House of the Dead: Overkill for Wii Reviews by Gamers

Make sure you keep the kids away from this one, definitely for mature audiences only.

I'm not a big fan of House of the Dead games (or any light gun style game for that matter), but this one is amazing. The gameplay is thoroughly satisfying as you dismember mutant zombies in a cool stylistic "Grindhouse" setting. If you love B-movie horror shlock get this game immediately, you won't be disappointed.

There's lots of extras and challenges to keep you coming back as well, with plenty of new guns to buy and upgrade. The production values are top notch, great to see this sort of effort on the Wii.

House of the Dead Overkill is a hard game to love or hate. While it is no doubt a quality arcade shooter, there are a few setbacks that hold it from being as good as it can be.

The Pros: The gameplay and controls are tiptop. The graphics are not mind-blowing but for Wii, they should be considering above average. The levels are all similar but different enough to stay fresh as the game progresses. The weapon selection is excellent and the ability to purchase new weapons and weapon upgrades is a huge plus. The game's stat tracking is thorough and the hidden items in each level gives Overkill a lot of replay value.

The cons: For starters, the game is simply too easy. Even with just one player, there is not a single time from the opening credits to the final boss that I ever felt even remotely challenged. Even after you complete the main story mode and unlock the "director's cut", the game never reaches a level of proper difficulty. Also, for me, the inability to to skip through the background stories and in-game videos hinders gameplay. Overkill put a lot of time into trying to make the game feel like a B-movie but, quite frankly, it still feels like a lame video game story. Even if it wasn't, there's no excuse to force players to sit through back story.

The verdict: Despite being painfully easy and having an array of annoying quirks, Overkill is a good arcade shooter. It does not reinvent the genre by any means, but the gameplay is solid and the levels are fun enough to keep you coming back. This game is not worth a purchase but well worth a rental. If you're a fan of the genre, House of the Dead Overkill won't surprise you, but if you can look past its glaring flaws, you might just find yourself having a good time. At the very least, I can say that this is the most fun of all the House of the Dead games thus far for the Wii.