History VideoGame / TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill

* AchillesHeel: In accordance with the House of the Dead tradition, all bosses have one pointed out just before you enter the fight.

Initially released exclusivity on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} in 2009, an UpdatedRerelease, the ''Extended Cut'', was later released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 with [=PlayStation=] Move support in 2011. The Extended Cut features sharply improved graphics, new bonus weapons, and two levels not seen in the original Wii version, "Naked Terror" and "Creeping Flesh", which focus on [[AnotherSideAnotherStory Varla Guns' story]].

A PC version followed just in time for Halloween 2013, as ''The Typing of the Dead: Overkill'', including two play modes: the mode it's titled for, a follow up to the CultClassic ''The Typing of the Dead'' released on the Dreamcast and PC as well as the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] ''The Typing of the Dead 2'' for PC, and another mode that essentially gives a straight PC port of the Extended Cut. This version also offered several purchasable dictionary [=DLCs=] which change the words needed to type with Creator/WilliamShakespeare, Filth and Love based dictionaries available. Eventually, the ability to import user-created dictionaries was added in March 2015. In addition ''House of the Dead: Overkill - The Lost Reels'' was released for [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS]] and Android devices on April 25, 2013.

''OVERKILL'' is a prequel to the original ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' series. It takes the unintentionally bad voice-acting the series is known for and [[StylisticSuck runs with it]], resulting in an over the top '80s BMovie vibe, heavily inspired by Creator/QuentinTarantino's and Creator/RobertRodriguez's double feature ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''.

* AchillesHeel: In accordance with House of the Dead tradition, all bosses have one pointed out just before you enter the fight.

* ActionGirl: Varla Guns; heavily lampshaded in her introduction voiceover. She slowly turns out to be a FauxActionGirl, though, which is itself lampshaded too, but the ''Extended Cut'', in turn, defies that status by putting her and new character [[GirlNextDoor Candi Stryper]] in the spotlight, via the all-new exclusive ''Naked Terror'' and ''Creeping Flesh'' episodes.

** The Assault Rifle in the game is the [=XM8=], a cancelled prototype introduced for testing in 2003 and perpetually shelved as of 2006.

** The Minigun. [[GatlingGood No need to explain why it's awesome]], but its cool-down period is rather long if you allow it to overheat, leaving you a sitting duck for a good three or four seconds-- which is an eternity in games like this. Restricting it to firing short bursts can help avoid the problem, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the Minigun to start with, and it's a totally unworkable strategy in the final boss battle, where you're forced to use it.

* BondOneLiner: Washington is the king of these, and is the primary delivery method of one liners since G is too straitlaced to bother.
* BoomHeadshot: The best way to kill the mutants, as always, is to shoot them in the head.

* CampingACrapper: Agent G makes a discovery that mutants use the toilet like normal people and mentions it'll go in his report as a "potential weakness". Washington is less than impressed.
* CircusOfFear: The aptly named Carny level, which sees our protagonists shooting clown mutants as they try to get through the local theme park.

** The [=PS3=] version of the Extended Cut plays with this: the speech is censored by default, in both voice and subtitles. How do you restore the dialogue to its foulmouthed glory? By ''shooting the censored words'' during cutscenes.

** In the ''Extended Cut'', the opening to "Naked Terror" has Varla trying to use several euphemisms to gently explain that Candi's boyfriend is dead, every one of which Candi misunderstands (assuming he's "gone" because another woman stole him away) or [[LiteralMinded takes too literally]] (he can't have "taken the great chair lift to the sky" because his only went up one floor) until Varla finally just tells her "he's fucking dead".

* CriticalExistenceFailure: No character will even comment on being hit, so if you're not paying attention to your health meter it can be surprising to see the game over screen. The exception is in the ''Extended Cut'' version of the first boss battle, where Washington will comment on how disgusting it is to be hit by a flying arm or what have you.

* DamselInDistress: Despite being able to handle herself fine in the ''Extended Cut'' levels, Varla Guns gets kidnapped twice afterwards.

