Papa Caesar

Biographical information
Age	48s
Nationality	American
Physical description
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Gray
Other information
Voice actor(s)	Armand St. Juste

Papa Caesar is a notorious crime lord and one of the main antagonists of The House of the Dead: Overkill. Though no mention of a price being on his head has been brought up, he's being hunted down by G (who's on a mission to investigate his activities in Bayou City), Isaac Washington (who wishes to avenge his father whom Caesar killed), and Varla Guns (who's after him for abusing her crippled brother Jasper Guns).

History

The notorious kingpin of Bayou City, Papa Caesar exudes wealth, power and commands respect from the highest authorities in the city. In the past Caesar had a confrontation with Isaac's father, who tried to apprehend the kingpin, but failed and was seemingly responsible for the latter's death. This sparked a long bitter feud between Caesar and Isaac. Caesar eventually became acquainted with the local prison warden, Clement Darling, who had recently uncovered a secret laboratory underneath his prison, housing a top secret mutant compound. On behalf of Clement, Caesar took position as the head of the operations to experiment on the mutant compound, using various locations, such as the plantation house and Bayou City's local hospital. Caesar forced local genius, Jasper Guns, to serve as his personal researcher by using Jasper's own sister, Varla, as leverage. Caesar's activities had caught attention of the AMS, who sent in rookie agent, G, to apprehend the kingpin, however at the same time Caesar had lost control of the mutant compound, causing an outbreak that transformed Bayou City's populace into mutants.

Caesar retreated to his plantation house to collect the mutant compound that was refined by Jasper and prepares to leave for the hospital. Not long after, both G and Isaac managed to track Caesar back to the plantation house and the two proceeded to blast their way through hordes of the undead and confront Caesar. As G and Isaac prepare to confront Caesar, the latter had provoked Jasper, which drove him to use the mutant compound on himself. Caesar quickly made his escape, while G and Isaac were forced to fight the newly mutated Jasper. Aware that both G and Isaac are heading for the hospital, Caesar unleashed several mutants within the hospital, including the Screamer to dispose of the two. After G and Isaac defeated the Screamer, Caesar contacted the two via phone that was implanted within the mutant to taunt the two and proceeds to detonate the hospital, though the two managed to escape with the help of Varla. As Caesar arrived at the train station, he was confronted by Varla, followed by G and Isaac. While the three argue amongst themselves on how to deal with Caesar, the kingpin himself used the opportunity to slip through the three and boards the train, but not before being shot by Isaac. After G and Isaac boarded the train and fought their way through hordes of mutants, Caesar unleashes the vicious Crawler to kill the two. After the Crawler's defeat, the train derails in the swamps, although everyone, including Caesar survived the ordeal. Caesar proceeds to kidnap Varla and throws a tape recorder at Issac while taunting him. Later in the prison, Caesar is shown strapped to an electric chair like the also-captured Varla Guns. At this point, Clement reveals himself as the true mastermind, though he still credits Caesar as the killer of Issac's father. After a moment of shock and disbelief, Caesar finally meets his end when Clement activates the electric chair he's sitting on and kills him, robbing Issac of his revenge.

Contents of the Tape Recording

"Hello, Isaac. This is Caesar. We've never seen eye to eye, you and I. But I wanted you to be aware of some important things. I find myself burdened with an inexorable sense of moral duty, Isaac. And in the absence of a friend to confide in, I turn to you. You know of Clement Darling yes, the cretin prison warden? It was he who originally discovered the mutant compound in a secret lab beneath his prison. Clement's ambitions are small minded, Isaac. But he has friends, powerful friends. And they have had access to the compound for some time. You should know this so you can prepare, Isaac. So you can warn the right people while there's still time. And there's so little time. And one more thing, Isaac. Are you aware your father... Is still alive? [Laughs]"

At the end of the credits, the recording that was given to Issac can be heard. Apparently, Caesar has been burdened with a sense of "moral duty" and with no one around to confide in, he turns to Issac. It's in this recording that a handful of themes and possible ties to the other House of the Dead games are brought up as follows:

• Clement Darling was the one who originally discovered the mutation compound in the lab underneath his prison; the compound that is possibly the source of the zombies in the series.
• Though Clement's plans were "small-minded" (with his primary intention being to save his elderly mother), he had "very powerful friends" - possibly referencing Dr. Curien, Goldman, and Thornheart - who "have had access to the compound for some time", and who have possibly used the original compound or variants of it.
• Caesar warns Isaac to prepare and warn the right people while there's still time and fears that there's so little time, predicting the events that will eventually lead up to the World's Collapse.
• Finally, Caesar ends in asking Issac whether he realizes that his father is alive.

Trivia

• The name Caesar derives from the cognomen of Roman dictator, Julius Caesar. The name is also associated with the title of the same name that was adopted by the succeeding Roman Emperors.
  • Like his namesake, Caesar was betrayed and killed by his own ally, Clement, in Jailhouse Judgment.
  • Ironically, the same chapter also features a boss named Brutus, who shares the same name as the real-life Brutus who took part in the assassination and betrayal of the real-life Caesar.
• Papa Caesar has an obsession with Chinese food - he loves sweet and sour. It was revealed in Extended Cut Chapter, Creeping Flesh, that Caesar even forced Jasper into eating them, despite the fact that Jasper was only allowed to eat liquified food due to his body condition.
• GameInformer ranked Caesar among the "Top 10 Villains of 2009," declaring that "Many villains have unleashed genetic abominations and blown us up, but none did it while wearing a stylish ascot. Papa Caesar makes engineering the zombie apocalypse look good. Analogizing Isaac Washington's death to a sweet and sour Chinese dinner seals his position on the list."
• According to the article titled "The Making of... The House of the Dead: Overkill" by British Gaming UK back in February of 2009, Caesar is modeled after actor, Burt Reynolds.

Gallery

Introduction