The Nintendo Wii has been criticized by the enthusiast press as a console that has fully abandoned the “Hardcore” or “Core” gamer. For the majority of the products released this is true, but not for Sega’s new entry into the House of the Dead franchise titled Overkill. This game does not stray far from the House of the Dead formula of “shoot everything onscreen and don’t get hit,” but it brings along new aspects not in any of the other titles.
The campaign puts you in the shoes of either Agent G, who is on his first assignment out of the AMS academy. You will also become accustomed the fowl mouthed Bayou City cop, Detective Washington. You follow both through a series of missions (only seven total) and shoot up some zombies along the way. Although this title has a massively clichéd story, it adds to the overall goal that Headstrong games was going for throughout the game, a campy, gory as hell, b-movie. They have succeeded in doing so on a scale never before attempted. Over the course of the game, you will be grossed out and thoroughly entertained by a rail gun shooter, which has only been achieved by a few games in the past.
The gameplay is straight forward, you shoot the zombies until they die, trying to get head shots as much as possible, and reload by shaking the Wii remote. This overall pace can be super fast in some spots, but keeps a steady pace at that high speed. There are a number of standard shooter weapons, pistols, shotguns, SMG’s and a Mini-Gun (which never needs reloading). A new addition that I loved was grenades, which can be used in a pinch. There are also a ton of power ups hidden in each level that can be used to slow down time, and increase damage. Some other upgrades can be purchased between levels, in the gun shop, which become quite handy during the later levels. Although this could be avoided and is not necessary for completing the game. Co-op in the game is only two players, but I would have liked to have four Wii remotes working the whole time and we know about the lack of online support with most Wii titles. The other great addition is the Director’s Cut, which includes some other parts of the game that were “deleted,” but it does add more enemies and includes a limited number of continues (which sucks).
As for the graphics, they are good and use the power of the Wii to its limit, but on my 46 inch TV, they look kind of weird. I guess it is the low resolution, but on a standard definition TV, the jankiness goes away. I love the overall look of the game, with some truly nasty environments and some totally awesome sequences (think wood chipper). There is also a film grain that is used throughout which totally makes it feel like a grindhouse flick. The soundtrack is also very “b-movie,” but further adds to the tension and mood of the game, there are some good beats in there and I hope we see a soundtrack released. The voice over is amazing and also fit the setting perfectly Headstrong and Sega have made a good game and I hope it sells well because it is worth the money and we need a sequel!
Overall, the game is a little on the short side, and you will beat it in about 3-5 hours, but the addition of the Director’s Cut will give you a huge incentive to come back for more. I love when a game is aware of itself and doesn’t take the plot too seriously. You will enjoy going back through with friends and talking about the truly gory parts. There are a few mini-games, but you might check them out once or twice. The light gun gameplay is spot on and this game would not work on any other platform. Go pick it up or at least rent it and I can guarantee you will have some great fun and a few laughs. Also, this game is VERY mature and you might only want to take it out when the kids go to bed.
I have also posted the trailer, which includes some gameplay, check it out above!
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