House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn explained

House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn
Developer:Sega Interactive
Publisher:Sega
Director:Takashi Oda
Producer:Masakatsu Watanabe
Designer:Akito Konoki
Composer:Keitaro Hanada
Hiroshi Kawaguchi
Ryohei Kono
Engine:Unreal Engine 4[1]
Series:The House of the Dead
Genre:Rail shooter
Modes:Single player, multiplayer
Platforms:Arcade
Arcade System:Sega ALLS

is a 2018 horror-themed rail shooter arcade game developed by Sega Interactive. It is the fifth mainline installment in The House of the Dead series, following the release of The House of the Dead 4 in 2005.

The game entered location testing on January 19–21, 2018 in Akihabara, Japan.[2] It was released in all arcades of Japan on September 13, 2018,[3] and was released in the United States through Dave & Buster's locations in October 2018.[4] The game's release ended the franchise's nine-year hiatus of new installments, which began in 2009 with the initial Wii release of the spin-off/non-canon prequel .

Plot

On 12/06/2006, a few years after the events of The House of the Dead 4, AMS agent Kate Green joins forces with Ryan Taylor, the brother of her late partner and mentor, James, to infiltrate a dinner event held at Scarecrow Manor. The manager of the manor unleashes his army of mutant creatures upon the dinner guests. Kate and Ryan manage to escape as the main hall is set ablaze by the resurrected Chariot, a creature from the 1998 Curien Mansion Incident.

Stuck within the manor complex, Kate and Ryan explore the other parts of the manor, where they find clues that reveal that the manager, Thornheart, is connected to the late bioterrorists, Dr. Roy Curien and Caleb Goldman. Kate explains that, in 1880, the trio's ancestors formed an organization that was the catalyst for prior incidents that the AMS investigated. At some point, Thornheart contracted a rare disease and was long believed dead, but survived. After Curien and Goldman's deaths, he began to develop his own project within Scarecrow Manor, code-named Noah's Ark.

Kate and Ryan battle Chariot and Hanged Man, another resurrected creature from the Curien Mansion Incident, and a squid-like creature named Priestess on the manor's underground laboratory. Kate and Ryan confront Thornheart in the manor's church, who states that the purpose of Noah's Ark is to bring forth "new [human] evolution" to the world. Thornheart releases The Moon, a tree-like behemoth with aerokinetic powers that absorb other creatures to grow larger and stronger, who destroys the manor. Realizing this, Ryan stabs an iron rod through its head, causing lightning to strike the rod, killing it, which Kate believes was James intervening from the dead. With the threat neutralized, the two walked away as the sun rises.

Endings

As with previous entries in the series, the game has four endings based on the player's performance. Each ending concludes with the text "To be continued in the next HOUSE OF THE DEAD". Unlike the previous games, this is the only game where no ending involves a character transforming into a zombie.

Characters

Development

A sequel to The House of the Dead 4, tentatively titled The House of the Dead 5, was developed around 2012 but was shelved. Sega would not revisit the House of the Dead arcade series until 2018, at which point they felt that arcade technology had matured enough for a sequel.[5] The new sequel, House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn, was titled without a number to appeal to new players.[6]

Scarlet Dawn was developed in Unreal Engine 4 for the PC-based Sega ALLS arcade hardware.[7] [8] The development of visual effects was outsourced to Agni-Flare, whose staff includes designers from The House of the Dead 4.[9] [10] Sega and Agni-Flare decided upon the idea of having the player battle an "avalanche" of creatures. The final game allows up to 200 enemies to appear on-screen at once.

Agni-Flare developed levels in modular blocks, generated base meshes with an in-house tool, and recycled animations from previous House of the Dead games to lower costs and memory use. Motion capture for the characters was recorded at Sega's motion capture facility in Japan. Several types of gore effects were explored, but were ultimately scrapped due to censorship.

Rather than taking notes, director Takashi Oda kept the structure of Scarlet Dawn's story in his mind. He wanted Thornheart to be a morally-gray antagonist in the manner of Dr. Kiriko from the manga Black Jack. Scarlet Dawn's bosses were created by The House of the Dead 4 designer Iwao Nobuto, though Chariot's final design was handled by Sega because he is a returning boss from the original 1996 game The House of the Dead.

Release

House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn was officially announced by SEGA Interactive on January 14th, 2018.[11] Preliminary location tests were held at the SEGA Akihabara Building 3 in Tokyo, Japan from January 19th to the 21st; Round One Arcade in Yokohama from March 3rd to March 5th; and Rakuichi Rakuzen Arcade in Kawaguichi from March 16th to March 18th.[12] Players were polled over interest in a console port of Scarlet Dawn.[13] Off-screen gameplay footage of this incomplete build was uploaded to YouTube, which online publications then circulated.[14] This build later appeared at the JAEPO 2018 amusement expo from February 9th - 11th, 2018, where Scarlet Dawn was showcased.[15] [16]

On July 9th 2018, a second build was location tested at High-tech Land Sega in Shibuya, Sega Tokyo Dome City, and Sega Shinjuku Kabukicho. Reportedly, this build had more content and balanced the difficulty.[17]

A Western release was confirmed by Sega on May 31st, 2018.[18] Kevin Bachus, the Senior Vice President of the American restaurant and video arcade chain Dave & Busters, announced that all locations would receive Scarlet Dawn cabinets that fall.[19] [20] The game was also distributed to all Round One arcade locations, including those in the United States.[21] However, Sega stressed that Scarlet Dawn is not an exclusive release.

