Not the best in the series so far, but not the worst. The graphics are mainly the best bit, along with galemplay.
The House of the Dead was set in 1998 in a mansion owned by the mad scientist Dr.Roy Curien. The incident lasted for 3 days and was stopped by AMS agents Thomas Rogan and G. This game features a young scientist named Sophie Richards, who is to be Thomas Rogan's future girlfriend / wife and also mother of Lisa Rogan, who will come in later in House of the Dead III. Just before you fight the first boss, Sophie gets injured but it is unknown whether she actually dies or just passes out at that moment, but she obviously must live for Lisa to even exist for House of the Dead 3. Depending on how high your score is, you can either get the ending where you see Sophie come back to life, but as a zombie, the ending where you don't see her at all or the ending where she comes back to life as a normal human and runs from the mansion and thanks you for saving her life. The House of the Dead 2 was set 2 years on from the first, in the Year 2000. In this game we travel to Venice with AMS agents Gary, James, Harry, Amy and G (G only appears once in the game) where the city has been overun by zombies that are being controlled by somewhat a businessman named Caleb Goldman. Goldman has not only re-animated the dead but has also been working on a secret project called the 'Emperor' that was intended to destroy mankind and rule over nature. James and Gary destroy the Emperor, but Goldman commits suicide by letting himself fall off the roof of the final setting. So the world has been saved yet again by the AMS. But little do they know what else Goldman was up to...
Depending on your score, you can either get the ending where you exit Goldman's building and you have humans thanking you for rescuing the world, or you can get the ending where zombies are waiting outside for you. The House of the Dead 3 is set 19 years on from the events of the 2nd game, in the year 2019. Strange things have been occuring out in a facility in the middle of the desert. The AMS no longer exists due to the 'world collapse of 2003'. Former AMS agent Thomas Rogan, with a team of commando's are sent out to try and take control of the facility, but fail and contact with Thomas Rogan is lost. 2 weeks later , former AMS agent G, and Thomas Rogan and Sophie Richards' 20 year old daughter Lisa Rogan are sent out to find out what happened, and with any luck succeed in doing what Thomas Rogan failed to do. Lisa and G blast their way through the facility and save Thomas Rogan, but also meet another character, Daniel Curien along the way. Daniel is the son of Dr.Roy Curien who was the culprit of the Curien mansion case in 1998. G stays with Thomas Rogan to help him get out as he is injured, and Daniel and Lisa continue on to destroy the last thing that Dr.Curien left behind. The 'Wheel of Fate' is destroyed by them, and yet again the world has been saved from the threat of the undead. Depending on your score, you can get one of 3 endings. You can get the ending where you see Daniel and Lisa talking, and Daniel turning round and muttering to himself about honoring his father etc. And then they walk away. Or you can get the other more common ending where you see the very last zombie driving off in Lisa's car. Lisa then runs after the zombie. And then there is the last ending. The scene returns to the room in which the Wheel of Fate was fought, but instead there is no zombies etc. Then, a man known only as 'The Mystery Man' walks in, and picks up a glowing vial off the floor, and says 'It would seem he failed to understand its true purpose'. It is assumed that he is either reffering to Curien himself or Daniel. And it is unknown who The Mystery Man is, although he is limping on his right leg and wearing a business suit. This suggests that The Mystery Man is in fact Harry from The House of the Dead 2, as he too was wearing a business suit, and had one of his legs injured by one of the bosses in The House of the Dead 2. This ending is very rare, but I believe to get it you must complete the game with 170,000+ points AND a total grade of either A or S. The House of the Dead 4 is based in the time space between the 2nd game and the 3rd game, in the year 2003. James Taylor, re-appearing form The House of the Dead 2, and Kate Green have become trapped underground after an earthquake collapsed the room of the AMS European building they were in. Then, after they gather as much weapons as they can find the door is destroyed by the undead, and the battle starts. Kate and James fight their way out, and at the end of their long journey they must face the last monster that Caleb Goldman left behind. As they attempt to destroy The World, it continues to change forms to protect itself from the threats which James and Kate show. When it transfomrs into its last form James decides the only way to destroy the creature is to set his PDA to self-destruct, thus sacrificing himself. His heroic sacrifice is what saves the world this time. ___________________________________
Before playing The House of the Dead 4, you should probably read all of what I just typed up, because that is basically a very detailled description of the storyline of The House of the Dead.