Great depth is added to House of the Dead 2 by the vast variety of routes that can be taken through the game. Different directions are triggered by saving hostages, picking up keys, shooting bits of scenery or even killing certain enemies. The variety in routes and hidden bonuses is staggering. Playing House of the Dead 2 is a very atmospheric experience. The hostages scream cheesy lines in true B-movie style.
Music is nothing to write home about, but the whole game is very nicely presented.
Before diving into the main game it's worth having a bash at the superb practice mode. There are around ten different training stages, each with five levels of difficult. Each concentrates on different situations. For example, there's a series of five levels where you have to save hostages who are being chased by zombies. This is followed by a series of stages where you are limited to a certain number of shots to deal with a corridor full of zombies.