It's a Halloween miracle!
October 29, 2013 8:58 PM   Subscribe

The Typing of the Dead (previously), in which players blast their way through waves of the undead by passing typing challenges on a PC keyboard, has been hailed as one of the strangest games ever made. And today, the world's foremost typists-versus-zombies simulator shockingly rose from its grave, as Sega released The Typing of the Dead: Overkill to Steam without so much as a press release to spoil the surprise.

The game is a typing-based remix of the arcade/console shooter The House of the Dead: Overkill, and retains all the grindhouse parody and over-the-top profanity of the original; the only difference is that Agent G, Detective Washington and their allies blow zombies' heads off with the power of precise keystrokes instead of light-gun violence. So expect rather a lot of "adult content" to go along with your Mavis-Beacon-by-way-of-George-Romero.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish (48 comments total) 41 users marked this as a favorite
 
It is absolutely KILLING me right now that this isn't available for mac.
posted by Sara C. at 9:05 PM on October 29, 2013 [13 favorites]


This is reeeeally strange because I was just discussing Typing Jet in another window!
posted by SharkParty at 9:06 PM on October 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Do the heroes still wear battery-powered Dreamcasts on their backs? Of course that would make the zero sense this time around, which would only be appropriate.
posted by Iridic at 9:11 PM on October 29, 2013 [9 favorites]


The Typing of the Dead is a primary reason to own a Dreamcast. Dear reader, I own this game, and two keyboards.
posted by JHarris at 9:12 PM on October 29, 2013 [4 favorites]


I knew it'd be too much wishful thinking to ask for a mac version :(
posted by gucci mane at 9:19 PM on October 29, 2013


It is absolutely KILLING me right now that this isn't available for mac.

Oh yeah? Is it really EATING at you?

ow stop throwing things at me
posted by dubitable at 9:33 PM on October 29, 2013 [5 favorites]


Years ago I was amazed to see the original Typing of the Dead in an arcade in Tokyo. It had its own arcade unit, with the dual keyboards set up and everything. And it was packed with people playing and watching. One of the most popular games in the place, as it should be.
posted by naju at 9:37 PM on October 29, 2013 [6 favorites]


Next to it...Is that a Lupin III typing arcade game?!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:40 PM on October 29, 2013 [4 favorites]


Typing of the Dead is one of my favourite games of ALL TIME.

Now with Steam achievements!

'scuse me, I know what I'm doing with my day...
posted by E. Whitehall at 9:40 PM on October 29, 2013


Oh god I'm actually going to spend ten dollars on this aren't I
posted by ook at 9:51 PM on October 29, 2013 [4 favorites]


Best screenshot.
posted by maryr at 9:52 PM on October 29, 2013 [16 favorites]


As a bonus, the game comes with the complete Director's Cut version of The House of the Dead: Overkill, in case you want to switch things up and shoot zombies with guns instead of words every once in a while.
posted by chrominance at 9:57 PM on October 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh yeah, and until November 1, it's 50% off at Steam and Green Man Gaming. The latter has a voucher code you can apply to take an extra $2 off (don't remember it offhand but I think you can find it on GMG's blog).
posted by chrominance at 9:59 PM on October 29, 2013


The greenmangaming voucher key is GMG20-50Z66-SCTEU. $8 well spent.
posted by squinty at 10:11 PM on October 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


The Typing of the Dead is a primary reason to own a Dreamcast. Dear reader, I own this game, and two keyboards.

Same here, but also for Seaman, which i'm surprised doesn't have a PC version or something. Raising a virtual pet that listens to you? Seems like it would be bigger than it was. Maybe it was just too creepy. ;)

Do the heroes still wear battery-powered Dreamcasts on their backs?

That was one of the great little touches i loved about the game. I miss weird Sega, sigh.
posted by usagizero at 10:28 PM on October 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Also, you have no idea how much i had wished that bad movie version of the original game was actually based on this. ;)
posted by usagizero at 10:30 PM on October 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Same here, but also for Seaman, which i'm surprised doesn't have a PC version or something. Raising a virtual pet that listens to you? Seems like it would be bigger than it was. Maybe it was just too creepy. ;)

I have that too, and played through it again a couple years ago. Very odd. Also, narrated by Leonard Nimoy!
posted by JHarris at 10:35 PM on October 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


It is absolutely KILLING me right now that this isn't available for mac.

I was JUST NOW playing the original TOTD on my Mac (thanks to this post). Compatibility report: It works great in Crossover, but vanilla Wine gives me the same problem that other old DirectDraw games do (flickering/corrupted framebuffer).

