Games

[jebforty]

http://insomnia.ac/reviews/ac/thehouseo ... review.php

So, I have a friend that works at GameWorks in Schaumburg (Chicago) and he just told me that they're getting this in any day. I don't know about you guys, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

Here's the specs that I managed to dig up... it's getting really good reviews!

The House of the Dead 4 Special is a two-player attraction based off The House of the Dead 4. Players enter an enclosed room, sit down, buckle up, and experience zombie blasting like never bef or e. The game makes use of two 100 inch screens, one in front of players and another behind, as well as a five-speaker sound system, giving the impression that enemies are attacking from all directions. The seat shakes as zombies attack, and players are blasted with air f or every bullet that penetrates their defenses. Sega has modified the game's light gun to make it m or e suitable f or the attraction; they are now fully automatic and include a hand grenade button. This update to the Lindbergh debut gun shooter follows a new side st or y in The House of the Dead plotline, teaming "G" up with Kate Green.

[icycalm]

Hi, there. Thanks for joining the forum.

You seem to have mixed up the regular and Special versions of the game. The description you posted is of The House of the Dead 4 Special.

The normal HOTD4 game only has a single 62" screen, and then there is at least one cheaper version of it I've seen in Paris, with a much smaller screen (about 40" I think). I assume the cheaper version is only for Europe (and perhaps for the US?) because I haven't seen it in Japan.

So which version is the Chicago Gameworks getting, one of the regular ones, or the Special version?

This is the official site, by the way:

http://hod4.sega.jp/top.html

You can see pics of both versions on its top page.

[AlphaONE]

A couple of the arcades in Southern CA got the smaller 40-inch version.

Great game by the way. It is a prequel to HOTD3.

[Mr. Apol]

Honestly I thought HOTD4 was complete trash. I played it while in Tokyo for TGS and one of the major problems I had with it was the fact it was so goddamned easy.

I really do not need to be playing a game start to final boss on one credit. I can understand making it fun, but a game about shooting ZOMBIES with MACHINE GUNS shouldn't be so boring.

Were any of the games beyond HOTD2 done by the original team? There's still something magical about the first one for me. Maybe it's the lack of transparency?

[icycalm]

You know, not to be cheeky or anything, but there is a review on this very site explaining why HOTD4 is one of the most technical light gun shooters yet made.

And the game is definitely not easy. I mean of course if you are credit-feeding it it's easy, but then again 99% of arcade games are easy that way (games with checkpoints are exceptions -- but none of the newer titles use checkpoints).

I know this might sound elitist to those who don't usually play arcade games, but the moment you stick a second coin in an arcade cabinet in order to continue... the fun is over.

Go to every single arcade-dedicated site on the internet and they'll tell you the same. It's not elitism -- it's the truth.

There's still something magical about the first one for me. Maybe it's the lack of transparency?

Yeah, I know what you mean. The graphics in 4 just don't feel quite solid. 2 and 3 are ok in this respect though.

[Mr. Apol]

I know this might sound elitist to those who don't usually play arcade games, but the moment you stick a second coin in an arcade cabinet in order to continue... the fun is over.

That's the thing though -- I never stuck in a second credit! I got all the way from the first level to the last boss on a single credit! This is something I can do with HOTD1 out of practice, but this was only my second time playing the game. The grenades and machine gun just made things way too easy. That, and the fact that sometimes you can shake off hits and avoid damage. It seems to be an appeal to a wider audience, which isn't a bad thing really. It is definitely more accessible to a general public, and newcomers to the series.

Keep in mind this is just mechanics. I thought the visuals in the game were fairly good. I really wish I could've gotten the chance to play After Burner Climax.

[icycalm]

All light gun game appeal to a wide public by definition. So I don't see how HOTD4 widens that appeal, except perhaps by using a wide-screen. Lol, etc.

But you've really impressed me now. It took me weeks to get to the 4th stage!

[Macaw]

That's the thing though - I never stuck in a second credit! I got all the way from the first level to the last boss on a single credit!

There is no way this is possible unless the machine you played it on was set at the easiest difficulty or somthing. When I played it, it was incredibly hard and required heaps of memorization of the stages and bosses to get through it.

[Mr. Apol]

Hell, this is possible. Did you play two player? I was playing with another fellow, but he didn't seem to be any more accurate/skillful than me. I can one credit HOTD1, so maybe it's the huge amount of practice I put in on that? It just seemed to me between the machine gun and the grenades, there wasn't much challenge to it. HOTD2 is the most challenging in the series, to me at least. You can't shoot the gun as fast as you can in 1, so you have to be even more accurate. I'm pretty good at light gun games as it is though, so maybe I just didn't realize it at the time?

With two people you can really cover each other well. Maybe this was the factor in my favor. We were helpful and would let the other get powerups if they needed them (which was heart-warming since we didn't speak a common language, other than that of GAME) so teamwork was a factor, I think.

[jebforty]

Here's what my friend sent me about the game:

The House of the Dead 4 Special is a two-player attraction based off The House of the Dead 4. Players enter an enclosed room, sit down, buckle up, and experience zombie blasting like never bef or e. The game makes use of two 100 inch screens, one in front of players and another behind, as well as a five-speaker sound system, giving the impression that enemies are attacking from all directions. The seat shakes as zombies attack, and players are blasted with air f or every bullet that penetrates their defenses. Sega has modified the game's light gun to make it m or e suitable f or the attraction; they are now fully automatic and include a hand grenade button. This update to the Lindbergh debut gun shooter follows a new side story in The House of the Dead plotline, teaming "G" up with Kate Green."

Hope this clears up the confusion.

I haven't had a chance to go yet, but I'll let you all know when I do...

[mothmanspirit]

I played the House of the Dead 4 Special today. It's shit! It's quite easy! Easier, even, than Let's Go Jungle!, which I also played today. You shoot some zombies (spoiler: there are car-driving zombies!), fight the boss from the first stage of the normal game, shoot more zombies, then you fight another boss, who I assume is also taken from the regular version. I didn't beat him, but getting there is apparently 98% of the game!

Also: I'm 87% compatible with my younger brother. Not even a hand grenade could tear us apart. Or something like that.

[icycalm]

This thread is from several months before my arcade article was published, and in the time since I have come to know how the artfag brain works in much more detail. So basically, every single line posted by Mr. Apol in this thread is complete and utter bullshit. Flagrant lies, in other words. Mr. Apol is a nice guy, but an artfag all the same (he posts on Select Button all the time), and it seems these people will stop at nothing in order to gain some miserable posturing points on online message boards. Back then it just seemed incredible to me that someone could come anywhere near 1CCing HOTD4 on their first try, but I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt because I was still relatively naive.

So yeah. If this had happened now I would have deleted all his posts, but since Macaw and I have already replied to him, I might as well let his comments stand.

Still lolling on his "two-player, grenade and machinegun" excuses. How much more pathetic can these guys get.