The game itself is relatively short, as light gun games tend to be, but it’s definitely priced appropriately. There’s zero issues with calibration that I ran into, it takes just a few seconds to calibrate at start-up, and seems to remain calibrated even after an hour or two of straight play. The center Move button doubles as a start button and grenade button, and the whole set-up is just as intuitive as any other light gun shooter tends to be. Pointing the Move controller aims your onscreen reticule, and the gun-shake to reload mechanic remains in place, instead of the more standard pointing off screen to reload.
The set-up required for this version of the game was barely used in the States, and supposedly doesn’t really exist in any arcade here if Wikipedia is to be believed.Ĭontrol wise everything handles about like you’d expect a modern light gun shooter ported to the PS3 should. HOTD 4 Special was a unique arcade set-up that used two stages not found in the standard game, reintroducing series favorite Agent G, and picking up directly after the ending of HOTD 4. While the home version doesn’t quite compare with the lack of actual shaking guns and arcade atmosphere missing, everything else seems to be intact.Īnd actually, this port is somewhat significant in that it’s about the only way I know of to experience the House of the Dead 4 SP, or HOTD 4 Special.
I’ve had a few chances to play the arcade version of House of the Dead 4 since its 2006 release, and there’s a good chance that if you’ve wandered into a Dave and Busters or GameWorks at some point in the last five years, you’ve probably laid hands on the brightly colored machines guns that accompany the arcade versions massive widescreen display.
This long-awaited PS3 port of House of the Dead 4 marks a pretty great way to experience the only real HD House of the Dead release, and the Move controller once again doubles as a suitable light gun replacement for the PS3. They’ve long been considered fan favorites in the light gun genre, and for good reason, being the only real noteworthy horror themed light gun game around.
SEGA’s House of the Dead series began in 1997 with the original arcade release, and since then has seen a number of releases, ports, and sequels, including a god-awful movie or two.