House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut (PS3) Review

Posted by Mark Salmela on 11.14.2011

It’s a bloody good time.




Title: House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Headstrong Games
Genre: Rail-Shooter
Players: 1 - 2
Rated: M for Mature


House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut is a port of the 2009 House of the Dead: Overkill on the Nintendo Wii. Overkill tries to replicate the exploitation/slasher Grindhouse film style, and it does it well. Make no mistake about it, Overkill is completely over the top, and that’s where it strives. If you’re easily offended or don’t enjoy the cheesy humor of Grindhouse style films, this game is not for you.

In House of the Dead: Overkill you control series mainstay Agent G and Detective Isaac Washington as you attempt to investigate a series of disappearances and track down crime lord Papa Caesar. In traditional Grindhouse film style things soon get out of control as the town you visit is completely overrun with zombies, I mean mutants. Overkill’s extended cut includes two new levels not seen in the Wii version, bringing the total number of levels up to 9. Each level has its own mini-story and is presented as a feature film, yet each level connects to the overarching story of stopping Papa Caesar.



Overkill – Extended Cut is an old fashioned arcade style on-rails shooter where you don’t control where your character moves. You simply focus on aiming at the screen and killing mutants. You can control Extended Cut using either the DualShock 3 or PlayStation Move, but you might as well not bother getting the game unless you’re going to use PS Move. On-rails shooters have never worked and will never work with an analog stick. It’s a real shame that Sega didn’t find a way to license and support Namco’s Guncom 3 peripheral, since it’s a much more accurate light-gun peripheral than the PS Move controller. With that said the PS Move controller works extremely well, but it would have been nice to use an actual light-gun. If the PlayStation Move controller ever starts to lose accuracy you can recalibrate the controller at any time in the pause menu.

Overkill does one thing that’s extremely interesting in that instead of giving you a limited number of continues your number of continues available is dependent on your point total. You earn points for each killed zombie, with a combo meter that builds up for killing successive zombies without missing a shot. There are also point bonuses hidden around the environment and several mini-games where you’ll attempt to rescue a victim being chased by zombies, so there are plenty of opportunities to afford extra continues. It’s nice to see that a light-gun game finally figured out a way to let players continue without having to set a standard limit on continues and hope players can make it all the way through in one shot.



The graphics have been given the HD treatment on the PlayStation 3, although the game is far from jaw-dropping. The cut scenes in particular don’t look that good on the PS3 version, as the character models are simply up-resed versions of the Wii models. I also have ran into a few animation issues where mutants will slowly stumble towards you then suddenly bust into a frantic sprint where they appear in front of your face ready to strike. It doesn’t ruin the experience by any means, but in an on-rail shooter any sort of animation issues stick out. With that said the presentation is fantastic. Headstrong Games absolutely nailed the 1970’s Grindhouse feel. The colors appear faded and the screen has the same grainy look of an old low-budget movie. The Extended Cut also features 3D if your TV supports it.

The other aspect of Overkill’s excellent presentation is how completely over-the-top the game is. Overkill doesn’t pull any punches. You’ll hear the f-bomb dropped from the first sentence and the game never lets up. Isaac Washington is a complete stereotype, but in a good way since it fits in with the 1970’s exploitation film feel the game is shooting for. The scenarios in which you’re placed are gruesome, gory, bloody, and completely insane. It’s a ton of fun. Just as an example of how over-the-top Overkill is the first boss battle of the game is a handicapped boy in a wheelchair who injects himself with the virus that turned everyone into mutants.



Overall Overkill is an enjoyable light-gun game, but like almost every other light-gun game in existence it’s not very long. You’ll finish the main campaign in around 5 hours. There is a director’s cut version of the game as well as some unlockable mini-games, but you can play through everything the game has to offer in a weekend. Also, unlike most other light-gun games that actually came out in arcades, Overkill is a rather easy game. It’s no walk in the park, but don’t expect to be stuck on any one particular area or struggle to finish the game. Especially with 2 players Overkill is on the easy side for a light-gun game.



Pros

- Absolutely nails the presentation aspect. This is a 1970’s Grindhouse game.
- PlayStation Move is accurate and responsive.
- The characters are completely over-the-top, which is perfect for this sort of game.
- There’s a lot of variety in the locations and scenarios.
- The point system is a good way to allow players to earn continues.
- A blast to play co-op.


Cons

- There are a few animation issues as well as the occasional glitch.
- The graphics have been given an HD makeover, but this is still clearly a Wii game ported to the PS3.
- The game can be beaten in a couple sittings.
- Doesn’t have the difficulty of the older games, and misses the chance to poke fun at the series’ completely cheesy history.



The 411


This was the most appropriate dialogue picture I could find.


Overkill is a game best played co-op with a fellow friend on the couch. If you have 2 PlayStation Move controllers and a friend who enjoys light-gun games, go ahead and give this game a shot. Overkill absolutely nails the presentation of a 1970’s Grindhouse film, and it’s a ton of fun to play. It may not be the best light-gun game ever, and it may not be the best House of the Dead ever, but Overkill stands out as one of the top-tier light-gun shooters and may be the best one to come out in the last 5 years. This isn’t the longest game ever, and it suffers from a few animation issues, but overall House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut is a fun, albeit short experience.

Graphics	8.0	The graphics themselves don’t look that great, but the game completely nails the Grindhouse presentation.
Gameplay	7.5	A solid on-rails shooter. The PS Move controller works well in-place of an actual light-gun.
Sound	9.0	You’ll either love or hate the dialogue. Personally I thought the over-the-top and offensive dialogue only added to the presentation.
Lasting Appeal	6.0	You can finish the campaign in around 5 hours. There are mini-games, but you’ll grow bored of them quickly.
Fun Factor	8.0	It may not be the best House of the Dead, but it’s the best light-gun game to come out since Target Terror.
Overall	7.5   [ Good ]