Gamers are forced to begin the title in the standard Story Mode, although they are teased with the locked Director’s Cut from the get-go.  In this mode, players earn points for chaining consecutive hits, discovering power-ups and hidden items, and dispatching the various mutants in a timely manner.  At each stage’s completion -- presented as movie segments -- the score is tallied up and converted into a dollar amount.  The dollars can either be horded or used to purchase weapons upgrades or entirely new weapons.

Headstrong delivers more of a typical story structure in Overkill, complete with faces and attitudes -- oh man are there attitudes -- behind the guns.  Players will come across a collection of sentient beings, including the sexy Varla Guns, the aforementioned antagonist Papa Ceasar, Varla’s kid brother, and the ugly Warden from the nearby prison.  While the story mode is short, it is not without its laughs, twists, and downright disgusting parts.

As much of a guilty pleasure as Overkill is, it is not without its faults.  The title is plagued with a jumpy frame rate that can be experienced in any and all levels.  A slight annoyance, until it breaks your Gorgasm and ruins your streak.  The story mode, and worthy Director’s Cut, don’t add up to an entirely long experience. Aside from some minigames, additional art, and movies you can unlock, there is little reason to return to HoTD: Overkill once both story modes have been completed.  The title matches your average game, offering about 10 hours of gameplay.

Faults aside, Overkill is, bar none, the best light-gun game currently available for the Nintendo Wii.  It has toilet humor, incredibly cheesy dialogue, one-liners, sexual innuendo, gore, and a story point that you won’t soon forget... no matter how much you may want to. House of the Dead fans may balk at the changes, but they can’t deny that this is a worthy light gun title.