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The House of the Dead (series): Difference between revisions
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{{quote|(However, if you still feel more intricate details are needed, [[The House of the Dead (series)/Recap|we've a page for that]].)}}
Known for its fast-paced shooting and [[Multiple Endings]], ''House of the Dead'' is one of those games that many play, but few ever beat (at least not without a small fortune in coins, that is). The first two games (especially the second) were infamous for hilariously weak voice acting that left you thinking the voice actors must have been instructed to sound as bored as possible, as well as an extremely stilted-sounding translation.
If you want to play a shooter game which emphasizes horror and uses traditional zombies, then you are looking at the wrong game.''House of the Dead'' goes in [[Our Zombies Are Different|the opposite direction]], just because [[Rule of Cool|it's cool]]. A great majority of the zombie population in these games either are fast, wield weapons, have supernatural powers, or are just very, very fat. Boss fights are a major example of these deviations, with boss creatures barely resembling "traditional" zombies at all, often taking the form of some freakish abomination.
None of this stops the series from being fun. [[Narm Charm|The sheer ridiculousness of the games]] makes for some amazing boss battles and fight scenes. Better yet, this was the precursor to ''[[Dead Space (video game)|Dead Space]]'' - '''you can use precision shots to [[Gorn|dissect the zombies]] in any manner you please.''' Torso wounds become gaping bloody holes, but do limited damage. Shoot a zombie in the arm, the arm will be blown off, and its attacks will be weaker if it gets close enough to do damage. Shoot a zombie in the leg, the leg will be blown off, and it will crawl at you(quickly). Of course, [[Boom! Headshot!|headshot]]s are [[Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain|the best way to kill zombies]], but only a shot between the eyes is a [[One-Hit Kill]] - zombies running at you with half their head blown off is common. Just don't stop here expecting a gripping story, nuanced characters, or some kind of social message.
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=== How could anyone do this? ===
* [[Achilles' Heel]]: All bosses (even monsters with supposedly "unknown" weaknesses) have these. Usually some form of note would appear to highlight the weakness, although the exact nature of the clue varies from game to game: the first two HOTD games make use of research notes, while HOTD 4 has a PDA scan. HOTD 3 doesn't even come up with an excuse for what's giving the heroes a hint.
** One of the best examples: Hierophant, a hideous frog thing whose chest bursts open every time it takes a breath for an easy potshot at its heart. It's one of the easiest boss battles in the series.
** However, while each game's final boss will always have an "Unknown" weakness, one glance at them will pretty much give away where you need to insert the bullets.
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** Lisa Garland in the third movie.
** Oh, yeah. And Lisa Rogan in 3.
** And Kate in 4.
* [[Always Night]]: While the first game seems quite dark, all the sequels are closer to "always overcast". ''Overkill'' eventually makes it to sunset.
** ''Extended Cut'', in turn, does the opposite.
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* [[Big Bad]]: Dr. Roy Curien, then Caleb Goldman.
** And in one of ''The House of the Dead 4'''s endings, it's implied that {{spoiler|there's an even [[Bigger Bad]] at work; a mysterious limping man complains that "Goldman was too soft." His appearance in ''III'' and ''4'' have led to a fair amount of [[Wild Mass Guessing]], much of which involves a sequel to ''4''.}}
** Also, Papa Caesar in Overkill. {{spoiler|Sort of. He only ''appears'' to be the [[Big Bad]] for the five chapters (out of seven) of the story. He's later supplanted by Warden Darling.}}
* [[Big Boo's Haunt]]: The mansion in the first game could be considered a more "mundane" version of this trope. There are lots of physical undead, but no ghosts or any other type of spirit. However, the Magician possesses psychic powers..
* [[Body Horror]]: Many of the enemies, especially Nigel and Sebastian (two twins horribly fused together) and the Lobber from Overkill. And from the same game, {{spoiler|Varla Guns, after Warden Darling put his mother's brain ''in her head''... and apparently forgot to reattach the back of her cranium.}}
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{{quote|'''G:''' "Care to dial down the swearing, Wash?"
'''Isaac:''' "Fuck that, motherfucker!" }}
** G lampshades again when he notices that, of all the things they saw, the only thing Washington didn't call a "motherfucker" was {{spoiler|Warden Darling, who was a ''literal'' mother fucker}}.
** And now the Extended Cut will play with this: the speech is censored by default, in both voice and subtitles. How do you restore the dialogue to its foulmouthed glory? By ''shooting the censored words'' during cutscenes.
* [[Contemplate Our Navels]]: The end of ''Overkill'' has the characters discuss the true meaning of their ordeal, with Washington thinking it's a postmodernist deconstruction of modern feminism. And swear gratuitously... even G, though he's just mocking Washington.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: ''Overkill'' has a couple: For example, the version of G's theme tune that plays over the main menu is titled ''Suffer Like G Did''.
** Also, the final levels of ''4'' take place in the same area, and play just like, the final levels of ''2''.
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Goldman appears to be one, but then turns out to be [[Gaia's Vengeance|much worse]].
* [[Shareware|Crippleware]]: The first game's demo was time-limited; a big timer counted down from three minutes, and the game would quit once the timer reached zero. The hack-savvy player who used a memory location editor to freeze the timer would find out that the timer was the ''only'' thing crippling the game; with it out of the way, it was possible to play the game to the end.
* [[Critical Existence Failure]]: Nearly every single boss and every single ''protagonist''. Taken to extremes in ''Overkill'', as the character doesn't even yell out in pain when he gets hit (aside from the first boss battle, in which Washington will curse about how nasty getting hit with a severed leg is). Taken to less of an extent in ''4'', since the characters tend to gripe when their health is low.
