Dead Rising

By CAPTAIN GORDON EDWARD     August 29, 2006

There has been one fascination that I have kept over the years, and that is about zombies. It did not matter which movie, or which game came out, I had to be part of it some how. That being said I am a huge fan of all things zombie, even including little plastic figurines. This also includes zombie games like Zombies Ate My Neighbours, and the Resident Evil series. Mainly what I am just trying to make a point of is that I love zombies. Playing this game has scratched an itch that I have had for quite some time. In fact one of the things I dislike about my current job that I have to write the review for the game, when I could be spending even more time enjoying it. Just kidding of course.

Now I am sure there are plenty of the people out there that have purchased the Zombie Handbook, or have even planned what they would do if a zombie apocalypse were to occur. One of the most popular ideas on what to do is going to a mall, which I believe is a good choice because all of the resources. Sometimes it is narrowed down to just a single store, like a Wal-Mart or a Costco, but there seems to be an overall fascination with these two things... Zombies and malls. There has also been a relationship in the past with these two, like with a movie put out many years ago by George A Romero, or the remake that sparked another cult like following in this re-birthed genre. This game does warn though that this game is not sanctioned by George A Romero, or was derived from the movie Dawn of the Dead. I will note though that this game comes from the publisher that brought us the Resident Evil series, so they have a lot of previous experience with zombies.

You start the game by flying over a town taking pictures, wondering what has happened here. Frank, the main character, has news that something major is happening here, and word has it that there is a riot. There is a problem with that idea though is the army has blocked off the boundaries of the town, so this indicates that it is not the regular sign of a riot. Upon closer inspection it seems that a horde of people are attacking a select few, and attacking them all costs.

Frank decides that it is best to find out everything that he can about this event, and makes arrangements to stay. Before leaving the helicopter, he make plans to be picked up in three days, which should be enough time to get the scoop of the century. Then after being dropped off at the local mall, more of the mystery is revealed and it is that zombies exist, but the question is why.

The game has a lot of strong points, and one of them is the fact that you can use anything as a weapon. I am talking about things like benches, baseball bats, and cabbages. Yes, you can even throw cabbages at your enemies to hurt them. Each weapon has a varied level of effectiveness, like a foam sword will do far less damage than a potted plant. The game also offers "Swarm Mechanics" where a lot of zombies on the screen at a time, and by a lot I mean over a hundred. This strong feature allows a lot to transpire on screen, leaving it with a visual delicacy. Having over a hundred creatures on the screen does not slow the game down keeping the pace quite rapid. This is also a good and bad thing, as later in the game an entire area becomes flooded with zombies, or psychopaths, and you may end up having a hard time getting past them all. Needless to say it can instil a feeling of panic in the player.

Another fantastic thing is that you can change the clothes that you are wearing just by entering different stores. These clothes will remain on your character through cut scenes, or if you start the game over. This game also has strong RPG elements, where you will gain experience based upon what you do. You get experience from saving people, or killing a lot of zombies. You gain experience by following through with the case, or even taking pictures. When you get enough experience you can get extra power or even additional combat moves. The levelling system is easy to get into, and it helps the game develop, even if it is not your first time through it. Most of the game is very well balanced as well between the manic humour of blood, guts, gore, and gameplay.

An interesting feature allows you to pull over previous experience for a game, into a new one if you create it. This was a similar feature from a Breath of Fire game, or even a more mainstream one like Chrono Trigger. Mainly I mention Breath of Fire is because the same team that brought you this game, also brought you the game Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, which is another game that I recommend playing.

Dead Rising does not have only zombies though, but also people that have gone insane because of the horrors they have seen. This leads to some pretty insane boss battles with very colourful characters. In one of the cases of a person going crazy there is a war veteran who thinks that you are part of the Viet Cong. Another case involves a crazy guy in a grocery store with a pimped out shopping mart of knives and pitchforks, readying to run you down because they believe you are trying to vandalize their store. There is even a crazy chainsaw wielding clown, snapping because the zombies have killed all the people, so no one will laugh at him anymore. Each of the characters is interesting, and it helps the feeling of the game.

Something that I did not like in the game is the text size. There was no way to increase it, and on most screens it is so small that you will be unable to read it. If you have an HDTV television then the text will appear properly, but for those who have yet to make the jump to the medium, you will have an extreme problem reading what is going on. Another problem is the re-spawn of zombies, after you clear out one area in the mall, and move beyond the screen size, they will re-spawn though it looks impossible to do so. There was an aiming system that seemed a little tacked on. I would have liked to have an auto target option, but overall the aiming was a little slow. Then my final problem with the game was just the arrow directions, which tell you which direction you need to go in. Sometimes it was difficult to see if it was telling you to go forward, or backwards.

But there is light at the end of that tunnel, as the sound of the game makes up for a lot of that stuff. With all the weapons that you can use, each of them have a unique noise, and considering that there are plenty of them, that is great to see. Another good thing are unlockables based upon certain things in the game. You have the ability to outfit yourself in a Mega-man suit, from head to toe. If that is not for you why not try out pro-wrestler gear, as after you smash a hundred weapons that will be something unlocked as well.

In the end though, there is a lot that you can do in the game. There are so many different weapons, and a giant mall to play with them in. I would have liked to see them have multiplayer, also intelligent teammate AI, but overall the game is great. I recommend this game to anyone... that is old enough to play "Mature" games, because this game has earned the rating with a lot of blood. If there were only one game to buy this summer, I would recommend this one. All and all Captain Gordon gives this game an A-.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? CaptainGordonEdward@Gmail.com