Zombies Rejoice! Sega Announces new House of the Dead

Sega's mysterious project in conjunction with Headstrong has been revealed: The House of the Dead: Overkill.

Earlier this week it was rumoured that Sega had an unannounced project to be shown at this year's GCDC show in Germany. Unwrapped via the usual top internet sleuths, the game is a Wii-exclusive entry into the gory, ridiculously addictive world of House of the Dead. Having already spilled all over the Internet, clips of the game's funky b-movie inspired look reveal that Headstrong (previously Kuju London) will be in charge.

Aside from a fab trailer, nothing else is known about the project at time of writing, but expect the usual batch of press releases and screens to follow shortly.

Thanks to Gamekyo.

Update 1 (Pheonixus)

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL uncovers the ugly, terrifying, red hot secrets behind the House of the Dead; the daddy of all over-the-top shooters. While staying true to the classic gameplay this hugely successful SEGA series is getting a new retro look, with distinctive graphics, sound and attitude that will add to its horror cool status. Plus, thanks to the Wii RemoteTM, players will fight off zombies when they get too close; pistol-whipping jaws off and smashing in skulls with their shotgun butt.

"We wanted to do something really different with The House of the Dead: OVERKILL," commented Bradley Crooks, Studio Head at Headstrong Games. "With SEGA we've been able to create a fresh look for the franchise. I think you'll agree it's like nothing you've seen before on Wii."

"Paying homage to the pulp horror comics and films that inspired generations of gore fans, The House of the Dead: OVERKILLwill expose gamers to a brand-new fleshy rollercoaster ride of revolting dismemberment," commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director at SEGA Europe. "This is the hardcore Wii title you've been waiting for."

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL takes you back to when Special Agent G was fresh out of the academy. Teamed up with hard-boiled bad-ass Detective Washington, they are sent to investigate stories of mysterious disappearances in small-town Louisiana. Little do they know what blood-soaked mutant depravity awaits them in the streets and swamps of Bayou City…

Features:
� Pulp Funk Horror. Zombie cool, one of the most popular shooter classics injected with a whole new retro b-movie look.
� An utterly in-your-face zombie-dismembering blast.
Non-stop light-gun style action on Wii, blow apart zombies for high-score thrills.
� Superb co-op action on Wii. Bring a friend and play the game as intended in your own buddy action movie as two of the meanest characters in video gaming.
� Relentless, gore-drenched, over-the-top action.
� Wiimote reactions.
Get knee-deep in the dead with motion-sensitive Wii-controls. Shuck a shotgun and when the zombies get too close, pistol whip jaws off or cave some heads in with the stock of your pump-action - all in stomach-churning close-up.

Be sure to check out the first screenshots of the game in our gallery below.

Thanks to evilflame for the tip.

Update 2 (JB):

IGN recently spoke to the folks in Headstrong on the title, and whether or not it would be heading to Wii exclusively:

IGN: Just to clarify, this is an all-new, ground-up House of the Dead game created exclusively for Wii, right?

Neil: Absolutely. Where it goes from here I can't say, but it's been conceived and developed exclusively for Wii. While we've of course taken the right amount of inspiration from the HotD series, and fans will notice where we have referenced the other games, we're not sharing assets or technology. As a game, story and visual experience it's entirely brand-new.

...

IGN: Tell us about the control schemes. Exactly how do you play. How are you taking advantage of the Wii remote?

Neil: Well, of course it's light-gun style, but as the Wii works slightly differently, you're aided by a reticule on-screen (or not if you prefer). In terms of shooting with it, the Wii remote is really nice because it has vibration feedback and that cool little speaker built in. For magazine slapping and shotgun pumping sound effects, it adds a great touch in addition to gunshots. As you would imagine we're using the motion sensing feature to introduce some nice gesture commands -- not just reloading, but smacking zombies 'round the chops too. When zombies get up close, we want the player to have to do things that are pretty stomach-churning to get them off you, stuff that'll make you go "ewwwww."

House of the Dead: Overkill is due out for Wii in early 2009.