extreme violence and gore, unusual and awkward save system
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Dead Rising is currently available for purchase for the Xbox 360
------- Story ------- You play as Frank West, a freelance photojournalist who is sent to investigate strange goings on in the town of Willamette, Frank is dropped of at the Willamette mall on an helipad once inside all hell breaks loose and zombies start pouring into the mall. Without trying to give to much away the main antagonist of the game is a myserious man named Carlito, who is angered somewhat and is a recurring character Frank faces throughout the game
-------------- Gameplay -------------- The main objective of Dead Rising is to stay alive for 3 days before the helicopter arrives to pick you up, as a photojournalist you are given what are called cases to investiage which means you have to be in a given place at the right time, these scoops delve deeper into the storyline as you complete them, besides these cases you are given optional scoops by phone to complete, as stated these are optional but completion gives you experience points and allow you to level up, the leveling system in Dead Rising is called PP, you can earn PP by killing the malls many zombies, and saving survivors, gaining levels will allow frank to beomce faster have more space for picked up items and a larger life bar, and will also gain new Melle moves to counter the undead attack, PP can also be earned by taking photos, the better the photo the more PP you can earn. The most fun aspect of Dead Rising is the sheer amount of items you can use to dispatch of the undead you can attack them with any manner of weapons ranging from CD's, katanas, cash registers and the more conventional weapons such as shotguns and machine guns. Another fun factor is the large number of clothing you can try out, from dresses to tracksuits, you can even drop by a toy store and sample the bizzare headwear. besides the obvious thousands of zombies in the mall you will encounter psychos, these are human characters which act as bosses who for various reasons choose to hinder your progress. One major problem withe the game though is the save system, you are only able to save one game per memory device, a commom mistake people can also make is saving their game to far away from the current objective making it impossible to complete the objective in time, in some way to compensate for this, once your game is saved you can choose to start over from the beginning with your leveled character being stronger. Another slight problem is the text you get when you recieve a call about scoops and cases on a non HD-TV the text can be tiny and you literally have to squint to see the text, these are only two small negatives in an otherwise very positive game. Also one the main features i love about this game are the achievements that can be unlocked such as walking 33 feet on the backs of zombies, and using a bowling ball to knock down ten zombies. Frank can use everyday food and liquid items such as milk and orange juice to replenish his health. I found the game tough at the beginning but as you gain levels and new skills and features the game becomes more easier to play through.
------------ Graphics ------------ The graphics in Dead Rising are beautiful, the wierd and wonderful items make the game very colourful, and the vast amount of shops is a wonder to behold, the most impressive thing about Dead Rising is the sheer amount of zombies that can fit on your screen at a time, at any one time there can be a staggering 800 zombies at once. I guess the Characters themselves could have had better graphics but they are still very good in my opinion, the cutscenes are also wonderful, a neat feature with the cutscene is that no matter what clothes you wear, the clothes you choose to wear will feature in the cutscene, so its often hilarious seeing Frank in serious discussion while wearing a dress. The many zombies are also well presented, and 20-100 coming towards you adds to the desperate situation in the game, making you weave jump and kick and tear your way through the zombies to survive.
---------------- Audio/music ----------------
The voice acting in the game is very good, each character has a voice that fits them very well, and the growls of the zombies add a very sinister atmosphere, the music is mainly composed of rocky tunes, but it fits the game well. I just wish instead of the small text we are confined to, we could have had a voice actually reading out the text rather than having to squint to read it, a feature wasted in my opinion which could have easily been implemented
-------------- Lastability -------------- There are three main modes in the game, 72 hour mode, overtime mode and infinity mode, as stated there is much fun to be had just trying out clothes and killing zombies with many different weapons in 72 hour mode, but once the time arrives that you do get through 72 hour mode with an A rated ending you will unlock overtime mode which is a continuation of the 72 hour mode.
--------- Verdict ---------
Despite the unusual save system and the tiny text, Dead Rising is one of the funnest games around on the 360 and will give you many hours entertainment.
More details
Originality
Excellent - very original
Sound
Good - relevant music & effects
Longevity/Expected Longevity
few months
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