Sega's classic horror shooter comes back to life on Switch! Review of The House of the Dead: Remake!
Starting April 7, 2022, a downloadable version of "The House of the Dead: Remake" was available for the Nintendo Switch. This title is a remake of the horror gun-shooter "The House of the Dead," which ran as a Sega arcade game in 1997. In this article, we will provide a review of this title.
Original mode faithfully reproduces the original.
The story begins with a phone call from a woman named Sophie, and AMS agents Logan and G head to Dr. Curian's laboratory to stop his inhumane experiments on humans. The two attempt to rescue Sophie and the researchers and capture Dr. Curian while fighting off the zombies that infest the premises.
This title is a first-person shooter, similar to a first-person shooter in terms of genre for home consoles. In the stages, the player follows a set route from beginning to end, using a handgun to take down enemies that appear along the way.
Aiming the gun is controlled by the gyro-sensor on the Joy-Con. The tilt of the controller is directly transmitted to the on-screen cursor, making the game intuitive, as if the player were playing an arcade gun shooting game. In addition to the gyro-sensor, stick operation is also supported. The controls are simple: aim at the enemy with the cursor, shoot, and reload when you run out of ammunition. You will quickly learn how to play.
The shooting and reloading buttons are separate, so if you press both at the same time, you can perform the wild maneuver of loading while shooting bullets. The gun can be used like a machine gun, even though it is a handgun, because it does not run out of ammunition no matter how many rounds you fire in rapid succession. Compared to the arcade version, where you had to shoot off-screen to reload, there are no gaps, so you will rarely run out of ammunition and be attacked by enemies.
Holding the Joy-Con in the air can cause the aiming point to gradually shift; pressing the Y button resets the position, so it is important to make a habit of adjusting your position each time you do so.
The game is over when your life reaches zero, but you can continue up to 10 times without limit. However, after the 11th time, the player must pay 5,000 points per game to revive. There are "classic" and "modern" methods of score accumulation, with classic being closer to the arcade version and modern being easier to accumulate scores compared to classic. If you are worried about clearing the game, it is recommended to play in the Modern mode first.
As this title bears the title "Remake," it is based on the arcade version released in 1997, and its high level of reproduction cannot be overlooked. In the "original" mode, the placement of enemies and hidden items for scoring, the route branching familiar from "The House of the Dead" series, and the ending that changes depending on the score are just as in the arcade version. Even the characters' dialogue is the same as it was back then. As an elementary school student at the time, I have played the original several times, and was amazed at the degree of perfection.
Although this game is basically based on the original work, the music is original. In particular, the BGM for the battle of the last boss in the original work was highly acclaimed, so it was a little disappointing to see the changes in this work.
Another thing that bothered us was that the depiction of missing parts was removed. This change is due to the fact that the Japanese version of the game is now for players 17 years of age or older (CERO: D). In the original "The House of the Dead," missing parts were a major strategy technique. Since the missing part was no longer judged as an attack, it could neutralize the attack of a zombie with a weapon, and it also served as a marker to avoid targeting the same part of the body.
Another unique feature of the Japanese version is that shooting a researcher does not constitute a misfire. While the sense of tension has decreased, the difficulty level has also decreased, making the game easier to play.
Instead of missing parts, damaged parts are now painted yellow in the Japanese version. This makes it difficult to identify the missing parts, but it is quite difficult because the zombies move very fast in this game. Depending on the strength of the shading and the angle, it may be difficult to see. Just keeping in mind not to shoot at the same spot more than once will make the game much more difficult.
New elements such as the "HORDE mode," in which you shoot a large number of enemies, have been added to the game, making it highly replayable.
While the game shows a lot of respect for the original, there are also some new elements in the remake. The most significant is the "HORDE Mode," which is a hard mode with up to 15 times more enemies than the original mode, which is based on the original work. It is more exhilarating than terrifying, and it is a different kind of game. For those who have played the series before, it is similar to "The House of the Dead 4.
The sheer number of enemies makes handguns untenable, and in HORDE mode, the remake's additional weapons, such as the assault rifle, which can fire in rapid succession, and the grenade launcher, which can engage a wide range of enemies at once, are almost indispensable. The exhilaration of conquering the HORDE mode, which can be described as violence in numbers, with powerful weapons is exceptional, and because the additional guns are so strong, there is no particular need for a strategy.
If you save all the researchers along the way, the "weapons cache" will be released. Shoot the weapon cases that appear in the main story from then on, and you can get the corresponding gun for each one!
In addition to the original and HORDE mode, the main story is divided into four difficulty levels: EASY, NORMAL, HARD, and ARCADE. The time required to clear the game is easy, at around 30-40 minutes, and the combination of new weapons and various settings allows the player to enjoy a different playing experience on each one.
The game's quality is high enough to be played for the price of 2,599 yen (including tax). Forever Entertainment, the developer of this title, is also known to be in charge of the remake of "2," the sequel to "The House of the Dead. We wonder how the most popular film in the series will be revived in the modern age.
Film information.
The House of the Dead: Remake
Compatibility: Switch
Genre: FPS
Release date: April 7, 2022
Price: 2,599 yen (tax included) *only download version
CERO: D
Developer: Forever Entertainment
© SEGA. All right reserved. Developed by MegaPixel Studio S.A. Published by Forever Entertainment S.A.
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