DESCRIPTION

A new chapter in Sega's popular The House of the Dead series, Zombie Revenge raises the undead from their graves once again, and it's up to you to put them back to sleep... permanently.

The detailed 3D graphics, not unlike those found in the Arcade version, immerse gamers in the cinematic locations as they battle the less-than-festive parade of maniacal mutants. Zombie Revenge is hauntingly similar to the coin-op game, but with exclusive added features, including new modes and mini-games.

Zombie Revenge's action starts in the town of Woodside City, where a secret government experiment to turn the undead into soldiers has gone awry. To remedy this horrific situation, you assume the role of one of three characters — Stick Breitling, Linda Rotta or Rikiya Busujima. They can single-handedly punch, kick and shoot their way through hordes of zombies or opt to tag team the enemy with a friend. Each character has distinct strengths and weaknesses, as well as attack combos, and moves such as dash, guard, rolling and charged attacks.

Although you are equipped with firearms to fight the throngs of ghastly minions, any weapons found lying around — from flame-throwers to power drills — are fair game and can be used to attack! For the nostalgic effect, some zombies are pulled straight from The House of the Dead, while others are fresh from the morgue. Each zombie and character is also fully detailed to take advantage of the Dreamcast's 128-bit graphics processor.

The game features several different interactive 3D environments, including warehouses, neighborhoods, subways, dark back alleys and even the original The House of the Dead! Three new modes of gameplay include Original, Fighting and Vs. Boss mode. In the Original mode, players can choose the Normal (Arcade single-player) mode, the weaponless Bare Knuckle-style or the fully strapped Gun mode. The Fighting mode pits you against a friend or the computer in a one-on-one death match. Vs. Boss mode allows you to fight through each boss encounter without going through the stages in the game.

There are also two VMU (Visual Memory Unit) mini-games available only with the Dreamcast version: Zombie Fishing and Zombie Doubt. Zombie Fishing is a ghoulish version of Sega Bass Fishing, which involves reeling in the underwater undead. The Zombie Doubt mini-game is an exercise in memory skills. Based on how well you do on these mini-games, along with the collection of items from Original mode, you can raise a zombie hero or heroine to do battle in Fighting mode, while also unlocking secrets in Original mode. ~ Rich Hernandez, All Game Guide