Seedy directors did it in the 50's. Michael Jackson tried it in the 80's. Now video game developers are jumping on the undead bandwagon in the 90's. But while the old B rated horror flicks were laughable, and the only thing scary about Jackson's Thriller was the dance routine, games with a focus on the undead have succeeded in putting the scare into a number of gamers. Resident Evil started it, and since then the clones have been arriving by the boatloads. Parasite Eve, Blue Stinger, Symphony of the Night… all of these titles capture a piece of the living dead pie, and Sega's House of the Dead is no different.

The premise behind House of the Dead is simple enough. Communication to a group of scientists working for the BDR Corporation has been lost. Their last transmission came from a genetic research laboratory where biochemical enhanced artificial intelligence weapons were currently under production. Coincidentally one Dr. Curien, a slightly agitated and disgruntled employee of BDR, was the head of all operations at that same laboratory shortly before communication was cut. And if that's not corny enough for your taste buds, your missing fiancée was last seen at that very same laboratory. You are one of the two special operatives sent in to fix the problem. How utterly convenient.

In the arcades, House of the Dead shines. The game is based around a tried and true genre, the first person rail shooter. Players walk through predetermined paths, pumping lead into anything that's dead. Dead? You'll quickly come to find out that the lab that you have been sent to and the entire surrounding area is infested by a host of things that go bump in the night. Genetic mutations have taken over the entire playing field, and you're on their turf. Maggots dive at you from rotting corpses, lab monkeys slash at you, bats dive at you, zombies cut you up and if there was a kitchen sink, it would have been thrown at you. The action only pauses for seconds at a time to display a short cut-scene. These short breathers between episodes are the only chances you have throughout the game to get your nerves and epilepsy under control. Once break time is over, it's back to more zombie killing gore in your quest to get to Dr. Curien and your fiancée. Add crisp graphics, sharp sound effects and a forgivable soundtrack and the end result is a game not to be missed… in the arcade.