The Typing of the Dead (Windows)

100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
Written by  :  YID YANG (164523)
Written on  :  Jun 15, 2007
Platform  :  Windows
Rating  :  3.57 Stars3.57 Stars3.57 Stars3.57 Stars3.57 Stars

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This is... funny

The Good

I recently visited a friend of mine who just got a new computer. After proudly showing me how smoothly Doom 3 ran on his monster machine, he suddenly took the keyboard off the desk and gave it to me.

"Are you ready?" - he asked. - "I want to show you something really funny".

For a moment, I thought that "Doom 3" caused my friend to lose his mind. But then he explained himself. Apparently, he bought a little game that was a sort of a parody on rail-shooters. Instead of using a virtual gun to blast zombies to pieces, you were required to... type.

That's right. The entire game consists of typing. Every enemy comes with a letter, a word, several words, or even whole sentences attached to them. You must type those words quickly, otherwise you'll be hurt.

Sounds interesting? It is. The concept is very original, and frankly I have never seen anything like this before. What makes the game enjoyable is the sheer fun of the whole thing. You stare at the screen and frantically try to type those damn words till your fingers start hurting. It's fun to play it with a friend, who keeps yelling out those words as you lower your head, trying to type exactly, and not having time to look at the screen. There's always some variety, because new words and phrases always keep coming.

And let me tell you, some of those phrases are absolutely hilarious! I honestly don't recall another game that made me laugh so hard. Some of the phrases are so idiotic that you won't be able to stay serious for a long time. For example, there was a series of zombies coming at you, each carrying a cute feminine name (something like Daisy, Shelly, Rosy, etc.). Daisy and Rosy? Yeah right... One look at those daisies and rosies will cause you to laugh. You'll come across all kinds of weird English words, scientific names, Latin expressions, very long words, silly sentences, and everything you could possible imagine. My favorite moment was when a particularly ugly zombie approached me, humbly carrying the text box "my foxy wife".

Other than that, there is also a lot of ridiculous stuff in the story line - for example, at one point, the hero casually talks with some friends, and they don't even seem to notice that he was turned into a zombie! All the heroes carry Dreamcasts with huge batteries instead of backpacks. And the whole setting is just too ridiculously over-the-top, with a definite touch of parody.

The Bad

After a while the novelty wears off; it's basically just typing, and nothing else. Don't expect gameplay depth or anything like that. And of course, the story line is idiotic on purpose.

Frankly, I think the game is too hard. Even on Easy setting, you'll have trouble surviving. I think I type rather quickly (it took me 3 seconds to type the above phrase), but when enemies keep coming at you from all sides with phrases like "acylochloridic physiotherapy" or "Teacher's kissing cheating kitchen chicken" (or whatever, I just made those up, but you get the idea), your fingers hurt more than if you were playing solos on a Charlie Parker song. And of course, there are bosses who take a long time to kill, and who have their own sets of rules you must follow (like "don't type unless his chest is open!").

And the graphics are not so hot, I don't think there was any graphical update compared to the original House of the Dead.

The Bottom Line

It's a diversion. And a funny one at that. Feel like taking a break from all those ultra-complex RPGs, simulations, strategies, and heavy action games? "Typing of the Dead" is just what you need.

Besides, it has an educational value! Now I know how to spell "rhododendrons of Massachusetts"!