House of the Dead (HOTD) Overkill is the latest in the HOTD series. This game is not made by SEGA, but rather a studio called Headstrong Games. Like other lightgun games, HOTD is a point, click, and watch the splatter affair.
The only strategy you need to know is to aim consistently at the head of a zombie and don't miss.
Graphically, HOTDO is very detailed for a Wii game. Without HD graphics, the visuals are as good as one can expect; however, this amount of detail is suspected in causing the game to freeze, slow down, and even "hang" (where you don't progress anymore because the Wii is trying to load a massive amount of graphics for the next part of the rail), resulting in often times jerky performance.
This jerky performance screws with your accuracy, which ultimately, jerks with your score and your ability to unlock new guns and content.
The sound and music are top-notch, being deliberately bad to reflect the grindhouse presentation of the game. SEGA and Headstrong make no apologies in the massive number of F-Bombs, swearing, incest, and other sleaze, chiefly because HOTDO is a B-rated movie turned into a game (hence the ESRB M-rating). Concerned parents who want their children to live in a fantasy world will have to avoid buying them this game.
The chief problem of HOTDO is its scoring system. While you get more money by beating a high score in a stage, the high score slots will eventually get filled up and you will earn no more money. This is a problem, since the game requires you to earn about $50'000 to buy and upgrade all the weapons to unlock extra art and bonuses. Chances are you will get tired of earning money so slowly and stop playing.
Apart from the money problem, there is little else wrong with HOTDO. If you've played HOTD3 on the Xbox and enjoy other lightgun games like Vampire Night, Time Crisis, Silent Scope, and Elemental Gearbolt, HOTDO ranks well with the top lightgun shooters.
Some tips:
(1) Buy the autoshotgun first. It is probably the only weapon you need to power-up to get the combo hits (read the manual on how) for high scores.
(2) In story mode, keep $10,000 to unlock some extra songs. Once you have, you can spend the money afterwards (the unlocked songs save to your profile).
(3) You can quit after getting a high score (check the stage's high score tables to know the minimum score you need). By quitting early, you get your name on the high score table, some money, and avoid setting insanely high scores you can't beat later (and forever lose out on money).
(4) Money and weapons in story mode and Director's Cut don't carry-over, so you need to earn all that stuff again if you want a complete file.