In Capcom's latest videogame thriller you take on the role of Frank West, a photojournalist that has "covered wars, you know". Frank's hunch drives him to investigate the mystery behind the military-secluded town of Willamette, hiring a helicopter pilot to fly him through the barricades and entering the building that appears as the center of all the commotion: the mall. He gives himself 72 hours to scoop the story of his life and arranges for the pilot's return to get him out. But his plan might go awry because, as he soon finds out, the Dead keep on Rising…
The Game
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The game disclaims all over that it "was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead™", but that's not to say it wasn't influenced by the cult hit.
Besides pitting the action inside a giant mall, Dead Rising also shares the slow approach of the film. Frank is oblivious to the fact that he is in a zombie game and seeks more rational explanations to the mayhem he faces, while the player is given a chance to get a feel of the controls and especially the camera-work. It is in these introductory sequences that the relatively large loading times are more apparent, as they break up the pace of otherwise good storytelling. That, however, doesn't stop him from killing over a hundred zombies within the first hour of play.
Indeed, "reality" checks-in soon enough: Frank is trapped inside a mall infested with an infinite amount of zombies. He will have to use his fists, with more deadly moves being available as he raises in experience, improvised weapons like lead pipes and benches, as well as *actual* weapons in the form of swords and machine guns, if he is to survive and uncover the truth; all the while taking top notch pictures.
The makeshift hero never separates from his camera and is always eager to take a shot. Holding the left trigger readies the camera in first person view, with the right stick being used for aiming. The A and B buttons configure the zoom and X releases the shutter- taking the picture. The player is encouraged to take enthralling pictures through the Prestige Points system. Photos are graded based on a variety of factors, like the amount of action, brutality and drama that shows on screen and larger scores bring you that much closer to levelling up.
Frank's increasing hardiness as he overcomes ghastly circumstances is reflected by his level. Starting at 1 and able to reach the maximum of level 50, his energy bars, range of attacks and ability to carry things all increase the more you play the game and, in a peculiar decision, his level remains even if you start anew.
Speaking of things to carry, Frank can use anything in the mall that isn't welded down and/or too heavy to lift, for his zombie killing purposes. While anyone can take out a zombie with a shotgun, can you do it with an oversized teddy bear? How about with parasols, hockey pucks or CDs? HD TVs and boomerangs? The list goes on and on with hundreds of things being pick-up-able, simply by hitting B and used by pressing X.
Everything in your inventory can be thrown by holding the right trigger, with projectile weapons being aimed and used much in the same way as the camera functions. When an item is broken or runs out of ammo, it automatically disappears.
Consumable goods, like food and milk, can also be thrown against someone's head, but they do a much better service by replenishing your health, simply by pressing X. Few seconds are required, however, for the action to be completed, so you'll be hard pressed trying to restore your energy in the midst of a fight.
Several books are available that increase your abilities according to their subject matter. Some will raise your speed, others your power or throwing distance and there are few that have more unique effects, like the ability to speak Japanese.
Although they can't be picked up, vehicles also exist to drive over mind-boggling amounts of enemies, but they unfortunately can't be transported inside the mall and are mainly reserved for the park and underground areas, the two areas that interconnect all the numerous sections of the mall together.
Each, very large, section is quite different from the other and shows us why the game couldn't have been done until today. Hundreds of zombies plague them, with every one acting independently from the other. The impressive amounts of enemies might have been possible before, but only if they all blindingly focused on one thing, like attacking a single person. In Dead Rising, however, ten zombies might be attacking Frank, fifty might be cornering the two survivors at the other side, 200 might be snacking on dead bodies and one might be staring, care-free, at a poster, all at the same time. Impressive, even though some things detract from the illusion. Some zombies look alike, loading times, the occasional stutter when more complex enemies appear and, most of all, the "resetting".
Every time another area loads, the previous one is reset. Even if you were to slash a whole section of zombies, they would respawn the minute you left the room. The same holds true for items, but that's not to say nothing changes throughout the game. A plethora of scripted events happen as time goes by to reflect developments, with the more typical change being the zombies getting fiercer and more numerous.
Other survivors also manage to surface at different moments and be in varying amounts of danger. It is up to Frank to save them and it's going to take an exhilarating amount of juggling to rescue everyone. Some sacrifices will, sadly, have to be made to ensure his own survival, especially in the first play-through. People have different personalities, apparent from the moment you start talking to them with B: some are unphased by fear and will do their best to clear as many zombies as they can, others often become rooted to the spot and a few are sceptical of your help and require some convincing. If you do get them to follow, you'll get a generous amount of Prestige Points and even more if you succeed in taking them to the safety of your improvised Head-Quarters.
Even there though, some will still find a way to cause trouble, much to Frank's dismay.
