| Console: | Arcade |
| TV Standard: | Region Not Set |
| Developer(s): | Sega |
| Publisher(s): | Sega |
| Release Date: | 2005-07-02 |
| Players: | 2 |
| Co-op: | Yes |
| ESRB: | M - Mature 17+ |
| Type: | Shooter |
The House of the Dead 4 is a horror-themed light gun arcade game and the fourth installment of the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Sega. The game takes place between the events of The House of the Dead 2 and The House of the Dead III, and introduced several new gameplay concepts. Players can control characters James Taylor, from The House of the Dead 2 (on the left side), or Kate Green, a new character to the series (on the right side). The game was followed by House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn.
The House of the Dead 4 is the first game to run on the Sega Lindbergh arcade system board.
The player can reload the gun by shaking it, or by just pointing off the screen. The game also features grenades that the player can throw to destroy large numbers of enemies. Additional grenades can be earned by completing certain tasks or by shooting crates. At some points in the game, players are required to shake the gun vigorously in order to escape certain situations.
The game features branching paths. Most of the paths lead to the same point in the game's story. As with The House of the Dead III, there is an end-of-stage bonus where players can receive extra lives depending on headshot level combo, accuracy, and score. Another returning factor is the presence of the "Cancel" bar.
The game runs on a critical shots counter where the player is encouraged to shoot the enemy's weak points rather than spraying ammo at the enemy. It starts off as Good, Excellent, Amazing and then Perfect. Getting hit, or killing an enemy not by the weak point resets the counter.
The most common enemies have three attacks. A "normal attack", a "grab," and a "push". The foremost inflicts one point of damage, while the second forces a shaking sequence that, if successful, pushes back attackers for easier disposal, but if unsuccessful, will result in the player being bitten or the player's character being knocked down and vulnerable. Multiple zombies may also pile on top of both players in an attempt to stomp on them (or kick them while they're down).
There are also a number of secrets in the game. Different hidden treasures, such as coins and golden shapes, which increase the player's score, as well as "lives", etc. can be found by interacting with the game's environments. The bonus-life system departs from the previous games, where life is gained by saving hostages; the loss of these events are substituted with an increase of extra-life pickups in the environment. There are also "treasure rooms" that can be accessed using different techniques (such as shooting a certain spot or throwing a grenade in a certain area), which contain multiple items that can be obtained at once within a limited time.
Plot
In 2003, three years after the Goldman Case, veteran American AMS agent James Taylor, and a new rookie agent, Kate Green, are gathering intelligence at the fifth basement floor of the European headquarters of the AMS in Italy (London in the Japanese dub). James has a sharp memory of the 2000 "Goldman Case", and believes that the ordeal has not yet ended. A sudden earthquake rocks the room while they talk, collapsing the basement walls and leaving the agents trapped.
Several days later, as the two await a rescue team, James' PDA goes off, and a group of undead are seen on the security cameras. Realizing that they are in danger, James has Kate gather all the weaponry they can find to defend themselves. Soon after, the two travel through the sewers to an information room where they uncover a plot to fire nuclear missiles worldwide within 24 hours' time, facing the four-armed giant zombie Justice and a pair of mutant tarantulas known as The Lovers along the way. Taking the subway into zombie-infested streets from an underground shopping district, the agents narrowly avoid attacks by The Empress, a double-ended chainsaw-wielding assassin, and the massive, obese, and nearly impervious Temperance.
James and Kate then learn that the late one-time CEO of the now-defunct DBR Corporation, Goldman, is responsible for the resurgence of undead. All of his messages and current plans were set in motion even before his death. Upon reaching the surface, they find the city completely obliterated. Goldman sends them a PDA message indicating that the launch will occur in one hour. The agents head for the abandoned Goldman Building and upon arrival, a levitating humanoid named The Star, confronts them in the foyer. After the Star is defeated, the duo arrive in time to halt the missile launch, though it is revealed that Goldman's true intention is to revert humankind to its original state in order to prevent them from harming the planet further. As such, his final legacy, The World, an insectoid humanoid with powers over ice, is released in the opening of "Pandora's Box" to fulfill its role as the successor to his original Emperor project in 2000, having developed underground since his death. As the AMS agents fight it, the World continuously evolves to become larger and more powerful. Following the World's second defeat, James sets his PDA to self-destruct and, telling Kate not to give up hope, sacrifices himself to destroy the World in the ensuing explosion. A shaken and distraught Kate walks out of Goldman's premises.
Endings
The game has four endings available depending on the player's performance result during the game, which at the end of either endings, the screen displays "The story continues in The House of the Dead III".
Standard Ending: A view of Goldman's computer playing a recording of him saying that "the human race has not been eliminated", instructing to "travel north" while musing that "hope is such a splendid thing" as he leaves the room.
Bad Ending: The ending plays out the same as the standard ending but the camera pans on Goldman's face showing him changing into a zombie.
"G" Ending: G appears outside the Goldman building, and states that the zombie crisis has not yet ended while telling James to rest in peace and he will assist the heroes to face what awaits. This ending has G in his House of the Dead III appearance, suggesting to have took place after The House of the Dead 4 Special and right before the events of The House of The Dead III, as the game suggests the story continues in The House of The Dead III.
Mystery Man Ending: The unnamed mysterious man previously seen in one of The House of the Dead III's ending, sits in his study, declaring Goldman to be soft and that humans have no need of hope, before stating that the true end shall soon begin and that there is more than one Pandora's Box.
Development
Video display
The House of the Dead 4 was the first arcade light gun game to feature a high-definition widescreen display. The different displays used for each of the models are as follows: Mitsubishi's 2005 62" rear-projection DLP 16:9 ratio widescreen model for the "Super Deluxe" cabinet (although later models of the game would use Toshiba, Zenith, and LG rear-projections), LG's 2005 52" rear-projection DLP 4:3 ratio model for the "Deluxe"-sized cabinet, and Sanwa or Nanao color monitor 29" CRT 4:3 ratio television for the "upright" cabinet (although it is a CRT set and can only accept a 480i signal, it has a high screen resolution of 676 dots by 625 lines). The game runs in 1080i on the Deluxe and Super Deluxe cabinets and in 480i on the standard cabinet.
The video signal is connected via a DVI to HDMI adapter for the Super Deluxe cabinet, VGA for the Deluxe cabinet, and S-Video for the Standard cabinet.
