll andproduced byBrightlight Pictures, was released. Given a limited theatrical release with the intent of becoming acult film, it served as a loose prequel to the game, but received very poor reviews andlittle box office return.
In 2004, a sequel to the first film was greenlit butdirect-to-DVD. The previous director was unable to direct the sequel, due to commitments to his other films, and Michael Hurst was chosen to take his place. The sequel is closer to its source, featuring AMS agents going to a school to stop a zombie outbreak from spreading. The story of the film was based on the 1997 original video game. However, the film was also poorly received.
Another sequel was announced. Mindfire Entertainment co-founder Mark Altman has stated in discussions that "It's a completely different approach to the material than the first two films." It was also stated that it may not be calledHouse of the Dead 3 as Sega wasn't releasing the latest installment on home consoles."[16] Eventually, Mindfire Entertainment releasedDead and Deader starringDean Cain and theHouse of the Dead name was not attached.[17]
In December 2016,Variety reported that Stories International and Circle of Confusion will produce a newHouse of the Dead film.[18] In late October 2024, it was announced that a live-action adaptation of the horror video game franchise bySega andWow Entertainment was in development, withPaul W. S. Anderson directing, co-producing and writing the screenplay based on thethird game.Principal photography is scheduled to begin in mid to late 2025.[19]
According toKim Newman in the bookNightmare Movies (2011), the "zombie revival began in the Far East" during the late 1990s, largely inspired by the Japanese zombie gamesResident Evil andThe House of the Dead. The success of these two zombie games inspired a wave of Asianzombie films, such asBio Zombie (1998) andVersus (2000), for example.[21] The zombie revival which began in the Far East eventually went global following the worldwide success of Japanese zombie games such asResident Evil andThe House of the Dead. Their success led to a wave of Western zombie films during the 2000s, such as28 Days Later (2002) andShaun of the Dead (2004), for example.[21] In 2013,George A. Romero said it was the video gamesResident Evil andHouse of the Dead "more than anything else" that popularised his zombie concept in mainstream popular culture.[22][23]
The House of the Dead has also been credited with introducing a new type of zombie distinct from Romero's classic slow zombie: the fast running zombie. After first appearing inThe House of the Dead, they became popular in zombie films and video games during the 2000s, including theResident Evil games and films,The House of the Dead film adaptation, and the films28 Days Later (2002) andDawn of the Dead (2004).[24]
InWalt Disney Animation Studios' 52nd animated feature-length film,Wreck-It Ralph, hatchet-wielding zombie based on Cyril appears alongside numerous other video game villains in the villains' support group Bad-Anon. The zombie tries to reassure Wreck-It Ralph that labels won't make him happy and that good or bad, he must love himself for who he is.
