A truly wild and iconic on-rails shooter that was just as horrifying as it was bizarre and campy.
In celebration of Halloween, we’re counting down the days with some of the greatest horror games ever made -- 31 of our favorites! Every day, we’ll take a look back at a horror game that gave us goosebumps, made our controllers tremble, and chased us out of our living rooms. Long live the horror game! And make sure to check out our full list of 31 Great Horror Games To Play In October!
If you ever happened to frequent an arcade at the tail-end of the 90s, then the odds are that you’ve probably experienced the wonderful joy that is The House of the Dead 2. A light-rail shooter with a zombie twist, The House of the Dead series has always been a favorite of mine, especially after its stellar second installment was rereleased in 1999 on the short-lived Sega Dreamcast. I’m not sure what it is about the game exactly that makes it such a classic in the horror and shooter genres, but I’m pretty sure the quick gameplay, the ridiculous story, and the over-the-top voice acting all have something to do with it.
In the game, players can team up with a friend and assume the roles of James Taylor and Gary Stewart, two AMS agents who are sent to Venice, Italy to recover their missing comrade in the wake of the zombie apocalypse. As it turns out, killing zombies in Italy is one of life’s greatest treasures, as the fixed paths of The House of the Dead 2 take players through some fantastic environments, from dilapidated canals to the massive Roman Coliseum, which houses one of the game’s many epic boss fights.
While The House of the Dead 2 is strictly an on-rails shooter, there are also a few options to travel down alternate pathways in the stages by firing at specific in-game triggers, an exciting twist that encourages shooting at anything and everything that gets in your way. And of course, let’s not forget the often cringe-worthy exclamations that your characters will shout out during cutscenes that serve less as story exposition and more as a way to let you know that The House of the Dead 2 doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The game’s legacy would ultimately lead to a handful of sequels, including The House of the Dead 3 and an over-the-top revival in 2009 called The House of the Dead: Overkill. And of course, let’s not forget the bizarre and unexpected The Typing of the Dead, which took the entirely of The House of the Dead 2 and tweaked the mechanics so that you needed to type random words to kill zombies, instead of the more traditional method of shooting them. It’s true that zany, light-hearted shooter games like The House of the Dead 2 just aren’t around anymore, and I hope that’s something that starts to change in the years going forward.
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