Rocking Adeel KHamisani: The House of the Dead

The House Of The Dead PC Game Cover | The House Of The Dead PC Game Poster

The House of the Dead is a first-person, light gun arcade game released in 1996 and internationally in 1997 by Sega.

Players assume the role of agents Thomas Rogan and "G" in their efforts to combat the products of the dangerous, inhumane experiments of Dr. Curien, a mad scientist.

The House of the Dead is a rail shooter light gun game. Players use a light gun (or mouse, in the PC version) to aim and shoot at approaching enemies. The characters' pistols use magazines which hold 6 rounds; players reload by shooting away from the screen. A set of torches next to the magazine of each player represents remaining health. When a player sustains damage or shoots a civilian, one of their torches is removed. The player dies when all torches are lost. First-aid packs are available throughout the game which restore one torch. These are found either in the possession of civilians whom the player has rescued or inside breakable objects. Similarly, there are also special items located in breakable objects that will grant a bonus to whoever shoots it.

Throughout the course of the game, players are faced with numerous situations in which their action (or inaction) will have an effect on the direction of gameplay. This is exemplified in the opening stage of the game when a civilian is about to be thrown from the bridge to his death. If the player saves the civilian, they will enter the house directly through the front door; however, if the player fails to rescue the civilian, the character is redirected to an underground route through the sewers. If the player rescues all civilians, a secret room full of lives and bonuses is revealed toward the end of the game.

On December 18, 1998, Agent Thomas Rogan receives a distressing, short phone-call from his fiancé, Sophie Richards at the Curien Mansion, the home and laboratory of Dr. Roy Curien, a renowned biochemist and geneticist. Amidst a series of ominous occurrences and disappearances at the mansion, Rogan arrives on the scene with his partner, Agent G, to immediately discover the estate overrun with hellish creations. A mortally wounded man gives them a small field journal showing information about all of Curien's deadly creations and their weak points. It is used every time the player(s) are confronted by a boss.

It is revealed that Curien was obsessed with discovering the nature of life and death. While supported by the DBR Corporation and its own team of scientists, Curien's relentless pursuit of this goal slowly drove him insane, with his behavior growing more erratic and the nature of his experiments beginning to take a gruesome turn. Curien's plan for his research ultimately resulted in the release of his experimental subjects into the world. Wasting no time, Rogan and G storm inside the mansion in order to find and save Sophie, where they witness first-hand the terror unleashed by Curien's zombies and abominations.

When Rogan and "G" arrive at the mansion, they find Sophie, but she is just as soon captured by a gargoyle-bat like abomination called the Hangedman, who takes her away to the mansion. They later find Sophie in an empty room, but she is knocked against a wall by Chariot, a gray armored supersoldier carrying a blood stained halberd. Rogan and "G" defeat Chariot and attend to Sophie, who seemingly succumbs to her injuries. Rogan, in a fit of rage, goes off to avenge his fiancé by seeking out Hangedman. He and G find him at an old balcony, where he intends to stop them. Hangedman proves himself formidable, but he is eventually defeated and falls to his death. Rogan and "G" then meet Curien, who escapes and releases a spider-crab like monster named the Hermit. They also defeat this creature and continue on.

Upon confronting Curien a second time, the scientist introduces the AMS agents to his masterpiece, The Magician, a humanoid demon-esque creature which possesses a mastery of fire. After Curien releases the creature from its incubation chamber, the Magician reveals itself to be self-aware, refusing to serve any master; Dr. Curien is subsequently killed by his creation. To prevent the Magician from escaping the mansion and destroying the world, Rogan and 'G' confront it in one final battle. Before dying, the Magician gives one last, chilling warning, and then explodes. Rogan and 'G' leave the mansion, taking one last look at it from the outside.

There are, however, alternate endings that the player can achieve upon completing the game. One ending, in which the camera pans to the foyer one last time; the doors open, revealing Sophie to be alive, running towards the camera saying "Thank you!", showing that her injury from earlier did not kill her. Another shows Sophie has now become one of the undead—the last corpse remaining, all depending on the player's final score and the number of continues used.