It’s time to arm yourself and start swinging as we play Capcom’s action-horror Dead Rising. But with so many other zombie games out there, will this Xbox 360 original measure up?
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Capcom is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Mega Man, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Street Fighter. Originally established in 1983, it has since become an international enterprise with branches in North America, Europe and East Asia. In 2006 the company released Dead Rising as an Xbox exclusive and since then, bashing zombies has never been so much fun.
When I first picked up this title back in 2006 I was excited about the fact that I could kill the undead to my heart’s content. And I’ll be honest: that’s all I did for the first several hours, a rampage through the mall finding the most creative ways in which I could dispatch of the zombies. The sheer size of the building your character is running around in caught my attention, as players are really spoiled for choice as to where to go, even from the outset of the game.
This could be a long night…
Dead Rising’s story centers on Frank West, a photo-journalist who ends up trapped in a shopping mall in the town of Willamette, Colorado with a horde of infested, blood-thirsty zombies. He must defend himself from these undead creatures, rescue survivors, contend with crazed psychopaths who love the fact the world has ended and are using it to their advantage, and stay alive, while still attempting to uncover the truth behind the outbreak. Players control Frank as he explores the mall using any available object as a weapon. Several main and optional missions can be completed to earn Prestige Points and gain special abilities; the title is designed as a sandbox game and features several endings, depending on the decisions the player makes along the way.
Seeing as this is a zombie tale which takes place in a mall, many comparisons were made to the movie Dawn of the Dead at the time of release – so much so that Capcom had to put a disclaimer on the box basically saying that the game isn’t a rip-off. When you play, you realise that all the comparisons only go as far as the setting; the characters are totally original and so is the story, the many twists and turns keeping you entertained as you wonder what odd-ball survivor you’ll come across next. You find yourself wanting to roam the mall for hours trying to find these people and killing zombies, but a time limit makes all this exploration quite limited.
There’s not many people who can bench press a zombie.
The main objective of the game is to investigate the Willamette Parkview Mall and complete ‘Case Files’, missions that advance the storyline and reveal the cause of the zombie outbreak. The player has three days in which to do this before a helicopter will arrive to retrieve him. Time passes twelve-times faster in-game (ie one day is two hours in real-time) so the title automatically concludes after six hours of gameplay, and could be considered quite short nowadays. If you fail a mission the game doesn’t end, but different actions result in alternate endings at the end of the seventy-two-hour period. In addition to the Case Files, you’re offered the opportunity to rescue other survivors but at times they’re frustrating: they don’t stay with you and can easily be picked off either by the undead themselves or from ‘psychopaths’, boss characters who have either been driven insane by the zombie attacks or are using the outbreak as cover for their own purposes. Alternatively, the player can ignore all missions and play as a sandbox game, wandering though the mall seeing how many strange things they can come across.
A counter at the bottom right corner of the screen helps you keep track of how many zombies have been slaughtered. There can be up to eight-hundred of the rotting undead on screen at once and – believe me – they’re relentless. During the day the zombies are sluggish and weak but at night they become more active and can be quite tough, particularly if a large group overwhelm you.
Dead Rising is notable for the hundreds of weapons that players can find in the mall and use against the zombies: there are over 250 items, ranging from powerful to near-useless. They’ll break down or run out of ammunition over time, and some can be changed by the environment, such as frying pans which can be heated on a stove to both increase damage and gain access to a special move. Large items, like benches or cash registers, can be used but obviously aren’t stored in your inventory and are dropped if you pick up or switch to another item. Many of the more useless weapons exist purely for having a laugh such as a Megabuster from Mega Man that shoots tennis balls, or a glowing light-sword toy.
The game can still hold its own today graphically-speaking, even seven years on. The visuals are crisp, clean and clear and the brightness of the colours make it look vibrant; other zombie games seem dark and grey in comparison where developers try to get too realistic, with burned-out cars and trails of blood everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of scary realism; but in titles like Dead Rising that are there to just have fun with, there’s no need for all that.
Frank’s pretty handy with his wood.
The non-realistic nature of Dead Rising means Capcom could over-exaggerate on pretty much everything, including the sound. The cutting-down of zombies is very satisfying, with a big squelch as you chop them in half or put a hammer through their heads. The voice-acting can only be described as ‘OK’ though, as some survivors don’t really sound as scared as they should be at times. Seeing as this is Dead Rising, I would have expected over-the-top screams and reactions.
You’ll find yourself going back to the game time and time again; maybe not for the story, but for the sheer fun of simply running about the mall and trying to beat your score of how many zombies you knocked off during your last playthrough. Another thing that will keep players occupied is the amount of costumes you can get your hands on. You’d be silly to just stick to Frank’s old brown leather jacket when you can bash the undead in a sharp suit or in casual wear – and I defy anyone to put him in a dress and not laugh their arse off.
This guy is a little odd…
Overall, Dead Rising is a great zombie game that thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously: if it did, it would fail on all levels. I’ve had this title since its release and it’s one I’ve never gotten rid of or traded in. It’s something you know you’ll play again and again and, in terms games in this particular genre, it has to be one of the all-time classics.
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