The House of the Dead (series)

The House of the Dead is a series of horror games published by Sega.

Originating in arcades, the main series currently consists of five rail-shooter light gun games as well as a series of spin-offs, including a beat 'em up, typing tutor and mini-game compilation. The overall plot is that of current or former agents of international secret service AMS and their battle to prevent, and then reverse, a zombie apocalypse created by insane scientist Dr. Curien and shadowy businessman Goldman.

Main Series

 * The House of the Dead (1996). Set in the then future of 1998, two AMS agents Tom Rogan and 'G' respond to a distress call at Curian Mansion, the setting for the whole game. Initially released for arcades with two pistol shaped light guns, it was later ported to the Sega Saturn and has not been re-released since


 * The House of the Dead 2 (1998). Again set two years into the future from its release date, 2000, two new agents James Taylor and Gary Stewart travel to Venice, Italy to face off against Goldman, the man pulling the strings behind the first game. After it's arcade release it as ported to the Sega Dreamcast and personal computers, it has since been re-released in the compilation The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for the Nintendo Wii.


 * The House of the Dead III (2002). Set in 2019, 19 years after the world devolved into a zombie apocalypse AMS agent G and Tom Rogan's daughter Lisa investigate Rogan's disappearance while searching for the source of the world's collapse. While the previous two games used pistols, III gave the arcade players two replica shotguns, that must be reloaded in an authentic manner. Given no immediate port, it was first released for home systems in 2003 for the Microsoft Xbox, then again in 2005 for personal computers and finally as part of The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for the Nintendo Wii in 2008.


 * The House of the Dead 4 (2005). An interquel between House of the Dead 2 and III, set in 2003 following AMS agents James Taylor and Kate Green dealing with events leading to the world's collapse into the zombie apocalypse. The light guns for this game were replica Mini Uzis, fitted with motion sensors to detect shaking (used for reloading and shooing away enemies), so far the game has not had a home release, though rumours of a Nintendo Wii port circulate.


 * The House of the Dead: Overkill (2009). The first of the main series released solely for home consoles, in this case the Nintendo Wii, Overkill is set in 1991 and follows Agent G on his first mission for AMS in Lousianna, USA, working with local cop Isaac Washington to eliminate a local crime lord Papa Caesar. Inspired by Robert Rodriguez's film Planet Terror, it was given an over-the-top exploitation/grindhouse film look and feel. Overkill is the only game in the series thus far to not name it's villains after Major Arcana tarot cards, but as the story predates Curien and Goldman, this could be explainable.