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The House Of The Dead: 2 & 3 Return arrives as
part of a string of SEGA Arcade titles from the turn of the century
launching on Wii. Along with SEGA Bass Fishing and Ghost
Squad, The House Of The Dead: 2 & 3 Return offers classic
titles to a new audience and fans alike. Couple this with the recent
launch, and incredible success, of the Wii Zapper (which currently
still includes
Link’s Crossbow Training as free software) and the timing
couldn’t be more perfect for a revival of SEGA’s much-loved
zombie-busting series.
House Of The Dead has now been in the marketplace
for twelve years, and has garnered quite a following. Spin-offs in
titles such as SEGA Superstars on the PlayStation2 and in the
recent, totally-unrelated
SEGA Superstar Tennis on Xbox360,
action figures and even two movie adaptations which bear
little-to-no relation to the series convoluted and almost
non-existent plot. But little of this has any bearing on the latest
Wii offering, a compilation consisting of the two most recent titles
in the series
The title is an Arcade Light-Gun game, where the play takes place
through an on-rails first-person perspective, and the player is
charged only with the defeat of large numbers of enemies, and
screen-filling Bosses. Both games are clearly just ports from
earlier console releases, with concessions made for their existence
on Wii; The House Of The Dead 2 looks strikingly like the
DreamCast version – including its’ Boss Rush Mode - and The House
Of The Dead 3 is representative of the Xbox release. Both these
games were practically identical to their Arcade counterparts, but
with a handful of extra features thrown in. So much so in-fact, that
they really stand-out.
 Clinical and precise notes denote Wii
upgrades whereas the fuzzy low-resolutions can be seen on original
screens. Because of this, neither will take more than an afternoon’s
play to battle your way through, but completion is as tough as it
always was. One new feature to Wii is that of unlockable options.
Progression through the game will reward you with options such as
increased starting Lives, and makes for an incentive for continued
play. Both titles now feature rather patronising Tutorial Videos,
and the player now only has to point off-screen to reload, rather
than fire as with previous versions, which actually makes a great
noticeable difference to the speed of the game.
While The House Of The Dead: 2 & 3 Return could be thought of
as a larger fan service than even SEGA Superstar Tennis, the
fact that it’s launching exclusively on Wii hammers-home its’
new-found glory as a pick-up-and-play title, despite the series
previously rather hardcore reputation. And though both of the latter
episodes appearing on one disc is a great way of increasing value,
it makes one wonder as to why SEGA didn’t go whole-hog and includes
all three, especially considering neither present has received any
graphical modifications. Perhaps SEGA feared its technical
inferiority may put off consumers, or perhaps we’ll see that first
title available as some kind of Downloadable Content in the future?
Obviously, being ports of earlier conversions, the title’s graphics
are hardly representative of Wii’s capabilities. Like many titles
currently available on the system, their visual representation has
been hampered more
 by the original format chosen for the title’s
launch than that of its own. Having said that, there is nothing
particularly wrong with the title aesthetically and some fantastic
character design is evident throughout both titles. The soundtrack
is phenomenal, as it has always been with the series, but again is
limited due to being a port from previous hardware.
The House Of The Dead: 2 & 3 Return is an enjoyable visit to
titles previously adored within the industry. Little more has been
asked and little more has been given. While the title may have aged
graphically, the gameplay is as compelling as ever, and for those
with a Wii Zapper and little else to play, right now, The House
Of The Dead: 2 & 3 Return is only likely to take a backseat to
Mario Kart Wii.
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