Do the heroes still wear battery-powered Dreamcasts on their backs?

I sure hope so. It just wouldn't be the same without the sublimely awful voice acting, either.
posted by neckro23 at 11:02 PM on October 29, 2013 [2 favorites]


Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "Next to it...Is that a Lupin III typing arcade game?"

I haven't looked at the photo, but I can definitely confirm that there was a Lupin III typing game in Japanese arcades. Not quite as much fun as TotD if memory serves, though.
posted by DoctorFedora at 11:37 PM on October 29, 2013


I'd have to dig a bit to find it, but I still have Typing of the Dead on CD-ROM- I saw a review of it in PC Gamer (and boy does THAT take me back) and decided that I had to have it, and drove all over northeast Indiana in search of it, finally tracking down a copy at a games shop at Glenbrook mall. Of all the games to get a surprise sequel!
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:21 AM on October 30, 2013


i had the pleasure of playing TOTD, once, many years ago. it was SO MUCH FUN - even though i am a really terrible typist. i sometimes tell friends about it, and most have never heard of it - and they don't believe that such a strange game existed. am delighted to hear the strangeness continues.
posted by lapolla at 12:58 AM on October 30, 2013


TotD is like Frog Fractions in that it can be difficult to persuade people that it is a real thing.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:25 AM on October 30, 2013 [8 favorites]


Still holding out for a modern remake of this.
posted by emptythought at 1:56 AM on October 30, 2013


I can't speak for the sequel ,The Typing of the Dead 2, but I'd like to attest that the first one is a work of quality (as long as you happen to be in the mind set of improving your typing skills as well as killing night creatures).
posted by coolxcool=rad at 2:24 AM on October 30, 2013


Type, like G did.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:31 AM on October 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh holy smokes, you don't know how much I adore House of the Dead: Overkill.

Like, normally, the husband and I can't play video games together. We are too annoying to each other. And we totally look at games differently. When we were playing Age of Empires against each other, I'd be constantly trying to win by building monuments, and he'd just try and wipe me out.

It was not a loving period in our lives.

But then we got the Wii and along with both loving Endless Ocean (which I still think is the greatest game ever), we got House of the Dead: Overkill and, finally, we understood what co-op play meant. We could work together - drinking and swearing and blowing motherfucking zombies' heads off.

We still had issues ("Dude, you spent all the points on that gun! I was gonna get the shotgun!"), but House of the Dead: Overkill saved our gaming marriage. He's the Agent G to my Detective Washington, and, together, we're gonna kick some zombie ass.

I will totally end up beating him on Typing of the Dead: Overkill, though. My furious typing skillz cannot be challenged!
posted by Katemonkey at 4:49 AM on October 30, 2013 [7 favorites]


Do the heroes still wear battery-powered Dreamcasts on their backs?

Just played it for a bit, and sadly it seems not to be the case. It's over the top grindhouse humor though, so that's good.

One thing i noticed, as good of a typist i think i am, having to do it while fighting zombies (with pretty funny word choices) really shows my flaws. ;)
posted by usagizero at 4:51 AM on October 30, 2013


Poking around in the options menu, there's an entire menu for "DLC Dictionaries." Hopefully that's going to be open to fan mods.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:37 AM on October 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


The Steam Halloween sale seems to be bigger than usual btw.
posted by ersatz at 6:09 AM on October 30, 2013


The Steam Halloween sale seems to be bigger than usual btw.

Be sure to pick up Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines (and the unofficial bugfix/content restoration patch) for $5. It's a total steal at that price.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:27 AM on October 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


Raising a virtual pet that listens to you? Seems like it would be bigger than it was. Maybe it was just too creepy. ;)

Yeah, about the legacy of Seaman—there was a funny story about the game's "spiritual successor," Gabo, which was developed for the iPhone back in the day. The game was apparently completed but rejected by Apple. I guess it's possible that the game was genuinely terrible, but I can't imagine how it could have been worse than, you know, fart apps and the like. This made me really angry at the time.
posted by Mothlight at 6:40 AM on October 30, 2013 [2 favorites]


If the game doesn't have you actually typing out F-bombs in sync with Det. Washington ("I'm gonna rip your motherfuckin' BALLS off!"), it's a missed opportunity.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:40 AM on October 30, 2013


Well that is literally the best news I've heard today!
posted by Mister_A at 7:36 AM on October 30, 2013


Check out a "transcription mill" sometime, where people grind out medical reports while being paid by the keystroke. Talk about The Typing of the Dead--eeek.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:01 AM on October 30, 2013 [2 favorites]


As a bonus, the game comes with the complete Director's Cut version of The House of the Dead: Overkill, in case you want to switch things up and shoot zombies with guns instead of words every once in a while.