In September 2019, Sega and Universal Space announced an exclusive Chinese version of the game titled "Haunted House: Scarlet Dawn". While it features the same mechanics as the Global version, there are several changes, such as a tweaked UI and Chinese subtitles. A Korean version of the game was also spotted.[22] An upright cabinet model was revealed by South Korean arcade developer Andamiro on January 30th, 2021. According to Arcade Heroes, a member of Sega Europe is unsure if this model will see a Western release and claimed that the game has some software differences.[23] Another upright cabinet has been spotted in the United Kingdom, leading to speculation that it is being location tested by Sega.[24]

Reception

House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn received mixed reviews from critics. The design of the arcade cabinet was largely cited as atmospheric and eye-catching.[25] [26] [27] Wilcox Arcade felt the air blasters and vibrating seats were particularly effective.[28] Gamerism also praised these features, but found the cabinet's sound mixing to be poor.[25]

The graphics were generally praised for their high fidelity.[28] [29] SEGAbits lauded the inclusion of enemies and bosses from the original 1996 House of the Dead game.[27] However, some critics lamented the lack of violence and felt that the human character animations were unimpressive.[26] [29]

Scarlet Dawns gameplay drew mixed responses. Most critics enjoyed the larger enemy hordes and the added strategy of picking special weapons before each stage.[27] [29] Others took issue with the auto reload mechanic.[25] [28] Gamerism noted frame rate drops, which they felt added an unfair element to the game's difficulty.[25] The lack of English subtitles was also criticized.[25] [28]

