HellNight

Konami is all about innovation. Whether it be old-school classics like Castlevania or newer, graphically stunning hits like Racing jam or Fighting Bujitsu, you can always expect a cool new twist to a popular genre. A couple of years ago, the company jumped into the gun-game genre with a game called Crypt Killer. The game featured three shotguns and pitted you against a ton of undead baddies. The graphics were not exactly breathtaking, but there was plenty of action on screen to keep even the most trigger-happy fools satisfied. Other gun games have followed, most recently Operation Thunder Hurricane and Teraburst. Hell Knight is Konami's latest light-gun project.

The closest game Hell Knight resembles would be Sega's House of the Dead. In fact, aside from a slight graphics-style difference, you could be playing the sequel to HotD. The textures in this game are an improvement even over Konami's most recent releases. The walls, characters and enemies are all smooth and detailed and the Bosses are cool and original.

We join the story with three heroes, two of whom are men carrying pistols and the last a woman with a shotgun. They are in search of a lost comrade. Enemies are of course zombies that take 20 shots to kill (unless you take their head off), zombies that attack you with large mechanical drills and such, and zombies that look like skeletons. A cool new non-zombie enemy is a ghost/spectre creature that flies at you. HK is so similar to HotD that it has scissor-wielding midgets, boxes and chandeliers you can shoot, and quick camera movements that make shooting enemies that much harder. The Bosses, however, are completely original. In Course A alone there are at least three. The first you face is a super-huge snake (can anyone say anaconda?). Another is a zombified butcher who lobs slabs of meat and undead creatures in your direction.

Hell Knight is separated into three courses: A, B and C. Each is increasingly more difficult than the last with larger creatures breaking up the monotony of constant zombie target practice. Since the game features the characters who wield pistols and another who uses a shotgun, the arcade cabinet is equipped with two pistols and a shotgun (go figure). You can cock the shotgun off screen to reload, or like in every other gun game, shoot offscreen. So far, we haven't seen any special weapons in the game. It's also unknown what kind of special ways of scoring points there may be (such as the golden frogs in House of the Dead), but there are several zombies you see in the background that might have a special significance. This game should be shipping soon, and as soon as we know more about it so will you.