Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Skies

"There's no escape from the Nebulox."

Back on the Nintendo 64, there was an on-rails shooter by the name of Sin and Punishment that was incredibly weird but playable, despite being a Japanese-only release. The only reason I know of it is because of this 1001 list, and my conclusions after playing it were along the lines of "well, that's was fun, I guess, but I don't really need more, do I?"

Apparently, damnit, we do need more, because it has a sequel on the Nintendo Wii, Sin & Punishment: Successor to the Skies, or your regional subtitle equivalent.

Last time out, mostly because it was all in Japanese, I had to hit the Internet to learn just what on Earth was going on. This time out... well, I've got to do the same.

The House of the Dead: Overkill

"What does a brother have to do to pacify a bitch!?"

Source // PlayStation

Usually, video games on this 1001 list fall into one of two broad camps, those that I have played already and those that I haven't. I mean, that's pretty much a given and not worth talking about, but what is worth talking about is that I have played The House of the Dead: Overkill, albeit in the form of The Typing of the Dead: Overkill, the closest I could get to playing The Typing of the Dead.

Now it's time for me to actually play the game that typing spin-off was based on, The House of the Dead: Overkill, which is an added extra in The Typing of the Dead: Overkill.

Confused yet? Let's wade through these mutants and see if we can work out what's going on.

Dead Space Extraction

"Oh, I hate spacewalks."

The 1001 write up for Dead Space Extraction hypes it up, as you'd expect, before ending with the line "A shame, then, that it bombed on release."

Was it because the Nintendo Wii wasn't the right fit for a gory first-person trip through Dead Space? The 1001 write up says such a game could only have happened on the Wii, but a few years later it'd be ported to the PlayStation 3 with its Move controllers, though that wasn't known at the time.

Did it bomb for being an on-rails shooter, an oft-ignored genre albeit one that could make use of the limitations the Wii had? Was it just not a good game in the eyes of the masses? Was it on the 'wrong platform'?

Whatever the reasons, the 1001 list is all about highlighting must-play video games, whether they were adored by the masses or not. Have we all missed something special in Extraction?

Rez HD

game 860 log-in

Source // PlayStation

How do you describe an experience like Rez HD? Because that's what it is, mostly. There's a game in here for sure, one about shooting things before they shoot you, but Rez isn't a shooter, really. There's a story, too, but it's not a game about that story either.

In short, Rez is a strange little oddity that sticks out like so little else, and has to be seen - and played, ideally - to be believed.

Let's see if playing it will give me the words I'm looking for.

Space Giraffe

It's not Tempest.

We've tried to play a couple of Tempest games for this 1001 list, but I don't know why I mention that because Space Giraffe is not Tempest. It even says so in-game, look:

So while it looks a little like Tempest and plays a little like Tempest, and may even sound a little like Tempest for all I can remember of Tempest, Space Giraffe is absolutely NOT Tempest.

What is it then?

Panzer Dragoon Orta

"Please chase him!"

Source // Hardcore Gaming 101

There are two titles from the Panzer Dragoon series on this 1001 list, and I've been unable to play both. Panzer Dragoon Orta is the latter title to try, and while it is available for purchase for play on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, I have been put off doing so from what I've read about the game.

That's not exactly a good start to a post in a series about playing as many of these video games as possible, in as original a way as possible. It's not like it's priced ridiculously, either, and I have definitely spent more money on things that I've gotten less out of than this, potentially, and yet here I am umming and ahhing over it.

Let's see what it's all about, and work out where to go from there.