If Carlsberg made videogames they would probably make one with lots of gun action, an exaggerated amount of profanity, a hot stripper riding a motorcycle, and thousands of blood-thirsty Zombies. It’s a damn shame that Carlsberg don’t make videogames. On the plus side someone at SEGA, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make such a game and they named it The House of the Dead: Overkill.

Let’s get my credentials out of the way. I love shooting games. I love games with Zombies in them. I love the House of the Dead games. I am pretty sure this makes me the perfect candidate to review this game. You are of course entitled to disagree with that statement but if you choose that option I’ll be forced to shoot you with my Wii-mote and you really don’t want the words “killed by Wii” in your obituary.

Agent G, a talented young specialist, and Isaac Washington, a rough and tumble Detective, are brought together by fate and form an unlikely partnership in their quest to put an end to the “mutant” (Zombie) madness. Varla Guns, the hot stripper I mentioned, teams up with the odd couple in order to exact her revenge on the man who ruined the life of her crippled brother. The man in question is Papa Caesar. He is the deranged mad scientist behind the Zombie outbreak and he certainly wouldn’t look out of place as an Austen Powers villain.

As any fan of lightgun games will know there is a lot of replay value to be found in this genre as it is but this game manages to squeeze in more than the norm. Points scoring, with the help of a combo meter, will earn you cash which you can then spend on upgrading weapons and purchasing new ones. At the end of each section you are graded on your performance in areas such as staying alive and your level of accuracy. When you complete the story mode you unlock a Director’s Cut which is the same experience but with a higher level of difficulty and after completing this you unlock the rather sexy ability to dual-wield.

I considered writing this review in the style of an estate agent showing you, the reader, around the House of the Dead. The problem was that I couldn’t get past how perfect the kitchen is for this purpose, with game features being ingredients and so on, so I scrapped the idea but haven’t been able to shake one line in particular so I’ll throw it in and hope I’ll get away with it. The developers have prepared a delicious musical feast of finger-licking Funk in a marinade of comedy and a generous sprinkling of obscenities for good measure. No-one seemed to notice – huge success!

If you’re an adult, own a Nintendo Wii, enjoyed Grindhouse, especially Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, or if you’re a fan of the original over-the-top exploitation films then this is without doubt the game for you. This game will also appeal to fans of shooting games, Zombie films, people with a quirky sense of humour, and those who are craving more adult-oriented games for the Wii. Let me be honest with you and say that if you don’t fall into at least a couple of the above categories then I’m afraid you have some serious personality problems. I’m sorry but someone had to tell you. Don’t worry, you can make up for your faults by doing yourself a huge favour and buying this game. Why are you still here? Go! There are lots of Zombies to be killed!

9/10

Other TTB Posts Like This One

• Review: Madworld (Wii)
• House of the Dead: Overkill Trailer (UNCUT)
• Review: Zombieland (Blu-ray)
• Review: The Conduit (Wii)
• The Conduit – Video and Screenshots