is a
horror-themed
light gun shooter
Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a sc ...
arcade game and the second game in ''
The House of the Dead
''The House of the Dead'' is a horror-themed light gun shooter video game franchise created by Sega in 1996. Originally released in arcades, it utilizes a light gun on the platform, but can be played with standard controllers on consoles and a ...
'' series of
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s. The direct sequel to ''
The House of the Dead
''The House of the Dead'' is a horror-themed light gun shooter video game franchise created by Sega in 1996. Originally released in arcades, it utilizes a light gun on the platform, but can be played with standard controllers on consoles and a ...
'', it was developed by
Sega for arcades on the
Sega NAOMI
Sega is a video game developer, publisher, and hardware development company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with multiple offices around the world. The company's involvement in the arcade game industry began as a Japan-based distributor of coin-o ...
board in November 1998, then ported to the
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
in 1999 and
Microsoft Windows in 2001, and is also found on the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...
as an unlockable bonus in ''
The House of the Dead III
is a 2002 horror-themed light gun arcade game and the third installment of the '' House of the Dead'' series of video games, developed by Wow Entertainment and Sega. It was ported to the Xbox in 2003, Microsoft Windows in 2005, the Wii in ...
''. The game appears in the compilation ''
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return'' for
Wii. The Dreamcast version became a ''
Sega All Stars'' title.
The games story picks up slightly over a year after the
original game, and follows several AMS agents investigating a zombie outbreak in Italy. The protagonists are tasked find the source of the attack while also locating a missing agent, known as G.
Gameplay
''The House of the Dead 2'' is a
rail shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a Video game genre, sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certai ...
light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol.
Early history
The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensin ...
game. It includes an auto-reload feature that allows players to point their guns off-screen to reload their weapons without pulling the trigger. Players must shoot their way through hordes of zombies and other monsters while attempting to rescue civilians being attacked. Health is represented by torches at the bottom of the screen and are lost when the play is hit by an enemy or shoots a civilian. Bonus health can be awarded by rescuing civilians and finding first aid kits hidden in crates and barrels. Like the first game, it incorporates a branching path system that allows for a variety of different routes in each stage depending on the players actions. This is expanded upon with far more paths than the original and can even lead to completely different stage layouts/locations, although the general story itself will always remain the same.
The game served as the springboard for the arcade, Sega Dreamcast, and
PC release ''
The Typing of the Dead
is an arcade game that was developed by WOW Entertainment and published by Sega for the Sega NAOMI, NAOMI hardware. The game was released in Japanese arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 by Smilebit. A Microsoft Windows ve ...
'', the
Nintendo DS release ''English of the Dead'', as well as the inspiration for the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
game, ''
The Pinball of the Dead
''The Pinball of the Dead'' is a pinball video game developed by Sega's Wow Entertainment division and published by Sega in Japan and THQ in North America. It was released for the Game Boy Advance on June 19 and July 4, 2002, in North America an ...
''.
The flashbacks to the first ''The House of the Dead'' in the game's introductory sequence were recorded using the game's engine.
Plot
AMS Agent G's further investigation on the 1998 Curien Mansion incident leads to his mysterious disappearance upon his discovery of the remnants of Dr. Curien's operations in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, where a zombie outbreak takes place.
On February 26, 2000, American AMS agents James Taylor and Gary Stewart are dispatched with their fellow agent Harry Harris and his British AMS partner Amy Crystal, to investigate and evacuate the populace of Venice. They suddenly encounter the
imp
IMP or imp may refer to:
* Imp, a fantasy creature
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power''
* Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony''
* Imp, a character in the '' Cl ...
ish Zeal, who had recently dealt with G. Upon finding a wounded G alive in a local library, James and Gary converse with him. G gives them a field journal showing the bosses and their weak points. The pair are then met with a massive undead horde, similar to the kind from the Curien Mansion incident. They continue on, trying to save the town's civilians from the zombies.
During the chaos, James and Gary face
Judgment
Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...
; consisting of Zeal and his giant, headless, axe-wielding armoured puppet Kuarl. After killing it, they meet up with Amy and Harry, who split up and try to meet at Sunset Bridge (or the wharf, depending on the player's actions). Upon getting there the group faces off with
The Hierophant
The Hierophant (V) is the fifth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks. It is derived from the historical card known as the Pope in playing card decks. It is used in divination.
