S.C.G Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) You're all making this game sound brilliant, but theres sooo many games i want at the moment (i don't understand the moaning about a lack of games???) I've got a question for the people that have played this and umbrella chronicles. which game would you say is better? and why? I had kind of dismissed this thinking i'd get UC, but now i'm leaning more towards this. HOTD:Overkill is superior to RE:UC in almost every way, so I would advise getting that and picking up RE:UC cheaply at a later date. Edited March 11, 2009 by S.C.G Automerged Doublepost
Zechs Merquise Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 You're all making this game sound brilliant, but theres sooo many games i want at the moment (i don't understand the moaning about a lack of games???) I've got a question for the people that have played this and umbrella chronicles. which game would you say is better? and why? I had kind of dismissed this thinking i'd get UC, but now i'm leaning more towards this. Get RE:UC over this. I have both and althought I've only played this for a few hours i think RE:UC is the better game. RE:UC has a lot more levels, destructable environments, seperate paths, unlockables and a wealth of RE fan service - plus I like the graphics better. Both are great - but I think RE:UC is better and is one of my fave Wii games, I mustve clocked up over 30 hours on it!
S.C.G Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Hmm HotD:Overkill may seem initially shorter but there is still a reasonable amount of stuff to unlock, admitedly RE:UC probably has better longevity with extras etc but I find the experience of HotD:Overkill to be superior due to it's execution and that it only needs the Wii-remote to play, once you have one holstered inside a handcannon the game really comes into it's own. Plus the unlockable dual wielding mode owns.
Zechs Merquise Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Hmm HotD:Overkill may seem initially shorter but there is still a reasonable amount of stuff to unlock, admitedly RE:UC probably has better longevity with extras etc but I find the experience of HotD:Overkill to be superior due to it's execution and that it only needs the Wii-remote to play, once you have one holstered inside a handcannon the game really comes into it's own. Plus the unlockable dual wielding mode owns. I don't mean to put a downer on this game, but did anyone else find the framerate/frameskips really annoying when linking together a combo? That's the main reason I mark it down. Granted, these are my first impressions, but I just find it sooo annoying when you have a shot lined up and you miss it down to a zom... er... MUTANT just jerking across the screen due toa frameskip.
Tellyn Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I attempted to have a go at this last night when the TV was briefly free. I decided to leave it until there was no danger of my sister walking in when I listened to the voice-over guy when I was creating a save slot. Impressions upon having played it tonight: it's motherfucking good, bitches! I've only played the first chapter, but it really is genuinely scary so far, especially once you take the elevator into Caesar's dungeon. Some of Washington's lines are cracking me up too. I only wish I had a second Wii Remote, arcade games are always more fun in multiplayer. I don't mean to put a downer on this game, but did anyone else find the framerate/frameskips really annoying when linking together a combo? That's the main reason I mark it down. It's pretty noticeable and annoying when the camera swings around to a new location, but it's bearable.
david.dakota Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 How has Overkill sold? VGcharts, which i don't think are too reliable, suggest its sold 120,000. Not brilliant, but not abysmal either.
Teppo Holmqvist Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 How has Overkill sold? No idea, but at least it is maintained position 10 on UK charts for two weeks, and is currently at 24. So far as I remember, this is best chart positioning that lightgun game has had.
Zechs Merquise Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Just to inform you all, HotD Overkill is now just £19.99 from GAMEPLAY.com http://www.gameplay.com Plus they've got Pro Evo 2008 for £7.99! Also, I've played it a bit more now, and am enjoying it more and more. I would recommend that everyone pick this up, especially at this price!
DuD Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Cheers for the opinions guys. i'm sooo torn between the two. Play.com has Umbrella chronicles for £15. http://www.play.com/Games/Wii/4-/7523797/Resident-Evil-The-Umbrella-Chronicles/Product.html But £20 for a new release sounds too good. I think i'm sold.
ThePigMarcher Posted March 14, 2009 Posted March 14, 2009 Took advantage of the slight discount that GAME were offering and finally picked this up yesterday. I'm not really big on light gun games but figured why not give this a go and so far I am really enjoying it. Played the first 4 levels and love the OTT B-movie stylings , soundtrack and there seems to be some decent unlockables. Only real problem has been some frame-rate issues which has killed a few combos , it's not game-breaking but definitely an annoyance. A worthy purchase....I think so.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I know that there are at least 1 million core gaming Wii-owners in North America. That’s the very least that are out there…look at how many people bought Galaxy, or Twilight Princess at launch. Those were mostly likely core gamers…so where did they go? How can a quality core effort like House of the Dead: Overkill only sell 45k since its February launch? If you didn’t pick up this game, please tell me why! Lets hope MadWorld will do better. Anyone have any idea how well HotD has sold in Europe?
