Sometimes the simplest of ideas can become one of the greatest and it shows with this game.

What originally started as an arcade game turned into an iconic console port and then somehow hit our personal computers at the very end of its life cycle. We all know it, we know that it's the Dreamcast backpack game with funny voice acting and gameplay, this game had a rent-free place in my head for years and I finally took the bait and thought "It's time for Kino".
And oh so right I was to finally check this game out since it's probably the most fun typing game you can find! This game doesn't really try to teach you how to type, it sure has some tutorial/lesson modes but outside of that the main campaign doesn't fuck around and they expect you to know how to type like a pro dammit, it's no Mario teaches typing or whatever that pokemon thing was about on DS.

So what's so great about this game in particular? Nothing much to be honest, other than the hilariously bad presentation and cutscenes it's just a typing game but it actually tries to be a game unlike the other typing game you can find, it follows the gameplay of The House of the Dead since it's a not very subtle spinoff as you can notice with the title where you just kill zombies on an on-rail shooter game but without light guns this time.
In terms of difficulty the game overall feels fair, it's not really tough most of the time when you know your way with a keyboard, when you fail it feels frustrating but you always know that it's your fault and not the game. Tl;dr type better.

Story wise this game has nothing to offer if you actually expect something, it's just some dumb Evangelion whacky story about human sin and we must erase humanity with zombies because Resident Evil 5 Wesker moment.

If I had to name a few complaints about the game it would just be the bosses, they kinda suck, especially the boss in stage 3 where you have to answer questions in a minuscule amount of time it's ridiculously bad. The game is also really short, it barely takes an hour to get through it but it's an arcade game so it is to be expected.

So should you play this game, if you are here you probably already did actually but if you haven't, go for it since you won't get a game like that anytime soon.

Insanely fun, but without enough effort to compensate for the difference in difficulty between typing and shooting (I finished in one try with credits to spare, while I'm not sure I'll ever see the ending of the original game). Mostly, it makes me think of how much I like House of the Dead 2, and notice what's missing here -- the risk/reward of saving civilians, the always legible enemy design allowing immediate enough understanding of their weak spots to allow careful aiming, and how much I miss these things while playing this. The third boss, who asks questions and requires you to type the correct answer from three choices, is a highlight, and an example of the type of gameplay modification this could've used more of.

Are we developing shitposting skills or killing time shredding zombies? The Typing of the Dead series has you gatting zombies and typing out an essay at the same time; every big brain word scratches off another of the mutant undead. Typing Dead chads transcened common knowledge, their IQ expands to triple digits every time "Salad" is typed out in rythymic sequence. It's the definitive typing-learning experience, bundled with carnage and bad voice acting, there is no other combiation of media that will offer you or others the ideal learning enviroment. Throw in mod support and official DLCs, and you have endless ways to save the world by demolishing every word and walker in your path.

Top notch voice acting, ten out of ten.

This game is really fuckin' fun though, it's a lot more stricter on the errors unlike TToTD: Overkill, but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The dated graphics make up for a lot of its charm too. Common 90s-2000s Sega W game.

Try beating this game on the hardest difficulty using only one credit, that shit is hard as balls, and gets dependent on the RNG you get to type words. It took me like fuckin' ten tries to do that.

The House of the Dead series is probably one of my most favorite series of all time. I also love typing games. I've only ever been able to emulate this game, which has occurred intermittently over the last five years or so, but every time I come back to it I have a blast. All of the original charm of House of the Dead 2, plus even more unrestrained wackiness and humor. Not only is it enjoyable for the silliness, but genuinely challenging and very difficult at times, keeping me pretty glued. I love how easy it is these days to use my normal keyboard to play it in an emulator, and I can see myself coming back to this as long as I live.