Typing Dead Game

[Ariel Wascom]

The Typing of the Dead[a] is an arcade game that was developed by WOW Entertainment and published by Sega for the NAOMI hardware. The game was released in Japanese arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Sega Dreamcast in 2001 by Smilebit. A Microsoft Windows version was released in 2000 and a PlayStation 2 port followed in 2004.[1]

The Typing of the Dead is a modification of Sega's 1998 light gun arcade game The House of the Dead 2 in which the gun is replaced by a computer keyboard. The player takes the role of a secret agent in a zombie-infested Venice and must quickly type letters, words and phrases in order to kill fast-advancing enemies.[2]

Despite falling under the criteria of "edutainment", the game was lauded by mainstream game critics for its humor, difficulty and originality.[2][3] The PC version of The Typing of the Dead sold 120,000 units in 2003.[4]

A PlayStation 2 port was called The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Panic. This version was released in Japan in late December 2004 and was packaged with a USB keyboard. The game was mostly unchanged, although the Dreamcast backpacks were replaced with PlayStation 2 backpacks and new minigames were incorporated into the main story.[5][6] A sequel, The Typing of the Dead 2, was released in Japan in 2007. English of the Dead, another revision of House of the Dead 2, was released as a language-learning game for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2008.[7] In 2012, an iOS remake was released entitled Flick of the Dead.[8] Typing of the Dead: Overkill, based on The House of the Dead: Overkill, was released on Windows in October 2013.

The Typing of the Dead has been described variously as a remake or as a mod of the original The House of the Dead 2. It retains the original's first-person rail shooter style, but instead of shooting zombies and other enemies the player must type out words or phrases to kill them. The required word, sentence or phrase is displayed in a box that appears with the enemy. The phrases' length and complexity increase as the game progresses.[9][10] Other features retained include the rescue challenges that alter the path the game takes to its final destination and the secrets and bonus items hidden throughout the game.[3]

All levels contain specific challenge areas in which the player is required to kill a certain number of zombies in a limited time. These end with a boss battle that uses some altered form of usual gameplay, such as a long phrase or a question whose answer must be correctly typed.[10] The console ports have "Original" and "Arcade" modes for the main storyline and "Tutorial," "Drill," and "Boss" modes for additional typing training.[2] Most other changes are superficial, such as replacement of the weapons wielded by zombies with harmless items and equipping the AMS agents with keyboards attached to backpack Sega Dreamcasts with oversized batteries.[2]

The plot of the game closely follows that of House of the Dead 2.[2] The story begins on February 26, 2000, when several AMS agents have been dispatched to investigate a zombie outbreak in Venice, Italy. The player can control two characters, James and Gary, who are sent to find the original game's "G" and then tasked with restoring order.[11] Responsibility for the outbreaks is soon traced to "Goldman," a banking tycoon and scientist who attempts to end human control of the earth. Much of the game revolves around destroying Goldman's creations, concluding with the final boss of "the Emperor." One of three possible humorous ending sequences occurs, depending on the answers given to the questions asked to defeat the Emperor.[12]

The Typing of the Dead was originally released for arcades in Japan in 1999 with a special cabinet equipped with dual QWERTY keyboards.[10][13] The game was one of the first developments by Smilebit, a team of Sega developers that had recently spun off as a new company.[14]

The first home console release was for the Japanese Sega Dreamcast market on March 30, 2000. The North American release took place the following January.[15] A PC port was produced by Empire Interactive and released in September 2001.[16] A second PC release, Typing of the Dead 2003, featuring support for higher resolution and a "Kid's mode" featuring a new character with Japanese voice acting, was released in Japan only; several other Japanese-exclusive PC versions followed. The original PC version was made available on GameTap in October 2007.[17]

The Typing of the Dead was regarded overall by critics as an enjoyable game, receiving "favorable" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[18][19] It was nominated for GameSpot's annual "Most Innovative" prize among console games, which went to Grand Theft Auto III.[38]

In Japan, Famitsu gave the Dreamcast version a score of 35 out of 40.[26] Reviewers appreciated the absurdist humor of the game's format, especially in the unusual phrases the game generates during later levels.[3][9][10] The sub-par voice acting of the original House of the Dead 2 was considered to enhance this aspect of the game.[9][31][32]

The quality of the graphics was criticized to varying degrees, as they had not been updated from the original House of the Dead 2 arcade version.[32][39] PC World was so unimpressed with the game's premise that they listed it as a runner up on a "Top Ten Worst Games" list.[40]

I've got a sealed Typing of the Dead game & a sealed keyboard for Dreamcast, both Japanese. I'm not sure if they're factory sealed or re-sealed by a store for used sale, but I don't want to open them up if I can't use them anyway...