* {{Filth}}: ''Typing of the Dead'' has one DLC packaged named Filth, that replaces the words with dirty ones.

* GunsAkimbo: Isaac in has a habit of dual wielding his AMS Magnums, and it's actually a requirement that you dual-wield Wiimotes for some gallery achievements.

* LampshadeHanging: In the last scene the characters pick apart almost every single trope that was used in the game (and the ExploitationFilm genre), including Washington's [[SirSwearsALot excessive cursing]] and the fact that [[spoiler:the only (decent) female character [[DisposableWoman has absolutely no impact on the plot and ends up as a brain in a jar]]]]).

* LemonyNarrator: The narrator again, who often goes into over-dramatic tangents in regards to plot developments.

* LocomotiveLevel: "Scream Train", which takes place entirely on a train hurtling through a dark forest, possibly serving as a shout out to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''.

* MercyKill: What's done to Jasper. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d through the entire scene in question, of course.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Nigel and Sebastian, by virtue of two people being conjoined together. Washington even yells for them to put ''all'' their arms up. Ultimately, though, Sebastian's extra arms don't factor much into the fight, since he's so deformed compared to Nigel; he's simply Nigel's weak point.

* NoodleIncident: The first phase of the final boss fight, which is skipped over in an alleged "missing reel". The dialogue immediately afterwards suggests that it would have been awesome.

* {{Prequel}}: To the entire series, taking place seven years before the first game. Alluded to further in the ending, where Caeser's tape mentions that Clement, who developed the mutant compound, has [[CallForward "powerful friends"]].
* PromotionToParent: It's rapidly explained that Varla raised Jasper after their parents died... right before Jasper becomes a mutant himself.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: You can buy a HandCannon that comes with its Firepower maxed out, which equates to everything that isn't a boss dying in one shot. A tad subverted - you need to be '''really fucking accurate''' with it, and you have to carefully time your reloads during down time because they take very long. The automatic shotgun is better at chaining combos and ammo capacity, firing about as fast but with spread meaning you don't have to be pinpoint accurate with it.

* SirSwearsALot: Isaac Washington is rather famous for this, due to his habit of saying "fuck" in nearly every single sentence.

* WentToTheGreatXInTheSky: One of the tactful euphemisms that Varla tries to use to tell Candi about Jasper's death in ''Extended Cut'' is that he went up the great stair lift in the sky.

** Played straight at the start of "Scream Train" when all three protagonists have Caesar right where they want him, but their arguing over who gets to kill/arrest him allows him to get away. It goes on for minutes, before any of them notices. Even better, Isaac actually shoots Caesar while he's monologuing, and then promptly apologizes and asks him to continue.

* MakeMeWannaShout: The Screamer, of course. Her methods for attacking G and Issac are melee strikes and screaming loud enough to shatter glass.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Nigel and Sebastian, by virtue of two people being conjoined together. Washington even yells for them to put ''all'' their arms up. Ultimately, though, Sebastian's extra arms don't factor much into the fight; he's simply Nigel's weak point.

** Unlike the main games, which only have very, very occasional swearing, this game's script [[ClusterFBomb employs swear words with gusto]].

** Isaac walks right through that open door when he once calls his partner "Agent Gwendolyn" in the intro movie to "Carny", and later on in "Jailhouse Judgement, he is quoted as saying "The G stands for 'Genocide', Motherfucker!".

* RevolversAreJustBetter: You can buy a HandCannon that comes with its Firepower maxed out, which equates to everything that isn't a boss dying in one shot. A tad subverted - you need to be '''really fucking accurate''' with it, and you have to carefully time your reloads during down time because they take very long. The automatic shotgun is better at chaining combos and ammo capacity.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Intentionally so to mirror the grindhouse B-movies that inspired the game: it takes place in Bayou "County", Louisiana. Louisiana calls its counties 'parishes.'