With all the insane carnage going on, it's only logical that some people's minds break completely. Add to them the already deranged cultists and convicts that were visiting Willamette and you have a nice parade of psychopaths to go with the restless undead. Featuring a couple of nice cut-scenes each, psychopaths are a much bigger challenge than your average Joe Zombie. Faster, heavily armed and complete with an energy bar that doesn't go down with a single headshot, they are tricky opponents indeed. Defeating them rewards PP and typically a chance to save whatever poor souls they were holding hostage.
Whether you spend anytime at all with them or anyone else is entirely up to you. The game gives you the choice to play however you want, whether it is lawn-mowing the park clean of zombies or trying to eat every type of food available. Following the main story and "uncovering the truth" is, however, encouraged, thus whenever a key character dies or a deadline passes breaking the chain of events, you are offered the chance of reloading from your previous save.
Since save points are active at all times, you'll have to be careful not to save impossibly close to a deadline, as you'll then have to start over in order to progress the story. Nothing stops you, of course, from continuing on and simply disembowelling zombies till the end of time, but you'll be missing one of the strongest aspects of the game.
Dead Rising tells a great story, especially considering its subject matter. Besides the standard "mindless consumers" parallels and the government's shadowy involvement, the game also sports quite a few twists and turns that blur the line between itself and a good horror movie. The events seem to peek a tad too soon, but the script is restored to excellence right at the last minute.
While "side-quests" are labelled "scoops" the main quest has "cases", revolving amongst 5 key characters. Frank himself, DHS Agents Brad and Jessie and the ever mysterious Carlito and Isabela. Janitor Otis is your ever-annoying connection to the Security Room/HQ, giving you information on both scoops and cases. The problem is, you are unable to defend yourself when talking to him through the transmitter and in the event that you rudely cut him off, because you were too busy being eaten by zombies, his lines reprise from the beginning.
Quest-tracking is done either by simply clicking left on the control pad to check Frank's wristwatch, or through the pause and map menu. An arrow pinpoints the location of the mission you activate and is very rarely inaccurate, even though it gets a little jiggy sometimes. The organization of the map and the quests themselves could have been a little better, especially if they were categorized depending on their proximity to the current location.
Cut-scenes are fully voiced over, giving the feeling of an atmospheric, dubbed, foreign movie. With the progress of lip-synching nowadays, it's a bit disappointing to see the words not matching up with the characters' mouths, but it's not to distracting as the voicing itself is pretty good.
Mostly everything else is covered with slightly hard-to-see text and a few all-purpose spoken words, like "yeah" and "damn" been thrown in randomly throughout the adventure. Zombies sound just perfectly, sound effects are solid and the background music is what you'd expect from a supermarket. The rock theme tune of the game is notably fitting and catchy.
The Audience
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Even though teaching kids what to do in the event of an undead infestation is never a bad idea, the game does feature some disturbing imaging and heavy themes, so the 18+ rating should be taken into consideration.
Zombies aren't as scary as those in Resident Evil, mainly because of the abundance of firepower and health present, but the occasional running or sneaking zombie offer some frights. The game also pits you against actual humans, even though they are "psychopaths".
Things get uglier on the survivor front. Besides having to leave some of them behind, those you try to rescue might die horribly at the hands of zombies if you fail to protect them.
Still, it is "only" a video game and, like a good horror movie, Dead Rising doesn't resort to mindless gore just for shock value alone; you are encouraged to supervise accordingly.
It's hard to find any gamer or horror movie fan that won't enjoy a little bashing of zombies, but more casual players might be daunted by the scoop setup, save system and loading times, and not spend enough time to get hooked to the full game. Nevertheless, even non-gamers should enjoy Dead Rising as long as they are willing to put a little effort into it.
Miscellaneous
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The booklet is standard fare, but goes the extra mile by including a character's list, complete with photos, as well as a map. Xbox Live offers a gamer-ranking of shorts, sorting players according to their Prestige Points, yet the extra costumes available as free downloads are probably more interesting.
Infinity is the most different of the three modes offering little-to-no story and simply setting Frank loose in the mall to survive for as long as he can. Every character is as hostile as the zombies, the energy bars continuously deplete over time and although it is some fun to try out, I personally prefer giving the other playing modes yet another go.
Dead Rising offers the standard 1,000 Achievement Points to be unlocked, but much more creative ways to get them than the average game. Equally split in fifty Achievements, some detail what you must do to unlock them, so it is strongly recommended to *not* check them out before you complete the game, allowing for a few additional surprises.
OVERALL
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The time was ripe for a game like Dead Rising to give survival horror fans what they really wanted: a limitless supply of undead to bludgeon with the nearest available objects. It is a project that couldn't have been done before and still suffers from some technical shortcomings, but the experience is actually saved by the great storyline. Impressive, considering it deals with one of the most clichéd subject matters in history. Every M-Rated individual can enjoy a few minutes of zombie-smashing action and the game's open-endedness, with multiple quests happening at the same time heavily adding to the replay value, ensures that sticking for the whole ride is a real treat. Just be careful when purchasing from a giant, secluded, mall.
Gore Rising, Dead Falling 
Really well written review, couldn't ask for more information about it. You've definitely helped me out!