$@%$ed-up genius?

If you’ve played House of the Dead: Overkill, you’re more than invited to sound off on what I write here.

irst I’d like to reflect on the irony that this one, undoubtedly the most profane game you’ve ever encountered (every other word is an f-bomb), is on the Wii, of all platforms. You know, the kiddy-game system… Aside from perhaps Grand Theft Auto IV (which never found its way into the Nintendosphere, to the protests of many but for reasons understood by all) I don’t know of a more foul-mouthed video game anywhere. Here is a transcript of one of many title screen voice-overs (and I should warn everyone now that along with the game, that this review is rated ‘M’):

“House of the Dead: Overkill. It’s not just good, it’s fucking delicious! Critics said it’s fucking good. Other critics said it’s motherfucking good. A street corner prostitute said, I would suck that guy’s dick. A toothless crackwhore said, give me a chicken dinner. House of the Dead: Overkill. Fucked-up genius.”

This is all before you start playing… just to set the mood, you understand…

I must hand it to the game’s developers, Headstrong Games, for succeeding in capturing a ‘vibe’ and a feeling better than any comparable video game I’ve ever played; The House of the Dead on-rails shooting game franchise has changed its spots a little bit for this one. Unlike other HOTD games, this title is aesthetically derivative of Grindhouse, the joint double-feature film by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, which was derivative of ‘grindhouse’ movie theater fare; 70s exploitation flicks, the cheesiest of the cheesy.  HOTD:OK might as well be dubbed Grindhouse: The video game. From the film-grain filters to the scratches and pops in the soundtrack, to the vintage-style music to the frequent interjection (“In a world where…”) by the voice-over man to distinct retro cut-scene graphical elements to terrific movie poster mock-ups that introduce each level, to the video of a pole dancer which plays as a backdrop to staff credits to the hilarious ‘missing reel’ moment in the storyline… this game is top-to-bottom the most complete send-up of that genre that I’ve come across, and in its own perverse way it’s a work of art.  One gets the sense that a group of movie and computer geeks had the time of their lives making this game; I wish I’d been there with them.

One of the great quarter eaters

But, however stylistically solid HOTD:OK might be, the game simply isn’t that good mechanically, and it’s not hard enough. For the sake of reference, maybe some of you remember an arcade game called Operation Wolf. I loved that game! It, along with Virtua Cop, earned me my light-gun shooter stripes. As a kid I would easily pile 10 dollars into either game on a weekend. I found them not only a rush to play, but also very challenging.

Relative to those on-rails shooting games (22 and 15 years old, respectively), HOTD:OK is just far too easy, to the point where there’s no incentive to learn to attack the levels efficiently. A decent gamer doesn’t need to manage health packs or power-ups in order to beat the game, or think about much at all; the light gun shooter equivalent of button-mashing is enough to plow through this one. There is no penalty for dying (you have unlimited continues) except for losing some points, and with no network play I can’t imagine playing the game enough to begin to care about my score. There are no memorably difficult sequences that you’ll play over and over, talk about with friends and compare strategies, with big excited eyes. The funhouse car-like camera movements are frenetic and varied and very effective in generating some actual suspense (again, more style points) but this is a shooter, and it doesn’t ultimately matter how well you shoot. And that’s bad. There’s a ton of style, but there’s not enough game. Without their A-game a decent gamer will be able to unlock all of the unlockables in a couple of days and once you’ve had your laughs and showed the game to a few people, the novelty of “Grindhouse meets Wii” will wear off, too.

The fact that the Wii remote is a light-gun waiting to happen has meant that we’ve seen a lot done with first-person and on-rails shooters for the Wii, and this will likely continue (Both Resident Evil games are great, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Sega sent a Virtua Cop incarnation down the pipe at some point.  EDIT: Yesterday Capcom announced that The Darkside Chronicles, sequel to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles will make its way to the Wii sometime this year) but players must demand better gameplay than that offered by HOTD this time out.

The Verdict
Nintendo Power described this one as a ‘guilty pleasure’ and I concur; believe it or not I liked HOTD:OK, I found it amusing and stylistically impressive and in a bizarre way I actually cared about its characters. But the game just doesn’t have lasting appeal. I’ve never played a game that ‘felt’ like this one. But I’ve played plenty of games that are too easy.

Recommendation to seasoned, adult gamers: rent this one; especially if you loved Grindhouse. But not with kids around.  The main female character Varla (named for a character in the cult classic Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) might well have ‘artistic merit’ as a ‘symbol of an era’ and a pop culture reference (or whatever you typically cite to justify looking at smut) but Mom’s disapproving eyes when the camera zooms in tight on Varla’s breasts visibly bouncing and heaving, and your 6-year-old asking what Varla means when she says “that’s not his dick in my back…” well, these things could ruin your fun.