House of the Dead: Overkill review (PS3) ★★★

In the mid to late 1990s, the arcade business in the UK was still thriving. The console business, while good, was arguably not yet able to offer the kind of graphical and sensory experience of playing a full on arcade game. Obviously, in the years since then, this has changed somewhat, and arcades are pretty much restricted to small corners of airports or seaside pier attractions. However, in those heady days you would be hard pushed to find an arcade that didn’t have the universally popular House of the Dead, usually with a queue behind whoever happened to be playing at the time.

There have been some so-so sequels in recent years that have tried to capitalise on the nostalgia surrounding it, and one predictably awful (and universally panned) film, again predictably, directed by Uwe Bolle. So when I was handed a review of House of the Dead: Overkill, my hopes weren’t exactly high for a classic gaming experience.

The look of HOTD: Overkill is somewhat different to its predecessors. In an interesting take on the concept, the game is set up like a 1970’s low budget ‘grindhouse’ film, although set in 1991. There are slick cut scenes introducing the main characters (although they are entirely interchangeable and expendable), as you play as Agent G who has to fight off a horde of zombies, essentially created in a lab experiment gone wrong , whilst also tracking down the crime lord Papa Cesar. It makes for an interesting twist on the slightly more rudimentary plots of the original HOTD, and it certainly incorporates a lot of inventive new levels, whilst still maintaining the format of the original.

If you play HOTD: Overkill expecting a challenging or complex game, you may be in for a surprise. Unfortunately the gameplay is very arcade-like, as it is essentially a rail shooter, with no real control over character movement, favouring a more point and shoot style. This is excellent for gamers with access to Playstation Move, however for anyone using the normal PS3 Dual shock controller, it becomes quite tiresome, quite quickly. Admittedly there has been an effort to incorporate certain elements to offset this, a variety of changeable primary weapons, secondary weapons such as grenades (with a slow motion effect), and the introduction of the ‘danger cam’, but these merely serve as minor distractions from a format that has limited longevity on a console.

In essence House of the Dead: Overkill is a highly stylised arcade game, and for what it is a very entertaining one. It looks superb and is a fun game to play with a specifically designed arcade controller, like the move system. It’s also nice to see a game developer trying to incorporate something a bit different by using the ‘grindhouse’ elements. However, in an age where games like the Uncharted series, or Resident Evil, or even the recent Modern warfare/Battlefield entries are prevalent, gaming has moved on beyond the arcade style, and HOTD feels a bit archaic, even with a lick of paint and a few new stylistic changes, it’s essentially the same game as the original, which makes it look distinctly average in such a competitive marketplace.