The PDA scanning the World in House of the Dead 4.
The AMS PDA is a mobile device developed by the AMS agency for its members. Initially introduced in The House of the Dead 4, it returns in The House of the Dead 4: Special and House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn.
As a gameplay mechanic, the PDA identifies branching paths and boss weakpoints. In scripted cutscenes, it can also detect oncoming enemies, receive text messages, and self-destruct.
Appearances
The House of the Dead 4 and Special
James' PDA in 4.
The PDA is depicted as a silver-and-black-colored device with numerous buttons, a joystick, and what appears to be a camera lens on the top right corner. It is equipped with a blinking red light when threats are detected. The word "AMS" is found below the screen.
While escaping the zombie-infested European AMS headquarters, agent James Taylor introduced the PDA to newcomer Kate Green when they encounter a fork in their path. The PDA identified the left path as safer than the right; it is ultimately the player's decision on where to go.
The agents later encountered Justice, a massive four-armed creature in the AMS sewers. The PDA scanned Justice (and all further bosses), marking body parts as either "No Damage" or "Weak Point"; the latter, in this case, was Justice's tongue.
Finding the city of Venice in ruins, James received a message on his PDA from Caleb Goldman, the deceased founder of the DBR Corporation and Dr. Roy Curien's financier. Goldman revealed his responsibility for the outbreak and that a nuclear missile launch would commence in an hour.
James and Kate raced to Goldman's headquarters, managing to halt the launch but faced with Goldman's final creation: The World. The PDA listed its weakpoint as "UNKNOWN". Realizing that the World kept growing when killed, James set his PDA to self-destruct and sacrificed himself in the resulting explosion, finally killing the creature.
In Special, the PDA functions the same. As with the World, it couldn't identify the Magician's weakpoints.
Kate's PDA in Scarlet Dawn.
House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn
Early footage of Scarlet Dawn suggests that the PDA's abilities are relatively unchanged. Its appearance of reminiscent of modern smartphones, featuring a large touchscreen. Kate and partner Ryan Taylor also have red and black cases, respectively. When encountering a revived Chariot, Kate uses the PDA's camera to identify its weakpoint.
Trivia
- Oddly enough, James' PDA creates an subatomic explosion, and Kate Green -- who was standing just meters from the explosion -- walks away unharmed.
- Previous games in the series identified boss weakpoints differently: The House of the Dead featured research blueprints; The House of the Dead 2 had a field journal written by AMS agent "G"; The House of the Dead III displayed information in a metallic-framed, green monochrome box.
- III gives no indication that the characters are using PDAs or other devices.
III's method of showing boss weakpoints.