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* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Zobiko in ''The House of the Dead EX'' is a Cute Zombie Girl. And a ''protagonist.''
** You think the Screamer (second boss of ''Overkill'') is one... [[Chakushin Ari|then you get a look]] [[Shout-Out|at her face]].
* [[Damsel in Distress]]: Sophie Richards in the first game. Also, you will find those (either civilians or your partner) who will need rescue throughout your mission. Saving them nets you a life bonus most of the time. Subverted in ''III'', in which it's your partner that you rescue, and even then, they're only in trouble for a few seconds, retreating back to you regardless of whether you succeed or fail. On top of that, Thomas Rogan is the one in distress, and it's his [[Action Girl]] daughter to the rescue (along with his old AMS buddy, G). Avoided outright in ''4'', in which there's nobody to rescue. And finally, Varla Guns... twice.
* [[David Versus Goliath]]: There's always at least one giant-sized boss.
* [[Dead Weight]]: In the first few stages of ''Overkill'', fat zombies are the earliest kind of [[Giant Mook]], taking a few more body shots than normal enemies. The manual explains that a mutant's health is directly proportionate to its mass. They're also fast.
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* [[Dumb Blonde]]: Candi from the [[PlayStation 3]] version of ''Overkill''
* [[Dynamic Difficulty]]: Playing with a second player makes the games MUCH harder. So if you don't want to die twice as often, don't play with a second player unless said player is just as competent as you.
** Also, the better you play in a stage, the faster the boss will be. It's not very clear how it works, because sometimes he'll slow down when you fail to survive an attack. (It's most notable with the Magician, whose movement aura is a different color based on whether it's in "easy" or "hard" mode.)
* [[Every Car Is a Pinto]]:
{{quote|'''G:''' Tasteful ride.
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* [[Lemony Narrator]]: The narrator in ''House of the Dead: Overkill''.
* [[Lighter and Softer]]: ''The House of the Dead EX'', as well as ''The Typing of the Dead''. And ''how''.
* [[Love Makes You Evil]]: Roy Curien in regards to his son, and Warden Darling in regards to {{spoiler|his mother}}.
* [[Loves the Sound of Screaming]]: Papa Caesar.
{{quote|'''Caesar:''' As you well know, Isaac, I enjoy pain. It's like a [[Trademark Favorite Food|good Chinese dinner]], you know, with the sweet and the sour. Expanding on that analogy, I will smile with delight ([[Captain Obvious|that's the sweet]]) as you ''scream for your fucking life'' ([[Captain Obvious|of course, that's the sour]]). ''*hits the [[Big Red Button]]*'' [[Stealth Pun|Ci]][[Bilingual Bonus|ao]]!}}
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* [[Noodle Incident]]: The first phase of the final boss fight in ''Overkill'', which is skipped over in an alleged "missing reel". The dialogue immediately afterwards suggests that it would have been a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
** Subverted in the Director's Cut of the Playstation 3 version where they reveal {{spoiler|that they did find the miniguns and fought Mother by destroying pillars}}. It was definitely a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* [[Not Using the Z Word]]: "They're mutants!"
{{quote|'''Isaac:''' I hate those motherfuckin' zombies!
'''G:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|"Mutants. How many times to I have to tell you to ''not use the Z word?''"]] }}
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* [[Post Modernism]]: In the ending of Overkill, the characters discuss the symbolism of their adventure, a [[Mythology Gag]] regarding the fact that zombie media often has some sort of symbolism regarding culture, politics, or some such.
* [[Promotion to Parent]]: Varla raised Jasper after their parents died.
* [[Raising the Steaks]]: This series has undead fauna all over the place: bats, owls, spiders, sloths, leeches, crows. The first game even featured ''winged zombie dobermans''.
* [[Revenge]]: Rogan and Isaac's driving motives in the first game and Overkill, respectively. The second chapter of The House of the Dead, after Sophie's death, is titled "Revenge."
* [[Revolvers Are Just Better]]: ''Overkill'' lets you buy a [[Hand Cannon]] that comes with its Firepower maxed out, which equates to everything that isn't a boss dying in one shot. A tad subverted - you need to be '''really fucking accurate''' with it. The automatic shotgun is better at chaining combos and ammo capacity.
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* [[Secret Character]]: Sophie and a female researcher could be used in the original game's Saturn mode if a code was used.
* [[Sequel Difficulty Drop]]: ''Overkill''. Largely due to the ability to upgrade and switch weapons.
* [[Sequel Hook]]: The ending of ''Overkill'' establishes that, at the very least, Bayou is not even ''close'' to mutant-free. And the poster for the last level says "They're just getting started."
** [[Justified Trope]], at least in a strict chronological sense: ''Overkill'' is a prequel.
** Not only that, the tape which Caesar leaves to ''motherfucking'' Washington says...
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{{spoiler|'''Daniel:''' ''[[Calling the Old Man Out|You're not my father!]]''}} }}
* [[Sir Swearsalot]]: Washington.
* [[Something Completely Different]]: ''The House Of The Dead EX''. You have light guns, but that's about as far as the similarity goes. It's not only lighter and softer, but is filled with childish cutscenes which are mostly 2D anime/manga style stills, toned down violence, and aside from that, there's the genre change from rail shooter to minigames.
* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: After [[Cluster F-Bomb|Cluster F Bombing]] his way into the Guinness Book of World Records, Washington manages this in ''Overkill'''s ending:
{{quote|'''Washington:''' Frankly, Casanova, I'd be more worried about reading the last 24 hours as a damning fucking indictment of contemporary feminism.
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