The House of the Dead 2

Infobox VG
title = The House of the Dead 2


developer = Wow Entertainment
publisher = Sega
designer =
release = September 9th, 1998
genre = Rail shooter
modes = Single player, multiplayer
cabinet = Upright, Sit-down
arcade system = Sega NAOMI
rating = (M) Mature
display = Raster horizontal orientation
input = Light gun, 1 button
platforms = Arcade, PC, Dreamcast, Wii, Xbox

"The House of the Dead 2" is a light gun arcade game with a horror theme and the second game in the "The House of the Dead" series of video games, developed by Sega for video arcades in 1998 and later ported to the Dreamcast, PC, and Xbox as an unlockable bonus in "The House of the Dead III", and appears in the compilation "The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return" for Wii. The Dreamcast version became one of the few Sega All Stars titles.

Gameplay

"The House of the Dead 2" is a rail shooter light gun game. It includes an auto-reload feature that allows players to point their guns off-screen to reload their weapons without pulling the trigger. It also incorporates a branching path system that allows players to take a variety of different routes leading to the same point in the game's story.

The game served as the springboard for the arcade, Sega Dreamcast, and PC release "The Typing of the Dead", the Nintendo DS release "English of the Dead", as well as the inspiration for the Game Boy Advance game, "The Pinball of the Dead".

The flashbacks to the first "The House of the Dead" in the game's introductory sequence were recorded using the game's engine. Until shortly before the game's release, the first "The House of the Dead" game was to be offered as a digitally remastered extra after completing the game; however, due to bugs that would have delayed the game beyond the launch of the Dreamcast system, it was removed entirely.Fact|date=May 2008

tory

The game follows the fictional events of February 26, 2000, almost two years after the Curien Mansion incident in "The House of the Dead". The secret international agency, AMS, has launched an investigation concerning the cause of the Curien case, in order to prevent the world from experiencing a similar outbreak. Strange occurrences, however, are reported to be taking place in the city of Venice, Italy, the last known location of AMS agent "G," who has gone missing. Agents James Taylor and Gary Stewart are dispatched along with Amy Crystal and Harry Harris to investigate and evacuate the populace. Upon finding "G", alive but wounded, James and Gary are met with an undead horde developed by Caleb Goldman, the president of the eminent DBR Corporation and an expert on the genome theory who funded the experiments of the late Dr. Curien.

While converging on Goldman's headquarters, James and Gary face many formidable foes, including Team Judgment (Type 28) consisting of an imp-like monster Zeal and his headless, axe-wielding puppet Kuarl; The Hierophant (Type B 05), an aquatic beast which heads an assault on Venice's waterways and Central Plaza; segmented serpent-like beasts stalking the sewer system known as The Tower (Type 8000); and Strength (Type 205), a chainsaw-wielding giant which wounds Harry and chases James and Gary throughout a labyrinth of the Roman Coliseum. Curien's masterpiece, The Magician (Type 0), is also resurrected by Goldman to oversee the birth of The Emperor (Type α), designed to "rule over nature and to destroy, and hate mankind". Being in its prototype stage, the Emperor was not as strong as Goldman would have hoped, and fell to the AMS agents. In order to evade being arrested, Goldman committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of his building, but not before threatening that "...in time, a successor shall come".

Players are given different endings based on the following conditions:
* If a solo game was finished as either player 1 or 2
* If both players defeated the last boss
* Number of continues
* Points earned

The players will be able to see an audience of protagonists and civilians, a zombified Goldman, or Thomas Rogan from the first game, contingent on the conditions aforementioned.

Trivia

There is a Burger King restaurant spotted in the city square with the old revised "Bun Halves" logo. In The House of the Dead 4, that same restaurant now has the "Blue Cresent" logo.

External links

*KLOV game|id=8152
* [http://www.gamespot.com/dreamcast/action/houseofthedead2/index.html?q=House%20of%20the%20Dead%202&tag=result;title;0 "The House of the Dead 2" Dreamcast review] at GameSpot