House of the Dead
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Wii Warm Up: ... if dreams could come true
The big news over at DS Fanboy got us thinking about how Sega has been using the Wii to unleash updated Dreamcast titles on us. Titles such as Samba de Amigo and House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. Since the DS got the Cadillac of dream remakes/updates (we're still not sure yet), we were wondering what dream title, from the most dreamy of past consoles, would you want to see remade for Wii? Virtua Cop? We call dibs. Jet Grind Radio? Nice choice. Shenmue, right?
The House of the Novelty Costumes
If you think you're done with your copy of The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, you may be in for a surprise! Sega released these videos of secret modes available in both games contained on the disc. We believe these costumes are unlocked through House of the Dead 2's Original Mode minigame, and it is totally worth the time to unlock the nice old lady costume seen here.Bruno Delinger, star of Dynamite Deka (which was released over here as Die Hard Arcade with John McClane as the protagonist), has been unlockable in The House of the Dead 2 since the Dreamcast version. It's a somewhat little-known bonus, and we still find it humorously out of place.The last video features The House of the Dead 3's Extreme Mode, in which you have to shoot specific weak points on zombies to take them down.
House of the messenger bag
Earlier this week, we informed you lovely readers that House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return was super cheap at Circuit City. Now Amazon also has the game listed at the irresistible price of $19.99. We really don't mean to keep shoving this game down your throats, but how can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat? Yet, if you didn't buy House of the Dead earlier, there's probably nothing that would motivate you to get it now except an even bigger price drop. It's also worth noting that Amazon's "Deal of the Day" is the Wii messenger bag pictured above. If you geekified hipster types were looking for a way to lug around your Wii, this bag for $19.99 isn't too bad of a deal. But, to be honest, there are probably better means that you can use to transport your console. That's just our opinion, though. What do the rest of you Wii aficionados think? Gallery: House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return [Via CAG]Read: House of the Dead 2 & 3 ReturnRead: Wii Messenger Bag
Circuit City: House of the Deal
Sega's budget port just got cheaper! Circuit City has marked down its copies of House of the Dead 2 & 3 to $19.99, $10 less than the game's usual going rate. Since you're really buying two arcade shooters with this bundle and not one, it's like you're spending only $10 each for two zombie-packed titles. And who doesn't love zombies? Honestly, if you don't love zombies, you're no friends of ours. %Gallery-10506%[Thanks, Jason!]
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/24-3/30
For the first time in a long time, the Wii is down to having only five games in Japan's top thirty. As House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return fell of the charts in its second week and Everyone's General Knowledge Training TV disappeared after having a good run, only the regulars remain.Deca Sports is the exception, being the only Wii title on the charts without either "Wii" or "Smash Bros." in its name, but even that is showing early signs of fatigue. While the game managed to nab the eighth spot and sell 29,000 copies, its Nintendo counterpart, Wii Sports, is nipping at its heels in spot twelve. This may seem insignificant, but keep in mind that Wii Sports has been out for around seventeen months, wheras Deca Sports has only been out for two weeks.In the hardware department, the Wii got a beat down from the handhelds (especially the PSP), but still continues to do better than any other console in Japan. This week, for example, the Wii sold over four times the amount of PS3s, its closest console competitor.Of course, you can just take a look at all the numbers for yourself by clicking past the break.
