Aim For The Head!
Virtual reality is currently redefining the gaming landscape, almost to the point where the screen that separates the players from their games has been totally erased. While some titles come across better than others, for the most part VR has been a welcome edition to the culture. It truly is a format that offers immersion like no others.
Unless we are talking about old school arcades, those are sacred platforms that can never be replaced, especially when it comes to shooting zombies!
With light gun in tow, these classic games were a work of art, ones that we probably poured way too many coins into, but it was all worth it to finally shoot our way to victory. Among all the golden oldies, none were more addictive, cheesy and unintentionally hilarious than the House of the Dead series.
What was the premise? Run and gun your way through a zombie-infested location and bring down a massive boss named after a tarot card at the end of the stage. It was repetitive, but so much fun. Alas, the formula didn’t sit well on modern consoles. After a brief run on the original Wii, the series faded into obscurity. At least that was what we thought, since according to an article on GamingBolt, the zombies are set to make a grand return!
It sounds like a new House of the Dead game is on the way- and fittingly, it will be to arcades. After almost a decade long hiatus, House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn will be coming to Akihabara’s Club Sega later this month; the initial debut is meant to be a test, and presumably, a nationwide release will follow afterwards. For now, it is unknown if there are any plans to bring it to the west, where the arcade scene is far less thriving than in Japan.
It is also unknown whether or not there will be a console version of the game- though given that Overkill did well on Wii and PS3 previously, one would hope that Sega will see it fit to port the game eventually.
Will Scarlet Dawn find a way to western arcades? Perhaps make a leap to VR? Either way, we can’t wait to see how this latest entry manages to retain the charm of the originals while also implementing some much needed upgrades.
Be sure to check out the video below to see if House of the Dead managed to make our picks for the Top 10 Zombie Video Game Experiences.Â