** The Assault Rifle in the game is [=XM8=], a cancelled prototype introduced for testing in 2003 and perpetually shelved as of 2006.
** The SMG in the Director's Cut and Typing version of the game is Minebea PM-9, which is fielded for use in 1999 and never reported to be exported outside Japan.

** G and Washington are almost, except for the end, shown exclusively using handguns.
** In "Naked Terror", the second mission in Director's Cut, Varla and Candi is armed with an Assault Rifle, while at the point the weapon might be still too expensive.

* The SMG in the Director's Cut and Typing version of the game is Minebea PM-9, which is fielded for use in 1999 and never reported to be exported outside Japan.

* DeadWeight: In the first few stages fat zombies are the earliest kind of GiantMook, taking a few more body shots than normal enemies. The manual explains that a mutant's health is directly proportionate to its mass. They're also fast.

** The "Extra Mutants" mode appears to be an afterthought, as the added enemies tend to spawn in inconvenient locations. In one scene in "Ballistic Trauma" where hospital doors blow open and zombies swarm out, one female zombie only present on Extra Mutants can get stuck behind one of the doors. You can't kill her, and the scene won't advance until all on-screen enemies are dead. UnintentionallyUnwinnable ensues. On very rare occasions, the game will also forget you're in cutscene mode and have enemies attack you while you're unable to fight back.

** So many of the phrases in ''The Typing of the Dead: Overkill'' are references. For instance, you might have to type [[VideoGame/ZeroWing "Main screen turn on," "Make your time," or "Move ZIG"]] or [[VideoGame/{{Shenmue}} "Looking for sailors"]], or come across a pair of zombies with [[Series/FatherTed "Careful now" and "Down with this"]], or [[Series/TheTwoRonnies "Fork Handles" and "Four Candles"]].

* WasOnceAMan: In addition to the usual zombies, Meat Katie's name tag and parts of the Crawler's anatomy suggest that they were human at one point. Varla also suggests Sindy and Coco were once acquaintances of hers before they were mutated.

** The Assault Rifle in the game is XM8, a cancelled prototype introduced for testing in 2003 and perpetually shelved as of 2006.

* BittersweetEnding: G and Isaac stop Papa Cesar [[spoiler:and Clement]] from unleashing their plans, [[spoiler:but Varla's brain ends up getting separated from her body, and they can't undo that because the last boss fight was against the mutated form of said body. To make matters worse, the audio tape Caesar sent G and Isaac reveals his true motive: to inform them of the underground facility of Clement's and the powerful men pulling the strings behind (Curien and Goldman). Granted, Isaac is very likely to be unaware of this until it is too late. Plus, his father is stated to be still alive.]]

* HideYourChildren: Notably averted for a ''House of the Dead'' game. The "Greg" enemies are obviously diaper-clad mutant babies, showing that local children did not escape the mutant outbreak unscathed (or without being shot, as it turns out).

The plot of the game follows Agent G and [[TheyFightCrime reluctant partner]] Detective Isaac Washington. They're hunting down the deranged crime lord/pimp, Papa Caesar, fighting through the waves and waves of [[NotUsingTheZWord mutants]] he's unleashed. While they're tracking down Caesar, he causes the death of Varla Guns' brother, leading the hottest stripper on the Bayou City club scene to track down Caesar herself to take her revenge. She'll have to get in line though; as Washington wants to get revenge for the death of his father, also caused by Caesar.

* RareGuns: The assault rifle is modeled after the [=XM8=], [[AnachronismStew despite the game being set in 1991]]. The standard AMS Magnum is also based on the Desert Eagle.

''OVERKILL'' is a prequel to the original ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' series. It takes the unintentionally bad voice-acting the series is known for and [[StylisticSuck runs with it]], resulting in an over the top 1980 BMovie vibe, heavily inspired by Creator/QuentinTarantino's and Creator/RobertRodriguez's double feature ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}''.

%% * AppendageAssimilation: Nigel and Sebastian.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The game takes place in Bayou County, Louisiana. Louisiana calls its counties 'parishes.' Though, given that the B-movies the game takes inspiration from didn't do their research either...