Hmm, do they make light guns for PC games? I know the Wii version just used the IR pointer on the remote, but trying to use a mouse or joystick for a rails-shooter just sounds cumbersome.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:42 AM on October 30, 2013


Yeah, you use a mouse or gamepad, and no, it's not nearly as much fun as the Wii or PS3 Move version where you're actually aiming something at the screen and pulling a trigger.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:01 AM on October 30, 2013


As a bonus, the game comes with the complete Director's Cut version of The House of the Dead: Overkill, in case you want to switch things up and shoot zombies with guns instead of words every once in a while.

Aha. That's why the thing wants 10GB of hard drive space.
posted by straight at 9:02 AM on October 30, 2013


I wonder how much content is NOT shared between the two versions. Surely not even 1GB?
posted by destructive cactus at 9:05 AM on October 30, 2013


has been hailed as one of the strangest games ever made.

The Typing of the Dead is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their zombies wedged into their keyboards, or why.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:48 AM on October 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


I honestly didn't know Sega was still around!
posted by Mister_A at 10:24 AM on October 30, 2013


Be sure to pick up Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines (and the unofficial bugfix/content restoration patch) for $5. It's a total steal at that price.

Sound advice, but I still have the originals. I've been tempted to buy Sleeping Dogs DLC for the Bruce Lee jumpsuit, but I hate all these thin pieces of DLC as a policy, so I resist... even though that jumpsuit should make the game 50% better.

But yeah, Bloodlines was great.
posted by ersatz at 12:05 PM on October 30, 2013


Hmm, do they make light guns for PC games? I know the Wii version just used the IR pointer on the remote, but trying to use a mouse or joystick for a rails-shooter just sounds cumbersome.

I have House of the Dead 2 for PC (again, I used to buy a lot of games on disc about a decade ago) and it's the same way, just click wherever you want to shoot. Right click to reload, I think.


But yeah, Bloodlines was great.

I know I harp on this at every opportunity, but if doing so gets more people to experience the awesome that is Bloodlines, it's worth the while.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:00 PM on October 30, 2013


Fat shaming in Typing of the Dead Overkill

Allegedly some "ironic" racism, sexism, etc. as well. Is no zombie typing game free of prejudice?
posted by nicebookrack at 1:28 PM on October 30, 2013


nicebookrack, don't make fun of them. It's unsporting.
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 1:58 PM on October 30, 2013


Yeah, about the legacy of Seaman—
Seaman actually had an actual for reals sequel for PS2! It is not nearly as strange or charming as the original, being focused instead on a teeny tiny Peking Man named Gabo. The iPhone version was a port, but the full game is out there.
posted by byanyothername at 2:02 PM on October 30, 2013


Aha. That's why the thing wants 10GB of hard drive space.

What's is with this anyways? It's like the instant steam became popular companies quit caring if games took up a dual layer DVD and a half of disk space. Not that there weren't games like that beforehand, but now it's nearly all of them.

A significant version of my 1tb "stuff" drive I share between machines is just games and installers for games I've been meaning to play now. Quite a few are like 8-10gb installed or even more. Sometimes almost 20. And I've yet to actually see why this is other than devs just not spending time trimming stuff anymore because it "doesn't matter". There's plenty of games that are a couple years old which would still fit on a DVD and still have incredible graphics and quality textures/assets/etc.

This becomes especially shit when you're trying to install more than a couple games on a laptop, where tb drives aren't really the norm. Good times. Sure sucks when you're running out of space and open this and basically everything is just taken up by installed games or images.
posted by emptythought at 2:53 PM on October 30, 2013


I assume the space hogging comes from the fact that this is ported from the PS3's "Extended Cut," and PS3 games, coming on blu-rays as they do, are designed without even the slightest regard for storage space. Uncharted 3 takes up fifty gigs if you download it. Fifty!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:59 PM on October 30, 2013


Sleeping Dogs is a fantastic game and while I'm sure they're only including it because of the Nightmare in North Point expansion, it should really be in your library already. (The story DLC and the one with the car are also great, the rest is just cosmetic and isn't really required. Unless you want to run around like a drunken master, because hey, who doesn't?)

Just remember, the man who never eat pork bun is barely a man at all.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:50 PM on October 30, 2013


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