The boss fights were criticized for being overly scripted.[25] [28] [29] Chris Plante of Polygon said that the fights "tend to make it a little too obvious that I’m just pointing a cursor where the game tells me until the health bar hits zero, or I trigger the special move that will deliver the fatal blow."[29] Some critics felt that the final boss was anticlimactic.[25] [28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: HOUSE OF THE DEAD SCARLET DAWN SDLX - Sega Arcade. Sega. November 30, 2018. September 5, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200905030422/https://www.segaarcade.us.com/games/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-sdlx.html. dead.
  2. Web site: House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn announced for arcades. Sal. Romano. Gematsu.com. January 14, 2018. January 16, 2018. September 1, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230901131806/https://www.gematsu.com/2018/01/house-dead-scarlet-dawn-announced-arcades. live.
  3. Web site: Sega Releases House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn In Japan. Arcade Heroes. September 13, 2018. September 22, 2018. December 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221210072756/https://arcadeheroes.com/2018/09/13/sega-releases-house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-in-japan/. live.
  4. Web site: Sega's House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn Headed To All Dave & Busters Locations This Fall. Arcade Heroes. July 9, 2018. September 22, 2018. December 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221206150406/https://arcadeheroes.com/2018/07/09/segas-house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-headed-to-all-dave-busters-locations-this-fall/. live.
  5. Web site: "『ハウス・オブ・ザ・デッド』最新作のロケテストが秋葉原で開催中。音が！ 風が！ ギミックが楽しい！". https://web.archive.org/web/20190504031443/http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/664/1664660/. May 4, 2019. January 19, 2018. Denkegi Online. May 25, 2020. Japanese.
  6. Web site: 小田 隆志【前編】. sega-interactive.co.jp . November 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191010050911/https://sega-interactive.co.jp/interview/14346/ . October 10, 2019 . Japanese.
  7. Web site: October 10, 2018 . Sega’s House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn Arriving At Dave & Busters Locations Now . https://web.archive.org/web/20190512162601/https://arcadeheroes.com/2018/10/10/segas-house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-arriving-at-dave-busters-locations-now/ . May 12, 2019 . May 22, 2020 . Arcade Heroes . English.
  8. Web site: George . January 14, 2018 . "House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn announced for arcades" . https://web.archive.org/web/20200424164730/http://segabits.com/blog/2018/01/14/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-announced-for-arcades/ . April 24, 2020 . SEGAbits . English .
  9. Web site: アグニ・フレア [@agni_flare] . March 18, 2020 . アグニ・フレア on Twitter: "We helped design the Artwork, Modeling, Motion and VFX in House Of the Dead ～SCARLET DAWN～ @hod_sega for #SEGA, You can have a sneak peak at what we did in the new #Houdini Game Reel 2020 released by @sidefx, Have a look at this clip: (around 2:50) #gamedev #ue4 #realtimevfx" . August 6, 2020 . . English.
  10. Web site: October 10, 2018 . UE4をベースにHoudiniも活用！　アーケード人気シリーズ最新作『HOUSE OF THE DEAD ～SCARLET DAWN～』 | 特集 | CGWORLD.jp . https://web.archive.org/web/20191002185353/https://cgworld.jp/feature/201810-cgw243-hod.html . October 2, 2019 . CGWORLD.jp . 1–3 . Japanese.
  11. Web site: ハウス・オブ・ザ・デッド ～スカーレットドーン～ | HOUSE OF THE DEAD ～SCARLET DAWN～ | セガ|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20200525161028/https://hod.sega.jp/. May 25, 2020. Japanese.
  12. Web site: "Sega To Begin Testing House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn This Friday". https://web.archive.org/web/20191222044306/https://arcadeheroes.com/2018/01/14/sega-begin-testing-house-dead-scarlet-dawn-friday/. December 22, 2019. January 14, 2018. Arcade Heroes. May 24, 2020. English.
  13. Web site: "SEGA Polling Fans About Port of New House of the Dead". https://web.archive.org/web/20200419180420/http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/01/sega_polling_fans_about_port_of_new_house_of_the_dead. April 19, 2020. Barker. Sammy. January 19, 2018. Push Square. ...according to a ResetEra member who posted photos of the cabinet, the Japanese publisher is quizzing fans on whether they’d be interested in a console version upon trying the title out.. English.
  14. Web site: "House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn location test footage hits the net, looks amazing". January 18, 2018. SEGAbits. https://web.archive.org/web/20200107011004/http://segabits.com/blog/2018/01/18/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-location-test-footage-hits-the-net-looks-amazing/. January 7, 2020. George. May 25, 2020. English.
  15. Web site: House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn to be showcased at JAEPO 2018 | the Website of the Dead . 9 February 2018 .
  16. Web site: Jaepo2018 セガ・インタラクティブ 2/10 . . 10 February 2018 .
  17. Web site: "House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn ~ July 9th Location Test Details *Possible Story Spoilers*". Kori. July 9, 2018. The Website of the Dead. English.
  18. Web site: "Sega Confirms House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn For A Western Release". May 31, 2018. English. Arcade Heroes. July 22, 2020.
  19. Web site: "Sega's House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn Headed To All Dave & Busters Locations This Fall". https://web.archive.org/web/20200424185613/https://arcadeheroes.com/2018/07/09/segas-house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-headed-to-all-dave-busters-locations-this-fall/. April 24, 2020. July 9, 2018. Arcade Heroes. English.
  20. https://www.reddit.com/r/DaveAndBusters/comments/8wz0gt/any_news_on_house_of_the_dead_scarlet_dawn_coming/e20thef/?st=jjdvz6ga&sh=a7c38542 Any news on House Of The Dead Scarlet Dawn coming to d&b?
  21. Web site: "HOUSE OF THE DEAD: SCARLET DAWN | Round One Entertainment Inc."|accessdate = July 23, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20210305165640/https://www.round1usa.com/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn/. March 5, 2021. www.round1usa.com. House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn is on its way to ALL Round1 Locations..
  22. Web site: Sina Visitor System .
  23. Web site: "Arcade Heroes Andamiro Unveils Standard Upright Model For House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn". January 30, 2021. English. Arcade Heroes. January 30, 2021.
  24. Web site: "Arcade Heroes Seen In The Wild: House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn SD (Sega); ATV Slam SD (Sega); Ship Wreck (ICE); Skip Time (Wahlap)". August 25, 2021. English. Arcade Heroes. August 27, 2021.
  25. Web site: House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn Review ปลุกตำนานเกมยิงผี. Sukjaidee. Phantawit. January 3, 2019. Thai. Gamerism.co. August 2, 2020. September 18, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200918085054/https://gamerism.co/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-review/. live.
  26. Web site: SEGA-MAG fiche House of the Dead : Scarlet Dawn sur Arcade. SEGA-MAG page House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn for Arcade. Spin-dash. French. SEGA-MAG. October 30, 2020. October 30, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201030070652/http://www.sega-mag.com/test-House+of+the+Dead+++Scarlet+Dawn-Arcade-6792-7.htm. live.
  27. Web site: Arcade Review: House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn – True Horror Returns. Kori-Maru. October 31, 2018. English. SEGAbits. December 26, 2020. December 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201226203022/http://segabits.com/blog/2018/10/31/arcade-review-house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-true-horror-returns/. live.
  28. Web site: House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn (Arcade) Review. Wilcox. Dustin. February 4, 2019. English. Wilcox Arcade. December 26, 2020. December 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201226180959/https://www.wilcoxarcade.com/single-post/2019/02/04/House-of-the-Dead-Scarlet-Dawn-Arcade-Review. live.
  29. Web site: House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn review: a throwback to arcade glory days. https://web.archive.org/web/20200512214731/https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/9/17955708/house-of-the-dead-scarlet-dawn-review-arcade-dave-and-busters. May 12, 2020 . Plante. Chris. October 9, 2018 . Polygon. English.

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