R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the R-Type series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful alien race bent on wiping out all of mankind. The R-9 can acquire a glowing orbicular device called a "Force", protecting it from enemy fire and providing additional firepower. The arcade version was distributed by Nintendo in North America; it is the last arcade title Nintendo distributed.
Resident Evil, or Biohazard in Japan and parts of Southeast Asia, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments inhabited by zombies and other frightening creatures. The franchise has expanded into other media, including a live-action film series, animated films, television series, comic books, novels, audio dramas and merchandise. Resident Evil is the highest-grossing horror franchise.
Rail shooter is a subgenre of shoot 'em up video game. Beginning with arcade games such as the 1985 Space Harrier, the gameplay locks the player character into a set path, only allowing for limited or no divergence from it, in a similar manner to a theme park dark ride. While moving on this path, players must aim and shoot enemies while dodging projectiles and avoiding damage. Many rail shooters feature a flying protagonist or ship; however, some take place while walking, running or driving. While rail shooters saw a resurgence on the Wii due to its Wii Remote control scheme, new games in the genre are considered a rarity in the modern day, although many games of other genres contain rail shooter segments.
The House of the Dead is a 1996 horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game developed by Sega AM1 and released by Sega. It is the first game in the House of the Dead series. Players assume the role of agents Thomas Rogan and "G" as they combat an army of undead experiments created by Dr. Curien, a mad scientist.
The Typing of the Dead is an arcade game that was developed by WOW Entertainment and published by Sega for the NAOMI hardware. The game was released in Japanese arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 by Smilebit. A Microsoft Windows version was released in 2000 and a PlayStation 2 port followed in 2004.
Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, and can be used in combination with other tools such as grenades for indirect offense, armor for additional defense, or accessories such as telescopic sights to modify the behavior of the weapons. A common resource found in many shooter games is ammunition, armor or health, or upgrades which augment the player character's weapons.
Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to Galaxian (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower.
The House of the Dead III is a 2002 horror-themed light gun arcade game and the third installment of the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Wow Entertainment and Sega. It was ported to the Xbox in 2003, Microsoft Windows in 2005, the Wii in 2008 in a compilation with The House of the Dead 2, and PlayStation 3 in 2012 with PlayStation Move support. The game was remade with typing controls as The Typing of the Dead 2 in 2008. The game continues the story of the previous games and introduces new gameplay concepts. The game's secondary protagonist is Lisa Rogan, daughter of Thomas Rogan and Sophie Richards.
CarnEvil is a 1998 light gun shooter arcade game released by Midway Games. It is often noted for its heavy use of graphic violence and dark humor. It is Midway Games' most successful light gun shooter.
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Irem as an arcade video game in 1984, and distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
The House of the Dead 2 is a horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game and the second game in The House of the Dead series of video games. The direct sequel to The House of the Dead, it was developed by Sega for arcades on the Sega NAOMI board in November 1998, and received several home ports, starting with the Dreamcast in 1999, Microsoft Windows in 2001, Xbox in 2002 as a bonus in The House of the Dead III and on Wii as part of the compilation The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return. It would also serve as the basis for several spinoff games in the franchise, most notably The Typing of the Dead.
Zombie Revenge is a beat 'em up video game released for arcades and Dreamcast in 1999. Armed with their fists, feet, and whatever weapons they should find along the way, players are tasked with ridding an unnamed city of zombies. Originally titled Blood Bullet: The House of the Dead Side Story, the game was renamed Zombies Nightmare before Sega decided on the name Zombie Revenge.
House of the Dead is a 2003 action horror film directed by Uwe Boll, from a screenplay by Dave Parker and Mark Altman. Based on The House of the Dead video game franchise by Sega Corporation and Wow Entertainment, Inc., it is not a direct adaptation of the individual entries; Boll described the film as a prequel to the original 1996 game. It stars Jonathan Cherry, Tyron Leitso, Clint Howard, Ona Grauer, Ellie Cornell, and Jürgen Prochnow. The film takes place on a fictional island infested by zombies, forcing survivors to fight their way off. House of the Dead was Boll's first film to be released theatrically, in addition to his first video game adaptation.
The House of the Dead 4 is a horror-themed light gun shooter arcade game and the fourth installment of the House of the Dead video game series, developed by Sega. The game takes place between the events of The House of the Dead 2 and The House of the Dead III, and introduced several new gameplay concepts. Players can control characters James Taylor, from The House of the Dead 2, or Kate Green, a new character to the series. The game was followed by House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn.
The Pinball of the Dead is a pinball video game developed by Sega's Wow Entertainment division and published by Sega in Japan and THQ in North America. It was released for the Game Boy Advance on June 19 and July 4, 2002, in North America and Japan, respectively. Based on Sega's The House of the Dead series of light gun games, particularly The House of the Dead and The House of the Dead 2, the game contains three tables and includes a "Challenge" mode. Full-motion video sequences and audio samples from previous games were also added. The game was first announced during the 2001 Nintendo Space World. Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto was involved with making the game's music.
Light-gun shooter, also called light-gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a screen. Light-gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting virtual targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects, and generally feature action or horror themes and some may employ a humorous, parodic treatment of these conventions. These games typically feature "on-rails" movement, which gives the player control only over aiming; the protagonist's other movements are determined by the game. Games featuring this device are sometimes termed "rail shooters", though this term is also applied to games of other genres in which "on-rails" movement is a feature. Some, particularly later, games give the player greater control over movement and in still others the protagonist does not move at all. On home computer conversions of light-gun shooters, mouse has been often an optional or non-optional replacement for a light gun.
The House of the Dead: Overkill is an on-rails light gun shooter game developed by Headstrong Games and published by Sega for the Wii in 2009. It is a spin-off of The House of the Dead series, a non-canonical prequel to the original game chronologically, and the first in the series to be released solely on a home console. An Extended Cut edition for PlayStation 3, compatible with the PlayStation Move accessory, was released in 2011. A mobile version, The Lost Reels, was released on iOS and Android devices in 2013.
House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn is a 2018 horror-themed rail shooter arcade game developed by Sega Interactive, and is the fifth title in The House of the Dead series, following the release of The House of the Dead 4 in 2005.
A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements.
