First things first: Sega released House of the Dead II in Japan for the Dreamcast a few years ago and included a light gun that was surprisingly accurate. Imagine the disappointment when the U.S. version was announced and Sega decided to release the game sans controller. The game was nearly unplayable via the Dreamcast pad, and many rode the wave of a chorus of disgruntled DC owners who just got more ammunition to assail Sega with. This is relevant to House of the Dead III, because Sega has once again released the game without the peripheral and has left this responsibility to the hands of the somewhat spotty manufacturer Mad Catz, which has delivered the Blaster controller. As of this writing, the light gun is in somewhat short supply and difficult to find. While the gun saga seems familiar, there isn’t much of an outcry with regards to Sega not releasing the gun and there is an even more important development: House of the Dead III works fine without the gun. As surprising as that might sound, the game’s control is much more accurate without using the Blaster, though it’s not nearly as enjoyable.

Obviously this title will draw comparisons to its history, as light gun games on the Xbox are about as rare as a 20-oz. porterhouse grilled on a campfire. The Blaster features a memory card slot, vibration, auto-fire, auto reload, and more. The gun has a nice feel to it and the trigger is easily depressed and the weight is well balanced. As a whole, it’s easier to handle over long periods of time than its Sega Dreamcast predecessor. Unfortunately, even after many attempts at calibration, it just isn’t as accurate as it should be for the price tag that it bears. Still, it is functional and there aren’t many alternatives for House of the Dead III other than using the Xbox controller.

When the game opens, the narrator begins and the music starts and you’re immediately struck with the fact that this just doesn’t "feel right." It’s not nearly as ominous to the naked ear, and the villains, while gorgeously rendered, aren’t nearly as repulsive or as sudden as you’re used to. You’ll also notice that you don’t need to reload ("Shoot outside the screen") as this has been eliminated from gameplay. That being said, House of the Dead III will feel more familiar as you begin to traverse the six stages. There are paths that you can choose, but you’ll end up doing each stage anyway, regardless of where your decisions take you. There are fewer bosses, fewer enemies, and fewer stages. The environments still provide you with extras to shoot at (such as barrels) that will reward you with various items such as health-ups and point-ups. The enemies are marvelously detailed and are a joy to blast into oblivion. Especially the "Bob"s, who are big and fat and require much ammunition to bring down, and the "Max"s, the familiar chainsaw-bearing baddie.

Another relevant divergence from previous efforts in this line is the fact that you aren’t penalized for not saving characters from distress. As a matter of fact, the only character that you can save is your so-called partner (who doesn’t do much of anything) in a few circumstances, and you are only rewarded for "saving" him or her and they continue to accompany you regardless of whether you save them or not. Quite puzzling on both the ineffectualness of saving your partner and the omission of what was an important part of previous titles in terms of both pressure and power-ups.

Part of the fun of this series is taking out the bosses - who usually have one particular weak point - and this title is no exception, despite the fact that there are far fewer of the big guys to fight. The boss encounters are one of the areas where this title usurps it’s namesake and improves on its design. The security guard, depending on your path, will follow you through various stages and is seemingly impossible to kill. The subsequent bosses that follow are each rooted in environments that are mind-boggling in their design and strikingly cool to behold. That is, until the end. The final boss seems horribly out of place and looks like the Silver Surfer with a hula hoop that has nothing to do with the rest of the game or its environments. Fittingly, he is very difficult to beat and you’ll need a few credits to take him down (and a few more if you’re using the light gun). Still, it’s a very disappointing finish to a game that’s too short to begin with. But, there’s more . . .

See, after you finish House of the Dead III in either Survival or Time Attack mode, you’re allowed to access the full House of the Dead 2 game that’s included in its entirety on this disc. There are a few glitches with the translation, as I ran into a few pauses where I couldn’t shoot and some minor chatter in the environments. Still, it’s a nice bonus that adds to the overall score of this title and adds value to any that would purchase it. After you complete House of the Dead III there’s an elevator scene wherein you complete a few levels for bonus items. Initially, this caught me by surprise and I lost out on a few power-ups.

In and of itself, House of the Dead III doesn’t warrant a purchase and perhaps only warrants a rental as it doesn’t quite measure up to its previous incarnation. Considering that it includes "II"it’s more worthy of your consideration. It remains an excellent party title that visitors are going to want to have a gander at and is an excellent testament to light gun games still having a place in modern consoles. The game with two Blasters will set you back quite a few bones, but it’s worth the experience despite its shortcomings. I didn't comment much on the B-movie story because it’s far too short to warrant revealing anything about it and it’s something that should be experienced without comment, other than to say it isn’t much better than House of the Dead 2. But you’re buying this game for an "S" word other than "story" . . .

. . . shooting.

· · · Haohmaru