House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn – Sega R&D1
It’s been thirteen years
since the release of The House of the Dead 4, and I’ve been excited to play
this since it was announced early last year.
I had a good session on it at the show, and I’m pleased to report that
it’s simply awesome.
Cabinet Design
The theatre style cabinet,
featuring a 55” 1080p full HD screen is very well themed and draws you into the
game. The white sheet aesthetic with the
faces pressed against it, giving the impression of zombies trying to escape
from the cab is simple yet striking.
The rear window allows arcade
goers to peek into the cab, and the zombie face which lights up intermittently
is suitably macabre.
Gameplay
The player can select two
extra weapons at the start of the game.
This is a cool new feature, adding depth to the game. There is an extensive range of weapons,
including shotgun, machine gun EX, gatling gun, laser, grenade launcher,
incendiary gun and rocket launcher. The
player guns are in the style of Uzis, featuring auto-reload and have buttons
for weapon change.
As night falls, two agents infiltrate an old manor
The game begins three years
after The House of the Dead 4, at a dinner party at Scarecrow Manor, reminiscent
of Dr. Curien’s Mansion from the first game.
AMS Agents Kate Green and Ryan Taylor, brother of James Taylor are on an
undercover mission when suddenly the Party Host unleashes his army of creatures
upon the dinner guests, and soon the world.
Within minutes of the game starting, the player is inundated with hordes
of zombies lurching along corridors and hurtling down a staircase as they fall over
themselves. On occasion parts of the
environment can be used to destroy them, such as shooting down a chandelier to
kill the enemies below. There are also
hostages and civilians to rescue and “save your partner” sequences, similar to
previous entries in the series.
There are a lot of familiar
enemies returning from the series, including Ebitan, a sludge-covered zombie
who lurches from water, Samsom, a large, bearded zombie who wields a chainsaw,
and Rubin, a short nimble zombie with Freddy Krueger style claws. A special mention must also go to the awesome
Slash rocker guitar wielding zombie!
Below is some game footage.
The cabinet features a
vibrating seat and an air canon, heightening immersion as players feel
explosions and wind. Early on a
helicopter hovers above and air can be felt from the rotors. It’s a very neat touch, and brings back
memories of playing The House of the Dead 4 Special.
Graphics and Sound
The ‘Unreal Engine 4’
graphics are superb. The character
models and environments are extremely solid and detailed, yet still have the
unmistakable The House of the Dead look and feel. Kate Green looks incredible in her dinner
dress and the fire effects are the best I’ve seen since Brave Firefighters.
The cabinet features 5.1
channel surround sound with sub-woofer, and sounds fantastic. I must admit I was so engrossed in the game
that I didn’t pay too much attention to the music. One thing I did note is that the cheesy voice
acting, a trademark of the series is back!
Overall
I’ve waited a long time to
play this game and came away extremely impressed. I can see it being popular with casual gamers
as well as veterans of the series. The
game was great fun, looks and sounds fantastic, and was extremely immersive. Being able to select two extra weapons is a
fantastic new feature, and I really enjoyed trying out the new weapons. The game strikes a good balance between being
nostalgic and familiar, yet also fresh and new.
I can’t wait to play it again when it appears in the arcades.
ATV Slam – Sega
Making its debut at EAG is
ATV Slam, Sega’s latest motion racer, featuring all-terrain vehicles and ten
tracks.
The quad bike style cabinet
was very cool, with the front end pivoting up and down depending upon the
terrain. The game is powered by ‘Unreal
Engine 4’ and uses a 47” 1080p screen. The
graphics are very good and have lots of neat touches, like water droplets being
sprayed onto the screen. An air cannon
on the front of the panel generates wind effects to heighten immersion.
I was impressed with the
number and variety of courses, including Cribb’s Canyon, London
Below is some game footage.
Hangar 9 - Normal
The game was very fast and
great fun, with a greater emphasis placed on fun than realism.
Daytona Championship USA
This new, more affordable
version removes the dynamic marquee and replaces it with a yellow Hornet
car. Also the seat has changed, being a
more traditional Sega seat design, and the monitor is a few inches smaller –
43” instead of 47”.
The cabinet comes with a four
speed H-type shifter.
Some more pics taken at the
Sega booth.
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A chart showing 6 week
average income and top income earned in a week.
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Halo: Fireteam Raven 2-Player – Raw Thrills / Play
Mechanix
I enjoyed a few credits on
this, although after playing Scarlet Dawn it did feel a little flat. However I didn’t really play this long enough
to give a fair impression, and I’m sure that someone who loves the Halo
franchise will really enjoy this.
The cabinet features two
turret-mounted machine guns. One thing
we did note however is that the reload button seemed badly placed.
Here is a video of the game.
Super Bikes 3 – Raw Thrills
Super Bikes 3 is a fun racing
game, which doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Imagine Cruis ‘n Blast with motorbikes, and you won’t be far off the
mark!
Tomb Raider – Adrenaline Amusements / Square Enix /
Crystal Dynamics
A smaller version of the
4-player shooting game featuring a 65” screen, about half the size of the
deluxe release.
Atari PONG - UNIS
PONG returns as an
electromechanical game!
I enjoyed a couple of credits
with my wife and six year old daughter.
The cabinet looks awesome, and I imagine it would do well in bars.
It was cool to see the Atari
logo at an arcade tradeshow once again!
Electrocoin
There were some nice new Stern
pinball releases on display at the Electrocoin booth, including Deadpool, The
Beatles and their latest release, The Munsters.
I really like the look of The
Munsters Premium model, which has black and white art in homage to the classic
TV series. This model also has Grandpa’s
laboratory, a lower playfield that features two mini flippers, two ramps, a
Grandpa bash target, a digital number display and a multiball feature.
There was also an awesome
line up of modern pinball tables at the Pinball Heaven booth.
Typhoon:10th Anniversary Edition – Trio
Tech
My daughter really enjoys these
virtual roller coasters motion simulators in arcades and holiday camps, and was
excited to see this. This 10th
Anniversary Edition features a 4K upgrade, ten new films and new cabinet
colouring.
Virtual reality had a larger
presence this year.
Some more pics of the show.
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