This is difficult, being a Dreamcast collector myself I feel I can give some imput. I have imported games (Border Down, Ikaruga etc)... Border Down has english text within the game, Ikaruga does not. So whether or not a Japanese game has english text can vary from game to game.

So I would assume two things, the first being since the game is Japanese, it more than likely has Japanese text because I doubt Sega would sell a typing game in Japan with english text... As for the keyboard, I would assume based off of the lightgun hardware that it won't work on your Dreamcast.

The Japanese PS2 version of Typing of the Dead actually does use our alphabet, but the words are Japanese. Makes it quite a bit more difficult, but it's still playable. I believe that the PS2 release is identical to the DC release, so I'd assume the DC would still use our alphabet.

I doubt you'll be able to use it on the US DC though, unless you have a region chip or something. I think one of the gamesharks or something could "fake" it, but I never have tried outside of PSX, and it was shodddy at best.

As far as Typing of the Dead goes, the Japanese keyboard works fine on my US DC, but I have trouble finding punctuation quickly and, the space bar is teeny weeny, as on Japanese computer keyboards. I'm getting a US DC keyboard soon.

Both the US & JP versions of Typing of the Dead work fine w/ the JP keyboard & a US DC. The JP version is pretty easy at first, but then the words/phrases to type get looooong & don't have spaces in them & are super hard to type. I was disappointed to hear the same awful English voice acting in the JP version--I was hoping for some energetic Japanese audio. =( Both versions have the appropriate subtitles during the cut scenes.

Typing Of The Dead is a bizarre little game, the likes of which has never been attempted before to my knowledge. [The game] takes the entire content and framework of the arcade-style shooter House Of The Dead 2, but replaces the light-gun with a keyboard as the main method of interaction. Players still progress through the game in a first-person perspective while countless hordes of zombies, monsters and various other enemies attack, but the twist here is that each creature has letters, words or phrases floating in front of them. Players eliminate the unsavory elements by typing the appropriate combination of characters in a speedy and (hopefully) error-free manner.

To add some spice, each stage contains one or two short challenges with special requirements in addition to the general task of zombie depopulation. The game also includes a full-fledged tutorial which instructs the virtues of touch typing, as well as a choice between Arcade, Original, [or multiplayer] modes for gameplay enjoyment once a sufficient level of secretarial skill has been mastered.

Typing Of The Dead is a crazy, irreverent game, and such madness needs to be cherished whenever it appears, in my opinion. There's definitely an intrinsic, enjoyable quality to blowing off a zombie's head by typing the words "Rhythm Method." While some may not immediately see the appeal or value of a game that is played by typing, all it takes is five minutes on the keyboard to turn a crowd of naysayers into party people having a good time.

The main draw here is that the game is just raw, unadulterated fun. While House Of The Dead and its sequel were good gun games, Typing Of The Dead is just so much more enjoyable due to the funny words and phrases which add to the level of irreverence Smilebit aims at itself. With phrases and snippets like "I'll take him for 8 dollars." "La Dolce Vita," "Stop chewing on my toenails" and "Golf is seventeen holes too long," the silliness factor is a perfect match for the incredibly cheesy voices and stiff story scenes that the House series is famous for.

The difference here is that it while it was embarrassingly bad in House Of The Dead, it works to create a comical B-movie atmosphere that makes people crack up while delivering the big sleep to hordes of evil leg-draggers in Typing Of The Dead. A brilliant way the game subtly increases the appeal to people looking for a good dose of fun, the game has an excellent difficulty-adjustment system in place which makes sure players don't get overly frustrated. While going through a stage, the game will throw out long words and phrases with the first few zombies. If the player can type out the words quickly and with few errors, the zombies' floating marquees get longer and progressively more difficult the further a player goes without taking damage.

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