** It goes a step further: one of the post-game bonuses is a "Dual Wield" option, wherein a single player plays, using two guns as normal, but instead of switching between the two [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin using both at the same time]]. This includes [[FiringOneHanded shotguns, assault rifles]], and even [[UpToEleven miniguns]].

** The Carnival level has this:
-->'''G''': ''(Sees an explosion in the distance)'' This is bad.\\
'''Isaac''': Damn right, this is bad! [[FelonyMisdemeanor You've seen the prices?!]]
** The ''Extended Cut'' also has Varla trying to use several euphemisms to gently explain that Candi's boyfriend is dead, every one of which Candi misunderstands (assuming he's "gone" because another woman stole him away) or [[LiteralMinded takes too literally]] (he can't have "taken the great chair lift to the sky" because his only went up one floor) until Varla finally just tells her "he's fucking dead".

* CriticalExistenceFailure:
** No character will even comment on being hit so if you're not paying attention to your health meter it can be surprising to see the game over screen.
** The exception is in the ''Extended Cut'' version of the first boss battle, where Washington will comment on how disgusting it is to be hit by a flying arm or what have you.
* CowboyCop: Isaac Washington, judging by his enthusiasm for shooting everything and not bothering with warrants at any point in the game, would probably be this if we saw him do police work instead of shooting [[NotUsingTheZWord mutants]].

-->'''Narrator''': '''GGGOOOOREEGAAAAASMM!!'''
** EVERYBODY, with the possible exception of G. But then, keeping in line with the "B-Movie" presentation of Overkill, the joke is that he's a poor 'actor'.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: the Carnival level has one:

** The game also has one from Candi not realising her boyfriend is dead until Varla just says so.

%% * DeadMansSwitch: The [[spoiler:Warden]] has one at the end.

* Artistic License-Law: The game takes place in Bayou County, Louisiana. Louisiana calls its counties 'parishes.' Though, given that the B-movies the game takes inspiration from didn't do their research either...

-> '''Caesar:''' As you well know, Isaac, I enjoy TV Tropes. It's like a good Chinese dinner, you know, with the sweet and the sour. Expanding on that analogy, I will smile with delight--that's the sweet--as [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife it ruins your fucking life]]--that's the sour. ''Ciao!''

* ALoadOfBull: Meat Katie, a slaughterhouse worker who has mutated into a minotaur-like beast wielding a gigantic cleaver.

** The "Extra Mutants" mode appears to be an afterthought, as the added enemies tend to spawn in inconvenient locations. In one scene in "Ballistic Trauma" where hospital doors blow open and zombies swarm out, one female zombie only present on Extra Mutants can get stuck behind one of the doors. You can't kill her, and the scene won't advance until all on-screen enemies are dead. UnwinnableByMistake ensues. On very rare occasions, the game will also forget you're in cutscene mode and have enemies attack you while you're unable to fight back.

%% * DeadManSwitch: The [[spoiler:Warden]] has one at the end.

** The Minigun. [[GatlingGood No need to explain why it's awesome]], but its cool-down period is rather long if you allow it to overheat, leaving you a sitting duck for a good three or four seconds-- which is an eternity in games like this. Restricting it to short bursts can help avoid the problem, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the Minigun to start with, and is a totally unviable strategy in the final boss battle, where you're forced to use it.

* GroinAttack: '
** 'Overkill'' being the kind of game it is, its manual takes the time to mention that [[AvertedTrope this does not work any better than any other non-headshot]].

* UpdatedRerelease: Two of them: first, ''Extended Cut'' for the [=PS3=], then ''Typing'' for PC.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Papa Caesar is killed in the electric chair by Warden Darling, [[VengeanceDenied cheating Isaac out of his revenge]]. Candi also gets this in the [=PS3=] version when a giant cleaver the boss was using drops from the rafters it had got caught on and slices off her arm. She winds up dying from blood loss.]]