House of the Dead

I remember starting to play House of the Dead when I was in Hawaii in the late 90's to early 2000. I'm not fond of the horror genre of games (such as Resident Evil), but for some reason I found myself drawn to this game.

And, dang it, I was good at House of the Dead I. I could go through that game, save all the hostages, and not take a single scratch through it.  Even fighting the Magician, though harrowing, was not entirely too much trouble, except on my off day. In short, I could clear the game on a single credit.

While some people used the "finger over the barrel" technique to reload, I had the "machine gun hand" where I could quickly point off screen and reload.  Even onlookers would say "Dang...!"

Then came House of the Dead II. I'm not sure if I was able to clear it on a single credit (I think I may have done it once). I bought the computer game The Typing of the Dead which was just a typing tutor based on the House of the Dead II engine, and easily cleared that. Hey, I've been typing on a keyboard for going on twenty-four years, so I type fast.

I ran into House of the Dead III while I was in Japan at a local arcade on the top floor of a shopping center. I was finally able to clear that one on a single credit -- usually it would take me two credits. That was the game with the shotgun, and pumping it took a little longer for me than pointing a pistol off-screen to reload.

House of the Dead IV also came out when I was in Japan, and I hadn't practiced the game enough to try and clear it on one credit. There was just too much going on in order to take all the zombies out effectively. Both players used a submachine gun, so maybe the damage rate was a little lower; I recalled killing zombies with a single head shot in the first two games, and perhaps the third.

Whenever I get another game system, I should pick it up to see how well my skills have suffered since then. I havent touched any of the House of the Dead games in about six or seven years.

Getting older sucks...

[Edited to correct typos.]