No More MSRP
We don't really understand Amazon's price drops. Why do the prices for some games drop? And how long do such drops last? Yet, that doesn't mean we don't love them -- especially when it comes to getting one of the best games on the Wii cheaply.Now at Amazon (until when?) you can get No More Heroes for $39.99. That's the best deal we've seen on the game so far, and in our expert blogger opinions, it's worth every penny.Another price drop to note is House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, which fell $5, meaning that the game will only cost you $24.99. Unfortunately, this price puts it just under Amazon's free shipping qualification by a penny, which sours the deal a little bit. Also, we can't imagine that a price drop so early in the game's life cycle could mean good things for how the it's selling, even if the sale is only on Amazon.As far as we can tell, the price drops on Amazon fluctuate as a game goes in and out of stock. So, if you check these out and one of the deals is over, it might be worth looking again at a later date.%Gallery-4611%%Gallery-10506%[Thanks, Sorensilk!]Read: No More Heroes on Amazon Read: House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return on Amazon
WRUP: It's all about the O edition
No, not Overstock.com, we're talking about this week's new releases! They all start with the letter O. Weird, huh? We think so.For us, as much as we'd like to pick up Opoona, we know we just don't have the time for it right now. Putting an RPG on our plate right now is like beating Yogi Bear to death with a picnic basket. Sure, it's the stuff that sustains us, but too much, and we die.So we're just going to stick to shooting zombies in the face and brawling this weekend, mostly. What about you all, though? What game or games do you have lined up to play this weekend?%Gallery-15530%
WRUP: Double dose of zombie slaughter edition
In looking over this week's releases, we only have two games on our mind: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. You can bet we're going to pick up Sega's arcade shooter this weekend (we've been too busy playing Brawl to get to the store!). What about you all? Going to give this one a play?We're sure most of you will be fine with just enjoying Brawl during the immediate future.%Gallery-10506%
Wii releases for the week of March 10th
Even though it released on Sunday, Super Smash Bros. Brawl still technically falls under the umbrella of this week's new games. And, about 95% of you who were planning on snatching the game up already did and are now finding themselves sad that they must return back to their daily lives. Unless, that is, you're really crazy about the game and decided to take the day off. In that case, we ask that you just take the time to reload Wii Fanboy between matches so as to keep up with the news.This week's releases are: Super Smash Bros Brawl House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return George of the Jungle Oh, and who's snatching up House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return with us?%Gallery-3347%
House of the Dead 3 alive with new content
Sega's House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return actually has something new to offer, other than "being on the Wii" and "different crosshair shapes!" Sega has added an Extreme Mode to House of the Dead 3, which adds new player abilities and ramps up the difficulty -- perhaps to an extreme degree?Enemies move more quickly and the shotgun's blast radius is smaller. But in order to balance the increased difficulty, the player has been given a new attack. You can now press A to perform a melee attack that not only knocks enemies away, but also blocks attacks and projectiles. [Via GamesPress]
Sega: More Dead games if you buy 2 & 3 Return
According to JeuxFrance, Sega is dangling quite the juicy carrot in front of our faces. They say that should enough people pick up House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, they'll hook us Wii gamers up with House of the Dead 4. Not only that, but they're supposedly promising to bring the Typing of the Dead games to the console, as well.We're going to keep this labeled as a rumor, for the time being. Why? Well, it's not like JeuxFrance sources anything for this bit of information, so we're going to remain a bit skeptical, even though we'd love for Sega to hook us up with more Dead games.%Gallery-10506%
The House Containing Some Dead 2 & 3
I didn't see The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return at GDC -- and I looked -- but Gamespot got a hands-on preview of the new release of Sega's light gun classics. Had I been there, I would have asked about the captioning. "Suffer the same way G did?" The audio's the same (from what can be heard on the video) so why the change in captioning? And why just that line?In addition to rewriting Zeal's big line, Sega has added six different crosshair options and online rankings. What hasn't been added, unfortunately, is The Typing of the Dead. How could anyone do this?%Gallery-10506%[Via NeoGAF]
Help! More House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return screens are still inside!
How could anyone do this? Oh, probably with a capture card or something. We've loaded our gallery up with new screens of The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return, and we feel like we should give two warnings. First, if you haven't completed both games, these screens can be considered spoilers. Not so much of the storyline, but of some of the enemies faced later in the game. That shouldn't be too much of a big deal, since they're old games and it kind of doesn't matter what you're shooting at.The other warning is that these screens are bloody and gross and stuff. On account of all the zombie ichor. This is especially true of the House of the Dead 3 screens. It seems that Sega figured that the semi-cartoony graphic style of the third game would counteract the disgustingness. They were wrong! Some of those zombies are nasty.%Gallery-10506%
Sega announces 'English of the Dead' for DS
Fans of the quirky Dreamcast classic Typing of the Dead will be elated to hear that Sega has not abandoned its sense of humor (or its love of zombie education). Via the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly comes news that Sega is developing English of the Dead for the Nintendo DS.As you might guess, English of the Dead is a language training game, along the lines of Ubisoft's My French Coach. Using a version of House of the Dead 2 ported to DS (!), the game challenges players to correctly translate words into English from Japanese in order to ward off attacking zombies. Other modes include zombies that speak English out loud, where players must translate what they're saying.While this exact game probably won't find its way to the States, it would be amazing if Sega were to use the same premise and apply it to other languages (like French of the Dead, which we've conceptualized above). We'll keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, check out the Famitsu scans after the break.[Via DS Fanboy]
Learn English like G did
The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed something bizarre and magical from Sega: English of the Dead. Like Typing of the Dead, English is a conversion of House of the Dead 2 in which players must write words to defeat zombies. In English of the Dead, however, the zombies' words are in Japanese and players must translate them into English in order to score a kill. There's also a listening mode in which the zombies speak English, and boss battles with varying gameplay -- the Hydra, for example, is a multiple-choice translation test. This is a training game we could get very excited about, and we know English.The most amazing thing about this game, to us, is that Sega ported House of the Dead 2 to the DS just to do this. Maybe they're trying to teach English to ... the people who wrote House of the Dead 2's script. They could use the help. Go, Kuarl (past the post break for the full scan)!
