The House of the Dead 2 (ザ・ハウス・オブ・ザ・デッド 2) is the second game in the series. It was released on November 3rd, 1998 as an arcade game. It would later be released on a variety of home gaming platforms. The game follows the fictional events of Saturday, February 26, 2000, almost two years after the Curien Mansion incident in The House of the Dead.
Plot
The secret international agency, AMS, has launched an investigation concerning the cause of the Curien case, in order to prevent the world from experiencing a similar outbreak. Agent "G" has mysteriously vanished and his last known location is the city of Venice, Italy. where a strange outbreak similar to the 1998 Curien case occurs. American AMS agents James Taylor and Gary Stewart are dispatched along with British AMS agent Amy Crystal and her partner Harry Harris to investigate and evacuate the populace.
Upon finding a wounded but living G at a local library, James and Gary converse with him and "G" gives them a field journal from his previous investigation showing the bosses and weak points. They continue on, trying to save the city's civilians from the zombies.The pair are then met with an undead horde developed by Caleb Goldman,
During the chaos, James and Gary face many formidable foes, including Judgment consisting of an imp-like monster Zeal and his giant, headless, axe-wielding puppet Kuarl. After killing it, they meet up with Amy and Harry, who split up and try to meet at Sunset Bridge (or the wharf, depending on the player's actions). Upon getting there the group faces off with The Hierophant, an aquatic beast which heads an assault on Venice's waterways and Central Plaza. Upon defeating it, James, Gary, Amy and Harry get on a boat and continue through the rivers.
Harry reveals that Caleb Goldman, the president of the eminent DBR Corporation and an expert on the genome theory was the mastermind of the 1998 Curien Case: he funded the experiments of the late Dr.Curien, in making his creations during the Curien Mansion incident and upon the scientist's death, he continued the experiments and released them into the city. Goldman leaves a message on Amy's phone, inviting them to meet him at the Roman Colosseum. Although fearing it's a trap, the group continues on. The agents split up again and James and Gary face off with a group of segmented serpentine beasts known as The Tower, which causes chaos in the sewers. After killing the mother serpent, they receive a phone call for help from Amy, before getting cut off. The two quickly race to the Colosseum only to discover Amy and a wounded Harry, injured by. and Strength, a giant, chainsaw-wielding zombie. After they kill it, James and Gary push on, while Amy tends to Harry's wounds.
The duo drive over to Goldman's tower, fighting Judgment, and Hierophant, (who were revived by Goldman). When they reach the Goldman building courtyard, they confronted by Curien's masterpiece, The Magician, who has been resurrected by Goldman to oversee the birth of The Emperor, a horned, transparent being designed to rule over nature and "destroy and hate mankind". After they defeat the Magician, they head to the top of the tower to confront Goldman, who then introduces them to the Emperor. In its prototype stage, the Emperor is not as strong as Goldman had hoped, and falls to the AMS agents. In order to evade being arrested, Goldman commits suicide by throwing himself off the roof of his building.
Characters
- James Taylor: An AMS agent sent to investigate strange occurrences reported taking place in the city of Venice and locate agent G.
- Gary Stewart: An AMS agent sent along with James Taylor.
- Caleb Goldman: CEO of the DBR Corporation and an expert on the genome theory who funded the experiments of the late Curien, he unleashed all the zombies to Venice to destroy humankind. He commits suicide at the end of the game.
- Amy Crystal: An AMS agent sent to evacuate the populace,
- Harry Harris: Another AMS agent sent to assist Amy.
- G: An AMS agent investigating strange occurrences in Venice. He is found seriously injured by James and Gary.
- Thomas Rogan: An AMS agent and the returning protagonist from the original House of the Dead, known for his heroic actions during the Curien Case. He is only seen in one of the game's alternate endings, informing James that their friends and allies have survived the outbreak.
Endings
Players are given different endings based on the following conditions:
- If a solo game was finished as either player 1 or 2
- If both players defeated the last boss
- Number of continues
- Points earned
Good ending: James/Gary leave the Goldman Building and meet Thomas Rogan who says that their friends survived the outbreak and that they should head off to their next battle. "As long as we have the will to live." In James's case or "As long as there is an answer." In Gary's case.
Normal ending: James/Gary leave the Goldman Building and are greeted by all the civilians they saved.
Bad ending: James/Gary leave the Goldman Building and meet a zombiefied Goldman standing outside. The screen fades to white as a gunshot is heard.
Modes
Depending on the version of the game (Arcade, Xbox, PC, Dreamcast, or Wii), there are a variety of gameplay modes available.
Arcade Mode
Arcade mode is the standard mode of play. It features one or two players playing through the game normally without any bonuses. Each player's gun holds only 6 bullets per round. However, unlike the arcade game, the player is able to set the number of lives and continues on the options screen. This varies from the arcade, where each player's life value depends on what the operator set it to.
Original Mode
Original mode is similar to Arcade mode, except that it allows a player to use 2 bonus items prior to starting the game. These items have a wide variety of uses, including ones which make the game easier in some way (more continues, more lives), score enhancements (double points), or other random bonuses (costumes, alternate weapons). These bonuses can be collected throughout gameplay in original mode by shooting hidden items....
Training Mode
Training mode consists of 10 training stages which feature various situations that must be cleared in order to pass. Each training stage has different levels of difficulty.
Boss Mode
Boss mode allows the player to play a time attack on the game's various boss fights. Each boss must have appeared during normal gameplay (either Arcade or Original mode) before it appears in this mode. For bosses which have 2 forms (Hierophant , Tower , Strength ), both are unlocked upon meeting either through normal gameplay. Once all the bosses have been unlocked, there is also a full time attack which allows the player to fight through the succession of all the bosses at once. For each choice, the time is recorded and stored on the records screen. You need to beat each boss 6 times to by getting 5 gold stars next to each boss icon to face the emperor.
Options
The options screen gives the player various controls over game settings such as lives, continues, blood color, volume control, etc.
Mistake(s)
- In The House of the Dead 2, in the final corridor to Goldman's office, as you exit the corridor you move to the left. In The House of the Dead 4, you turn RIGHT to get to Goldman's office.
- In The House of the Dead 2, the elevator stops at the 50th floor which is the DBR's incubation laboratory and Goldman's office is accessed through a set of stairs still on the same floor. In The House of the Dead 4, the elevator stops at the 49th floor which is the Japanese corridor and Goldman's office is accessed through a set of stairs going up one floor.
Platforms
The House of the Dead 2 has been released on Arcade, PC, Dreamcast, Xbox (as unlockable content in The House of the Dead 3) and Wii.
Chapters & Bosses
There are a total of 6 chapters (levels) in House of the Dead 2. Each chapter has a boss character who is fought at the end of the chapter. Some later chapters feature reappearances of bosses from earlier levels.
- Chapter 1: A Prelude (Boss: Judgment)
- Chapter 2: Muddy (Boss: Hierophant)
- Chapter 3: Darkness (Boss: Tower)
- Chapter 4: Despair (Boss: Strength)
- Chapter 5: Dawn (Boss: Magician)
- Chapter 6: Original Sin (Boss: Emperor)
Criticism
Although the game was seen as commercially successful, the dialogue translation and voice over recording done for the game are often regarded as low quality, ranging in opinion from disappointing to unintentionally humorous. The cutscenes from this game (especially Goldman's scenes) are commonly found in YouTube Poops because of the poor voice acting.
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