ShadowV7 Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Can't remember on the top of my head. But MadWorld is supposed to of sold 67k in it's first 3 days. I really want them to sell over a mil.
Tellyn Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 It's still relatively high in store-charts. I was surprised to see it at number 4 in Asda. To be honest, I think sales will be better in Europe than America.
Ganepark32 Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Yeh, sale of this have been better in the UK, and Europe as a whole, compared with the US. It's still managing to hit around the top 20 mark in the weekly sales charts so it's not doing badly. In fact, it's pretty good.
david.dakota Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Yeh, sale of this have been better in the UK, and Europe as a whole, compared with the US. It's still managing to hit around the top 20 mark in the weekly sales charts so it's not doing badly. In fact, it's pretty good. The problem is that the vast majority of publishers are American and probably looking at American figures. We have four 'test' games- Deadly Creatures, Overkill, MadWorld and The Conduit - two of which have underperformed. ***Ubisoft points at us and laughs***
Ganepark32 Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 I wouldn't say this has underperformed on the American market. Ok, 45K units sold since its launch in February doesn't sound like a lot, and it's not when you think of the install base for the Wii in the US, but it's not bad. I think many more people have simply chosen to rent the title based upon the premise that it is indeed rather short and that $60 (I presume that's the current asking for it in the US) is a rather steep price given the longevity of the title. That said though, it should really have done better but I do think that developers will be looking at all markets both combined and separately before dismissing the need to provide adequate mature titles on the Wii. The European market is more open minded in its game selection compared to the US, picking and buying games from a broad spectrum, where it has been for many years shooters that have done well or more recently the likes of Wii Play and WiiFit. I think if anything, Europe represents the true testing ground for a mature title on the Wii because mature titles are usually big sellers on the other consoles but so far it has been the more casual titles that have sold big on this continent for the Wii and so with Europe accepting the game more readily and it still being placed well in sales charts shows that there is a market for the mature titles more so than the figures for the US, where it's probably more likely that if someone wants to play a mature title they'll pick something up on the other consoles.
Retro_Link Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 To look at Deadly Creatures as a market tester is a bit rediculous though! I'm still yet to get HotD: Overkill, just don't have the time to play these game atm. Though I still bought MadWorld, just to prove a point!
david.dakota Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 To look at Deadly Creatures as a market tester is a bit rediculous though! I'm not so sure. Seems, for Wii, anything with an adult theme is a tester. That said, i'm not sure why. Early games like Godfather, and Scarface were reasonably successful along with the million seller Red Steel. More recent games, like World at War again prove there's a strong market here. But still, we're waiting for some positive noises from the big publishers (who are still convinced Wii can't support mature titles made by top tier teams).
ShadowV7 Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 Never really considered Deadly Creatures as a 'test game' since developers aren't really keep an eye on the sales as much as the likes of House of The Dead, MadWorld and The Conduit. Though i'm keeping my eye on MadWorld sales for than HotD since it's doing quite well just now. Hopefully it'll keep some of that momentum and stay in the charts for a while.
Zechs Merquise Posted March 21, 2009 Posted March 21, 2009 My Review of House of the Dead Overkill I love light gun games. I really do, ever since I opened my NES on Christmas morning all those years ago I've loved light gun games. It started with Duck Hunt and it has progressed since then. I particularly love SEGA light gun games - I even purchased a second hand Saturn to play the original House of the Dead (HotD) and Virtua Cop games. Much to my pleasure there has been a recent revival of these games on the Wii. We've already seen HotD 2 and 3 Return, a great port of Ghost Squad (with some neat online rankings) and the wonderful Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. So I was very pleased when SEGA announced HotD Overkill. The first thing I will say is this game is different to the vast majority of light gun games - it's far more than a thirty minute play through (which most have been due to the nature of arcade ports). This has been built from the ground up for the Wii and will take you about three and a half hours to play through from start to finish. Yes, it's not the longest game - but for a light gun game (or rail shooter as they're now called) it's a good length. The game play isn't just like a standard arcade game either. Your sole aim is not just to blast through each level as quickly as possible losing as few lives as possible. The main game play mechanic is based on building 'combos'. As you shoot zombies - or mutants as they're called in this - you start a combo and that combo builds the more you shoot as long as you don't miss or take damage. This means you're constantly trying to stay accurate as well as stay alive. It adds a decent amount of replay value too as you will want to return to levels to build your score and try to keep a combo going from start to finish. This isn't just for 'fun' either, every time you beat your score or complete different tasks you get cash which can be used to unlock and upgrade guns - which is something you're going to want to do as the pistol you start off with is pretty useless, more on this later! During the seven chapters you will also get the chance to collect golden brains