SEGA is also fine with me dropping some info on the gun store, which has some serious potential for Overkill. Before heading out on a mission, each player can select two weapons from the list of unlocked guns. After each mission, based on health, multiplier status, and a few other aspects you'll be awarded cash, which can be used to buy and upgrade new weapons. The list we have in our build (we'd assume it's the full set, with maybe one more uber-gun for completing every mode or something) is the default Magnum, the Hand Cannon, Pump Shotgun, Semi Auto Shotgun, Machine Pistol (looks like a Scorpion, or "Klob" from Goldeneye) and an Assault Rifle that resembles the new XM8, a newer, actually US combat rifle replacement contender, fan-favorite for military shooter fans.
All of these guns can be upgraded to reduce recoil, up fire rate, make the clip size bigger, up the damage, and down the reload time. At its default level, the Magnum does some decent damage – maybe an ideal gun for children, perhaps? – but in its fully-upgraded state it can back some serious limb-blasting power. The auto shotty alone has the ability to blast off limbs with every shot, and in its upgraded state will leave zombies strewn about in a delightfully-chunky paste. The rifle, on the other hand, packs a serious punch when pushed to the limit, as it's pretty common to cut the undead off at the knees before the torso has a chance to hit the ground. This can be done when duel wielding as well (or co-op shots placed directly on the knees with magnums), but when a single player with a single gun can basically cut a line of zombies in half with enough skill, you've got my money right then and there.
As for the levels, SEGA has cleared three levels for discussion so far, and those include Papa's Palace of Pain (the original hands-on level Matt did), Ballistic Trauma, which is set in a zombie-infested hospital, and the first carnival level ever shown in our early, early hands-on with the game, "Carny." Each of the three levels bring something fresh to the game, but since we've already had a chance to talk about Papa's Palace of Pain, I'll keep that one short.
In Papa's Palace of Pain, you've got a few basic "save the civilian" areas at the beginning of the level, teamed with some classic Resident Evil-inspired mansion crawling. There are a few key areas that are pretty interesting, having a balcony snipe area where you can blast the undead from a distance with your equipped guns, a main hall with a droppable chandelier for surprise zombie "crushification" (the state of crushing), and lots of close-quarters combat with rushing zombies, complete with under-the-desk rolling and some sweet through-window-action. Things are still a little dark in each of these levels, but that's something already being tweaked on internal builds. Since this is an earlier level, most of the gunwork used will be magnum shots, and while you'll see the occasional arm bust off or headshot, things are pretty tame. Random shots will break windows or knock pictures off the walls (no shooting out lights though), but if I had only taken the first level for a spin I would have been pissed that there wasn't more limb-busting action. The first HOTD games had it, but to get to the real grit of the game you'll either need to have perfect aim on elbows and knees (not arms and legs; literally the joints of the zombies) to knock them off from the get-go.
Ballistic Trauma is the next level in the bunch, which marries all the regular pop-in designs and hallway work from the original level with a bit more zombie mobility. Players rush through hallways blasting away at zombie nurses, clearing off operating tables occupied by stirring undead, and eventually crashing through windows to get out to a rooftop where a helicopter is seen crashing to the ground. In a previous build we had, that's where the demo would end, but the latest update had us rushing over to the chopper and blasting flaming zombies, and eventually working our way back inside to do battle with a creepy screaming zombie-lady in what looks like a solitary confinement room. All the while zombies are crashing in through windows and breaking down doors during Ballistic Trauma, and while the game isn't as quick in pace, firing, or reload overall as say, House of the Dead 2, the pace picks up by the second level considerably.
And then there's Carny. Carny is by far our favorite area so far, despite the fact that it's extremely dark and still in a visually rougher state than the other levels. A haunted carnival is the perfect place for a zombie infestation, and Carny delivers from what we've played so far, having the undead lumbering through game stands or rocking out to a music stage also inhabited by the infected. The initial trailer from the game shows a ride breaking apart and crashing in front of players, and that's here too, actually breaking through an area of the level that you'll then move around and continue on your way from.
There's also a section where you get on a cheap carnival rollercoaster (one of the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" ones that are basically built inside a barn), and drive around in pathetic little circles while running over undead and blowing the hell out of flammable hanging skeletons. The amount of gore chunks in this area is practically arousing, as long as that doesn't sound strange and demented to anyone.
Carny has a few other great moments too. Later in the level zombie football players come crashing through the grandstands, and the lumbering fatties – now impervious to head shots due to their newly-acquired headgear – proceed to rush agent G and Washington. The best way to take them out is to rock a few well-placed shots to their chests, but cut them down at the legs and they'll come crawling towards you head-first, now almost completely protected by their helmets. The whole level ends with a fight against a two-faced mutant man from the carnival's freak show. After eating a zombie's head off, he reveals that he's got a tiny man growing out of his chest and stomach (Similar to Kuato from Total Recall). We shot that tiny man in the face with lots of bullets. Classic.
That's three out of the seven areas – assuming there isn't an eighth mystery finale –and already Overkill is looking to be shaping up quite nicely. When stacked against it's competition, Overkill has a similar, moody style just like Umbrella Chronicles does, though the IR tracking is better (still not quite as smooth as Ghost Squad) than Capcom's offering. You won't find branching paths, and it is odd as such a fan of classic House of the Dead to be playing a slightly slower, inherently different take on SEGA's series, but I'm having a blast with Overkill so far, and with the team still plugging away it can only get better. Hopefully the game stays as fresh and fun in the next levels as it has in these first three, and the level of polish has to be there to really make this one a must-have title. It's violent, bloody, and filled with inappropriate language; I'm pretty sure I just heard Miyamoto's head explode.
That's all I've got for the latest hands-on with the game, but before you head off I think it's appropriate to give this over-the-top game a quick over-the-top critic quote. Here it goes. "Overkill is the most hard-hitting, gun-toting, zombie-punching shooter on Wii. So hardcore, it will tear your face off."