Big heads make easy targets in House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return
In Sega's upcoming compilation title for the Wii, it's no secret that you're going to have to mow down lots of enemies. So, it's nice to see that there will be opportunity to make the affair a more manageable one, should you find yourself on the receiving end of a zombie bite one too many times. There will be an unlockable mode allowing the player to make all of the enemies have big heads. Your usual Big Head mode, there isn't much more to report on it. Siliconera is reporting on a new unique game mode for the Wii title, however. Dubbed Extreme mode, this new feature of the game incorporates motion control into the mix, but only in House of the Dead III, sadly. See, when the zombies start getting really close and piling on top of each other, you can shake the Wiimote and knock the enemies back, allowing you to pour into them with more bullets.What do you guys think of the new features?%Gallery-10506%Read - Big Head mode and some tiny screensRead - Extreme mode[Via Go Nintendo]
Screens of the Dead return
Surely you know what House of the Dead looks like, right? If not, skedaddle into our gallery to see what you'll be shooting come March. If, like all sane people (we forgive the insane among you, because we're kind), you're totally familiar with the series and the forthcoming House of the Dead 2&3 Return, then just kick back and enjoy the screens. The undead don't have to be pretty. We just need a lot of them, and since we're getting two games for the price of one budget port, we're as happy as violent little lambs.%Gallery-10506%
The Trailer of the Dead
We should have better sense than to get all worked up over more ports, but we are so excited about The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. The games look exactly like the arcade versions, with the obvious addition of the targeting reticule; you can choose to take that as arcade accuracy or laziness. Since we're in a good mood and really love the games, we're going to call it the former. Ghost Squad proved that a ported Sega light gun game could be better than most original Wii games, and we are therefore pretty eager for more of that.In addition to a load of unaltered Houses of the Dead, the trailer reveals a set of -- what else? -- training-based minigames; before you set your Wiis on fire in anger, you should know that these are basically smaller challenges based on parts of the games' levels. You're still shooting zombies.[Via GoNintendo]
HotD 2 & 3 Zapper bundle coming to Japan
Like with Ghost Squad, its other Arcade-to-Wii light gun port, Sega has an optional Zapper pack-in planned for the Japanese release of The House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return this March. Amazon Japan already has preorders for the set available for 5,023 yen, about $44 dollars. For comparison, the software alone is priced at 4,536 yen, or $40.You know, Sega, we wouldn't mind if you brought these bundles to the US at those prices (and with a Nyko Perfect Shot, instead). We understand that Japan didn't get the Link's Crossbow Training set, but this will be the third Zapper pack-in that North America misses out on -- the previous two being for Ghost Squad and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Come on, Sega, just think of it as a good-will gesture to all the Americans who actually gave you money for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
'Dogs of the AMS ... time they made a secret bonus mode.'
1UP interviewed The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return director Emiko Sunaga about the upcoming Wii zombie-blasting compilation. Andrew Hayward began by asking Sunaga if the versions on the disc would be exactly as the games appeared in the arcade, or if extra content would be added.Sunaga confirmed that the games would be arcade-perfect (also losing the white flashes that light guns require), with the addition of some super-secret bonus material. Referring to the extant gameplay modes, Sunaga said "Users can enjoy each of these modes right after they purchase the title, but they may notice bonus content if they try to complete each mode. Although we can't really refer to the details yet, beyond than the six main modes there will be a unique mode that is only playable in the Wii title. Don't miss it!"Sega also mocked up two images of House of the Dead characters holding Wii Zappers. Don't be surprised if this is how they actually appear in the game -- after all, the AMS agents in The Typing of the Dead carried keyboards connected to backpack-style Dreamcasts (or PS2s).As for the reason The House of the Dead 4 isn't included: Sunaga claims that it is because HOTD4 is available in arcades, while 2 and 3 are harder to find. Sunaga should come to the U.S. some time, where arcades are hard to find. As for the reason The House of the Dead isn't included: Sunaga said that the first game needs significant upgrades before it can be released on a console again.
