House of the Dead: Overkill (2009)

Genre: On-rails shooter | Players: 2 | Developer: Headstrong Games

Do you like grind house films? Do you like whacked out shit and curse-laden humor? Then, House of the Dead: Overkill is for you, brother. If you’re looking for an on-rails shooter with laughs, gore, and challenge to spare, Overkill will definitely scratch that itch for you. The situations Agent G and Detective Isaac Washington are put into are delightfully (yet somewhat comfortably) over the top, and do stand up to many repeat experiences. This is mainly due to the spot-on light-gun gameplay afforded by the Wii-remote, but also because of the collection system and the hard mode.

What’s in the collection system isn’t too much to write home about, aside from being able to listen to the great tunes featured in the game. Character models and art panels are worthless, sure, but the challenge of destroying the golden brains in every level is honestly its own reward. At least in the normal mode. I found that the various “achievements” only helped me earn money in that mode and completing everything again in the “Director’s Cut” would have required getting incrimentally higher scores to grind for money to rebuild my arsenal. On normal, you should have no problem maxing out the stock array of weaponry, ranging from pistols, to shotguns, semi-automatics, and even an automatic shotgun. Another gun is found as part of the narrative, as well. These systematically increase the fun you can have blowing away enemies as you improve them.

There are also a few extra challenges that have you defeating ever-increasing waves of “infected,” and protecting survivors. Appropriately, a carnival style shooting gallery is even included. I only found these to be momentary distractions, but they tend to be popular mini-games in this genre and they are not unwelcome as they are completely seperated from the game itself. Additionally, two players can play the entire game simultaneously. This works perfectly fine, as both can use whatever weapons are currently available. A variant of this, in the form of dual-wielding, can be unlocked for both modes.

As long as you aren’t anal enough to want to collect every extra in hard mode, this game shouldn’t wear out its welcome over many playthroughs. Simply put, this stands as a relatively complete (main) package of gore-y, adult-oriented entertainment.

Buyer’s Guide:
Originally a Wii exclusive, Overkill found its way onto the PS3 last year with Move support, 3D visuals, two new levels and two playable characters, as House of the Dead: Overkill — Extended Cut

If for some reason you actually have a Move, I’d say get that version. It should only be able to help justify your purchase. Otherwise, go used bin hunting for an original copy.

3½ Goregasms out of 5

Nutted by NEG