ARCADE WATCH

Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene

Game The House Of The Dead: Scarlet Dawn Manufacturer Sega

The ground floor of a Japanese game centre may traditionally be given over to UFO Catcher games, but every so often a game comes along that’s as sure a crowd-puller as any tantalising pile of out-ofreach plushies. The House Of The Dead is one such game, a groundfloor showpiece that’s finally returning to arcades after a recent round of location tests in Tokyo.

Remarkably, it’s the first House Of The Dead game built for the arcade in 13 years; heck, it’s been nine years since the series’ last outing, the Wii Remote-powered Overkill. Things have moved on a lot since then, of course.

Obviously, there are more zombies now. While the action starts out gently enough you’re soon facing off against a horde that moves at speed, the game briefly giving you a borrow of a grenade launcher to thin out the numbers. Set-pieces are naturally more explosive than before; a collapsing ceiling now tumbles to the ground with licks of flame and showers of sparks. It’s not the prettiest game you’ll see this year by any means, but in the context of its series, it’s quite the step up.

In one respect, anyway. Voice acting is so hammy you’ll find yourself reaching for the eggs, and while arcade hardware may have come a long way during the series’ hiatus, the tenets of the zombie lightgun shooter ooter are inescapable. Still, that’s precisely the point. This is a game e to draw a crowd, a centrepiece for the game-centre owner and a performance piece for the player, a salaryman’s lunch break immaculately spoiled. It’s good to have it back, warts and all.