Description and symbolism
In many modern packs, the Hie ...
, an aquatic fishlike humanoid which heads an assault on Venice's waterways and Central Plaza. Upon defeating it, James, Gary, Amy and Harry get on a boat and continue through the rivers.
It is revealed that the zombies were created by Caleb Goldman, the man who financed Dr. Curien's creations during the Curien Mansion incident. It is also revealed that Goldman created the new zombies and released them into the city. Goldman leaves a message on Amy's phone, inviting them to meet him at the
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
, which Harry fears to be a trap. James and Gary split up again, and face off with a group of five fiery serpents known as
The Tower. After killing the mother serpent, they receive a phone call for help from Amy, before getting cut off. The two quickly race to the Colosseum only to discover Amy and a wounded Harry, injured by
Strength
Strength may refer to:
Physical strength
*Physical strength, as in people or animals
* Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations
*Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human c ...
, a giant, chainsaw-wielding zombie which wounds Harry and chases James and Gary throughout the arena. After they kill it, James and Gary push on, while Amy tends to Harry's wounds. They drive over to Goldman's tower, fighting a revived Judgment, the Hierophant, and Tower.
Upon reaching the headquarters, they are confronted by Curien's masterpiece,
The Magician, who was also revived by Goldman to oversee the birth of
The Emperor, a
shapeshifting crystalline entity with mastery over magnetism designed to protect nature from humanity. After defeating the Magician, they head to the top of the tower to confront the Emperor. In its prototype stage, the Emperor is not as strong as Goldman had hoped, and falls to the AMS agents. In order to evade being arrested, Goldman commits
suicide by throwing himself off the roof of his building.
Players are given
different endings based on the following conditions:
* If a solo game was finished as either player 1 or 2
* If both players defeated the last boss
* Number of continues
* Points earned
In the good ending, James and Gary run into Thomas Rogan, the main character from the first game, who tells them that G and Harry are all right, and that they should head off to their next battle "as long as they have the will to live" (in the case of James) or "as long as there is an answer" (in the case of Gary). In the normal ending, as James and Gary leave the building, they are greeted by G, Amy and Harry, as well as a large group of civilians, who thank them for their help. In the bad ending, James and Gary run into a zombified Goldman outside the building. As the screen goes white, a gunshot is heard.
Development
Ports
''The House of the Dead 2'' was later ported to the Dreamcast, as a launch title for the system, Xbox, as an unlockable on the Xbox port of ''The House of the Dead 3'', PC, and Wii, in a double release with ''The House of the Dead 3''. It was also the second, and final game in ''The House of the Dead'' series to appear on a Sega console, with the original ''The House of the Dead'' for the Sega Saturn being the first.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The House of the Dead 2'' on their January 1, 1999 issue as being the third most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month.
The Dreamcast version received "favorable" reviews, while the PC version received "average" reviews according to the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
GameRankings.
[
]AllGame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
gave the arcade version a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five. In Japan, ''Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' gave the Dreamcast version 33 out of 40. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
praised the same console version's detailed level design and varied enemy designs but criticized poor voice acting. GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
said of the same console version, "Just a gun
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
that lines up with the sights doesn't seem too much to ask for."[ '']Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' ranked it at number 99 in its best games of all-time list in 2001. The staff praised it for its expansion of its predecessor's gore and intensity, but noted that the lack of a light gun accessory for the Dreamcast version was disappointing.
Blake Fischer reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for '' Next Generation'', rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "Without the light gun, this game is a complete loss. With a gun, it's better, but not for very long."
A consensus among reviewers was that the quality of the English voice acting was very poor, with one calling it "easily some of the worst in the genre".[ Others found it to be so bad that it became amusing.A new House of the Dead is heading to arcades]
, ''Eurogamer''
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of The Dead 02, The
1998 video games
1990s horror video games
Arcade video games
Cooperative video games
Dreamcast games
Light gun games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Rail shooters
Sega arcade games
Sega video games
SIMS Co., Ltd. games
The House of the Dead
Video game sequels
Video games set in 2000
Video games set in Venice
Wii games
Windows games
WOW Entertainment games
Video games developed in Japan