That said, the game feels a little rough yet. “Jellied eels” is not even remotely the strangest thing you’ll type in this game. The developers managed to negotiate a new contract with Sega and complete the game in an amazingly short span of time. Designed as a modification of House of the Dead: Overkill, the development house, Blitz Games Studio, died while the Typing of The Dead game was only partially done. Typing of The Dead: Overkill is a kind of zombie in its own right. If you see anything glowing slightly, hit ‘tab’ to collect a power-up or a collectible souvenir, such as comic book pages, fake movie posters, or concept art Single letters appear as hurled weapons: Type them fast, or take damage. Pop-culture shout-outs abound in the phrases, as do odd combinations such as “useless trombonist” and “clumsy busker.” You don’t need to worry about capitalization, spaces, or punctuation.

Your point of view moves through the game world automatically, and all you have to do is type every word that floats into view in order to kill the onrushing zombie hordes. The viewpoint shifts between multiple characters, all classic 70s grindhouse archetypes. Each chapter arrives with a movie trailer voiceover that perfectly captures the spirit of the cheap, sleazy, crime dramas from the golden age of bad movies.

The storyline is presented cinematically (though rendered in the game’s engine), with ‘film scratches’, a psychedelic ‘intermission’ screen when data is being loaded. The language is “hard-R,” and there are strippers, violence, sexual innuendo, and all the other things lovingly documented in Sleazoid Express. Typing of The Dead: Overkill, based on zombie game House of the Dead: Overkill, is rated M-17+, and it deserves it.

Play typing of the dead