for more points and every now and then you'll get the chance to save a hapless civilian caught up in the mayhem. Then there are the boss fights, each level has boss and they're pretty well designed and you should have fun with at least a couple of them. Another diversion from the classic arcade shooters is that this has a great story, with very well done cut scenes and some genuinely amusing dialogue. Throughout the game you'll constantly hear the banter between the two main protagonists and it makes for a very cinematic feeling, almost as if you're playing through a real B movie. Then before, during and after each level there will be cut scenes which further advance the plot and build the atmosphere. As they throw around the banter it is all played out to a great sound track and has some really good effects. Overall the sound is a major strong point of the game. The music is all unlockable and there are extended 'album' versions of each track. One thing though – it’s full of swears and sick humour, so if that’s not your thing you probably won’t enjoy it as much as I did. It also looks good. The graphics are good and the levels are designed well and as they progress you pass through several vastly different locales so things stay fresh and interesting. The graphics are also made to look like you're playing through an old movie - which again adds to the overall atmosphere. Now here comes my first major gripe with the game - the frame rate. In a game where you are building combos you need the frame rate to be steady and smooth as you need to know that you're going to be hitting what you're shooting at. The frame rate isn't a disaster, however it not only drops but you will also experience frame skips which can be the difference between making a combo last and breaking your high score and failing. Due to this you'll find yourself using the shotgun for most of the game as it is far more forgiving in terms of blast radius and offsets the problem of the frame rate. Unfortunately is does render the pistols rather useless if you're going for high scores. Another gripe is that the game is very easy. You'll blast through the main quest without dying. However on doing so you'll open up the director’s cut, which is actually significantly different from the main game - throwing in more mutants and opening up new parts of the levels and taking you on a different route. It's really a very good bonus for completing the game and more than doubles the life of the game. You can also go back and play the original quest and opt for 'extra mutants' to toughen it up a bit. As for other items to extend the replay value there are some mini games, a two player mode and you can keep going back to beat your high scores to unlock more cash to upgrade your weapons. My final gripe is the way the high scores and cash are handled. There is only one high score table for each level regardless of how you play the level - thus you can't differentiate between whether you played it on normal or directors cut. Oh, and why no online rankings? Ghost Squad had them, and this is a game based around high scores – it’s a little lazy. What's more if you are good at games you will be punished - set a good high score early on and you'll have very little chance of making a lot of money as you'll need to beat it repeatedly to unlock every gun and upgrade them. If you want the cash you’ll need to hold back so you can constantly raise your score and earn as much as possible. FINAL COMMENT I liked this game a lot. It looks good, it sounds great and it plays well - it's also unique as it has a great original story quite unlike any other you'll have seen in a game. Also, bar Umbrella Chronicles it is the longest and deepest rail shooter on the Wii so far; offering unlock able content, challenges and a great length for a game of this type. It is however marred by the poor frame rate which has a negative impact on the core game play mechanic and there are also a few other minor niggles. However I recommend going out and picking this up, especially if you like rail shooters. OVERALL: 8.1 out of 10
Noku Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Don't mean to dis-fuckin'-respect you or nothin', but those frameskips of hell only occur inbetween sequences, never in "battles" themselves. I'd give it a solid 9. Hoping for a sequel!
Shino Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Lets hope MadWorld will do better. Anyone have any idea how well HotD has sold in Europe? I can't believe it only did 45k in America... GoNintendo has a nice estimative for European sales though. Good news for SEGA with House of the Dead: Overkill! They may not even know it, but they’ve got an on-rails game that has managed to chart longer than another other Wii on-rails title. Just for comparison, check out the charting of House of the Dead 2 & 3 return in comparison to House of the Dead: Overkill… THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2 & 3 RETURN Weekly Ranking Week 1= 15th Week 2= 14th Week 3= 22nd Week 4= 30th Week 5= not ranked LTD sales 100k-200k as of last award THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD OVERKILL Weekly Ranking Week 1= 10th (#3 Wii Chart) Week 2= 9th (#3 Wii Chart) Week 3= 16th (#3 Wii Chart) Week 4= 24th (#5 Wii Chart) Week 5= 20th (#4 Wii Chart) http://gonintendo.com/?p=75823
Zechs Merquise Posted March 23, 2009 Posted March 23, 2009 Don't mean to dis-fuckin'-respect you or nothin', but those frameskips of hell only occur inbetween sequences, never in "battles" themselves. I'd give it a solid 9. Hoping for a sequel! Well, I must have a dodgy copy then lol. There has been several times when a mutant has jerk across the screen when I've been playing. I mean it's not every encounter, but it does happen. And once a level is enough to break a combo.
RedShell Posted April 2, 2009 Posted April 2, 2009 Check this out! http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2009/04/01/house-of-the-dead-overkill-fan-creates-coolest-soundtrack-ever/ Sweet.
Tellyn Posted April 2, 2009 Posted April 2, 2009 Awesome, it looks to be done in the same style as the faux VHS cassette I received last summer following the GDC conference.
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