Dead Rising Review for XB360
Have you ever found yourself in a mall, surrounded by people shoving and pushing each other as they pass by with glazed looks in their eyes?
Welcome to Williamette mall and Capcom’s “Dead Rising”; A new third person zombie-killing action game for the XB360.
I’ve been thereâÂ?¦actually almost everyday was like that in the mall I used to work at. The odd groan or grunt from the masses of people as they stumbled through the food court. I can appreciate this game and maybe learn something from it.
You take the role of Frank West, a freelance photojournalist with what appears to be a death-wish. The town of Williamette, Colorado has been sealed and cut off. No one knows why, and Frank, with a nose for a story smells his next Pulitzer. If only he knew that was actually the smell of rotting flesh!
Frank flies to Williamette via helicopter and, to his surprise witnesses the town has been over-run by the living dead. In a bid to survive he heads for the closest and safest place he can find�a police station you ask? No silly, a shopping mall of course!
Strong story-line, no, not reallyâÂ?¦if anyone has watched zombie movies in the past, you’ll know that’s not really the order of the day. In fact, the basis of the game seems to have many similarities to George Romero’s 1978 cult hit “Dawn of the Dead” (The two, however, are NOT connected) in which two SWAT team members infiltrate the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the town is being over-run by the un-dead who for some reason swarm to the mall (Must of heard about that sale at “Victoria’s Secret). What ensues in both is a blood and gore filled orgy of fun!
For me, the next generation of gaming is all about extreme interactivity. If I can see it, I want to go there, touch it..use it to kill someone, you know! Sure, give me beautiful graphics, perfect pixel shading and lighting but please, pleaseâÂ?¦give me a game I can truly interact with! This is where “Dead Rising” takes me closer than any XB360 game to date.
The game allows for interactivity with almost everything you see. You have the whole shopping mall at your whim, just don’t forget about your survival. Killing will be the order of the day. Wanna kill a zombie with a music CD or a mall bench? Go ahead (Just re-live in your mind last Christmas at the mall when everyone was pushing and shoving to get to the video game store to pick up that last copy of “True Crime – New York City”, ugh and you should find more than enough hostility) Each item has it’s own animation when attacking with and creates some really humorous situations. Picture hitting a zombie repeatedly with a Gibson guitar, while it slowly falls apart (the guitar AND the zombie).
That’s right. Almost everything throughout the mall can in someway be used to aid in your survival. From actual weapons such as shot guns, jungle knives etc to makeshift weapons like BMXs, basketballs and even vehicles (can you say John Deer?).
All fun and games aside, the direction of the game is strongly driven by the story line. The game takes place over a seventy two hour period which begins the minute you step foot in the mall. (in-game hours are not real-time hours with each one equaling approximately 5 minutes of gameplay). Completing missions or “cases”, you will encounter escort, search, retrieve and rescue missions. You will run into survivors throughout the mall who can join you and help, or hinder.
The game also makes use of Frank’s greatest skill; photojournalism. Armed with your trusty camera, you must document your seventy two hour hell for your story, just don’t forget to pick up extra batteries from the electronics store (no really, you actually can do that in the game). Taking pics allows you to level up, giving you extra health, inventory space and new zombie-killing special moves (It’s a good job Frank studied martial arts with Jet Li before become a photojournalist).
The game also features XBOX LIVE features including the much loved “Achievements” which are un-locked throughout the game.
Has anyone else felt the sting of slow down of summer video game releases? Ouch. I have an XB360..I want next gen games! “Prey” was cool, but shortâÂ?¦and complicatedâÂ?¦and with the game-drought inspired frustration the cry is “I just want to kill stuff!” This is why I feel that “Dead Rising” will do well. It is innovative and fresh enough to give XB360 gamers what they are thirsting for. Capcom has a good history where survival horror games are concerned (“Resident Evil” anyone) and I believe they have a winner here. Just don’t linger too long in that lingerie storeâÂ?¦there can’t be any weapons in there, can there?
Published by: Capcom
Developed by: Capcom
Genre: Third-Person Action
Release Date:
US: August 8, 2006
Europe: September 8, 2006
ESRB Content Descriptors: Rated M For Mature : Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Use of Alcohol, Partial Nudity
Price: $59.99
