Arcade Review: House of the Dead 4

Just like any horror franchise, scary cinematics tend to lead to an army of sequels even when they are completely uncalled for. Sega has been fortunate enough to get by with three solid House of the Dead titles and pushes its luck again by recently shipping number four to arcades. Unfortunately, the whole shooting zombies with mediocre presentation thing is starting to get old.

With part four, Sega gives us a continuation of House of the Dead 2. James Taylor from the second installment has evidently received a few promotions within the AMS and tags along with relative AMS newcomer Kate Green.

Gathering information on the Goldman case in Venice, the two are rudely interrupted when the building collapses and leaves the two trapped. Waiting for rescue, the pair notices something unusual on the security cameras and scavenges for weapons to defend themselves from what suddenly bangs down the room’s door.

Give yourself 20 obvious points if you guessed the threat was zombies.

For House of the Dead 4, Sega’s answer for innovation is in the form of its again-redesigned guns. Dropping the pistols from one and two and immediately dismissing the shotgun from three, the fourth iteration puts an uzi-variant in the hands of players eager to mow down zombies.

Aside from the cosmetic change of the guns, the uzis also host a tilt sensor, which allow players to shake the gun for a few different effects. Instead of shooting off-screen to reload your gun, House of the Dead 4 requires players to shake the gun to put more bullets into your “zombie slayer.”

While it makes sense in the regard you shake the empty clip out of the bottom of the uzi, the mechanic can become annoying and most of the time interrupts the players’ aim. With head shots being so crucial in House of the Dead, shooting and reloading the gun will require an extra steady arm and a lot more patience than gamers are likely to put into an arcade title.

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Article Author: Aaron Auzins

Aaron Auzins, better known as "nestlekwik," is an avid gamer and collector who resides in Ohio. He has written video gaming reviews for his personal site GemuBaka, Diehard GameFAN, J2Games, Bemanistyle as well as news for Arcade Heroes.

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Article comments

  • 1 - Denise Christie Chan

    Feb 11, 2007 at 7:58 am

    House of the Dead Games is as good as all four Time Crisis games.

  • 2 - dead boy

    Jul 15, 2007 at 8:30 am

    i thought it was good. but i din't get passed the 2nd level.hahahaha

  • 3 - dead boy

    Jul 15, 2007 at 8:32 am

    i have only played time crisis 3.

  • 4 - Denise Chan

    Jul 25, 2007 at 12:24 am

    I was hoping for Hoyuse of the Dead 5, the newest game of the series.

  • 5 - kian

    Jun 08, 2008 at 8:29 am

    i love house of the dead thats why i played house of the dead spcial

  • 6 - Joey

    Aug 02, 2008 at 5:29 pm

    ok

  • 7 - Sam

    Aug 02, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    This game is great!
    Although i found it a little bit confusing at first to follow the story line since it takes place between the events of the house of the dead 2 & 3.
    I would say it is the best but unfortunatly it isnt, apart from the great graphics and cool characters, this game lacks a few things that fans will pick up while playing it...

    The house of the dead 3 is best!

  • 8 - Denise Chan

    Jun 06, 2009 at 3:48 am

    Who's your male hero character?


    Thomas Rogan (House of The Dead I/III)
    Dan Taylor (House of The Dead III)
    "G" (House of the Dead series)
    Gary Stewart (House of the Dead 2)
    James Taylor (House of the Dead 2/4)
    Harry Harris (House of the Dead 2)
    Daniel Curien (House of the Dead III)

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