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I can
still recall the elation I felt when I heard this game
was going to be released on the Saturn, I must have
spent my entire summer holiday playing the arcade game
in my local SuperBowl, which resulted in HotD becoming
one of, if not my favorite light gun shooter of the
time.
The
Saturn version was a must buy for me and I recall
selling other important titles in my Saturn collection
in order to buy the box set, complete with a shiny new
Virtua Gun. However, prepared for an afternoon of gaming
bliss I was soon greeted by one of the most
disappointing experiences of my Saturn gaming life!
It's now
well documented that the Saturn port of House of the
Dead was rushed to market, and it's claimed that the
game was only 65-75% complete missing final textures and
properly refined models, as a result HotD has aged very
badly indeed.If you approach House of the Dead expecting
a real arcade experience you are going to be
disappointed in all departments.
The
first thing that will hit you is the utterly appalling
texture quality. Those of you unfortunate enough to
experience the pile of excrement that is 'Crypt Killer'
will feel right at home, with textures that confuse,
make enemies difficult to see and in some cases make you
feel nauseous.
As you
progress through the game it's incomplete nature will
become more apparent as some enemies appear infinitely
better textured than the next.
The
second thing to hit you smack in the face will be the
ridiculous inaccuracy of the gun and massive area your
shots spread out into, the European Virtua Gun is noted
for it's poor construction when compared to it's
Japanese and US counterparts, but this is one accuracy
problem where the gun is not to blame.
Even
when playing with a Jap or 3rd party light gun fully
calibrated in the options the accuracy is poor at best,
and to avoid smashing my TV in disgust I find myself
playing with the 3D pad instead, not really a good trait
for a game synonymous with the use of a light gun!
One of
the most important elements of any rail shooter has to
be the flow of the game, unfortunately HotD flows like a
lump of shit down a dirty window, there are sections
where enemies from the arcade version are missing and a
few seconds are spent staring at a flat, badly textured
wall, as well as the game being full of slowdown
throughout, feeling at times like it drops below 15fps!
House of
the dead fails to be what it set out to be on the
Saturn, and any dreams of a great 'Virtua Cop 2' beating
arcade port are quickly dashed, as you are dragged
kicking and screaming through one of the most
unsatisfying gaming experiences ever to hit the console.
HotD is black mark on the Saturn's good name, which lets
face it, by the end of 1997 wasn't doing too well
anyway.
Even
well into the 21st century this game continues to
disappoint a new generation, retro-gamers and collectors
alike, who can now look forward to laying out 'new game
prices' for a copy of HotD, despite it having little
real rarity value.
As a
collector this is one game you will have to grit your
teeth and buy despite the fact you know it's awful, a
more than regular occurrence for us (Dragonball-Z
anyone?), as a retro-gamer I urge you to steer clear.
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