Name: The Typing of the Dead
Publisher: Sega PC
Developer: Empire Interactive
Media: 1 CD
HD Installation: 570.6 megs
Dirt Cheap Price: $3.31, new.
TotD was played on an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ machine, under Windows XP with a 64 meg VisionTek XTasy Radeon 9100(AGP) card and 512 megs of ram. It was running with the default, unchangeable resolution and graphical settings. The game was played through on the "Normal" difficulty level.
Patches?
Yes , one.
 Just for kicks, let me present the recommended system requirements:

ATI Rage Mobility Patch - Size: 943k

The above patch is *only* necessary if you are using an ATI Rage Mobility card(generally found in laptops). DO NOT use this patch on any other system with ANY other card. I'm warning you...

The patch can be found in the "Patches" section of the Empire Interactive site.

 Windows 95/ 98/Me, Pentium II 233Mhz, 64 MB Ram, 8X CD Rom, 660 megs of hard disc space, 8 MB Direct X 3D compatible video card, Direct X compatible sound card, Microsoft compatible keyboard and mouse.
A horde of zombies have taken over the city, and only a crack squad of our best typists can take them down! Type through crowds of zombies as you make your way closer to the overly-monotone Goldman(aka, head zombie-creating honcho)!

What's it all about?
Imagine House of the Dead II...a game where you use a light gun to shoot holes in zombies...imagine now that instead of shooting at them, you type at them. You go about in the game, being moved from section to section and type zombies to death. A zombie will appear with a word box somewhere on them, you type that word in, you kill them. It's done in classic HotD style, with each letter acting as a bullet and blowing certain pieces of the zombie off, until you finally finish it and they drop to the ground full of holes. Bosses follow the same basic pattern, except with a few twists like having them ask a question then giving you three choices to type out, only being able to hit them at certain points, not allowing for a single typing error, etc...

Graphics - It's kind of a toss up: On one hand you have the extremely high-res of a computer monitor really making the game look sharp, but on the other you have the constant and numerous graphical glitches bringing the game down quite a bit. For the most part, it's only the scenery that really suffers the glitches as the zombies are rock solid, and look fucking good. Oddly enough, the game does not allow for *any* configuration(sound, graphics, nothing), so what you get is...well, what you get. The game runs at 640X480, and though it's not bad at all, it'd have been nice to jack it up to at least 800X600...
Sound - On its own, it's not too bad...but compared to the Dreamcast version it's really lacking. For some reason, the quality of the sound samples is noticeably lower than the DC's version, same for the cheesy-ass speech. There are times when certain sound effects completely drown out *everything* else, including the music. The soundtrack, though not played off the disc, sounds pretty good and does the best job of getting the closest to the DC's audio quality...
Control - Well, you type...so how well you do is entirely up to you. There is, though, one aggravating glitch that I've encountered over two PC's now: The game will just disable your keyboard from time to time(no shit). From there you can either die, then it seems to turn the keyboard back on, or unplug the keyboard and plug it back in(assuming you are using a USB keyboard, DO NOT try this is you are using a PS-2 keyboard). It's weird, and only happens occasionally, but it *will* happen to you at least once.
AI - Pretty much nonexistent. Now, what you need to understand is that the game is essentially "on rails", that is, you follow the path that is pre-determined, and encounter all enemies along that path. They show up, they attack you until you kill them, you move on to the next set. They aren't really dumb, they aren't really effective...they are just sort of there.
Replay value - Virtually unlimited. As it's every bit as fun to play as it is helpful to your typing skills, you'll want to keep coming back. For the quick action of the arcade mode, you can up the challenge with five difficulty levels, two types of word sizes(normal and large) and even multiple paths that can be taken within the levels. Giving you even more bang for your typing-buck, there's also a full blown Tutorial mode, complete with a tutor and hours-upon-hours of gameplay...
Getting it to run - Pretty easy...but there's one huge catch to it: As you *cannot* change the game's resolution, nor any graphical settings...it either works for you, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, you're pretty much screwed because there's no way to change a setting to enable the game to work. So, pop in the disc, click on "install", cross your fingers and pray. I've gotten it to work over three PC's though, one with Windows Me, and two with Windows XP...so maybe it's not as bad as it sounds. BTW, the game requires the CD to be played, so pop that sucker in before you start. One final thing, this game does things the old school way, so get ready to hit ol'Alt+F4 to actually exit...
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Remember the Escape key! It'll get you out of a lot of trouble, and allow you to switch your main attack to the closer zombies and such. Also, when playing along with a buddy, make the best out of teamwork: You take the guys on the left, he takes the guys on the right...you block projectiles while he types the thrower to death, etc. Also, always be on the look out for special items that can be acquired by quickly typing in single letters as they appear on barrels, boxes and other background scenery.
The Ultimate Code: KIKMAHP
Type that in under the "Password" section of the game's title screen. This will unlock unlimited continues, all of the bosses in Boss mode, all of the drill mode levels, and all of the CPU characters in Vs. CPU mode.

Still Supported?
Yes, and you can receive support for the game at Empire Interactive's Support section.
My rating: 95(out of 100) - An excellent, and amazingly original title that *should be* shipped with every PC sold in the world. Fuck Mavis Beacon, get your type on with the Dead...
Computer Games gave it: 3 stars(out of 5)

iBook's Angry Comments: Dammit...I actually have an ATI Rage Mobility in me...if they'd have only ported TotD to the Mac!!! Sega, you loved the Mac enough to give us Yoot Tower...wherefore hast thy love gone?
As there was no easy way to get pics out of the game, screenshots were borrowed from Empire Interactive's TotD Game Page and Gamer's Hell.
The words they come up for you to type...they are something else...
Get your type on!
Time to type these bitches up...
Type or Die!
Fun Stuff on the CD:
Direct X 7....that's about it. Ugh...
M-Tastic:
TotD received an award in 2001, from Computer Games magazine, for "Best M-Rated Typing Game". Now that's quality typing!

A shot of an actual arcade machine of TotD in Japan!
TotD - DC vs PC: Who's the type master?
A lot of people ask which version is the best, DC or PC? Believe it or not, it's a tie. With the PC version, even with its graphical glitches and sound issues, you've still got the comfort of a proper desk, chair and keyboard...which makes the game seem a lot easier for some reason. Even though the DC version looks and sound great, you're still stuck with the horribly "1980's" pure rectangle SegaNet keyboard that sits on your lap as you do your best while typing on the comfort of your couch. It's trade off no matter which way you go...my advice is to get both. BTW, install this at work...your boss will be impressed as it *really* makes it seem like you are doing a shitload of work with all that wild typing...