Dead Rising review by Tyson
Overall
Buy
It's going to sound weird for me to recommend such a flawed game but Dead Rising is one of the best flawed games out there. Dead Rising proves that killing zombies while being stuck in a mall is so much fun. Dead Rising is such a unique game that I have to recommend anyone to pick up this game for their Xbox 360.
Gameplay
Most games featuring zombies usually have a dark or frightening atmosphere but Dead Rising goes for a much more lighthearted and funny atmosphere. In Dead Rising we play as the photo journalist Frank West and a story lead has him going to Willamette, Colorado to find out what is going on. Frank arrives just as the zombie apocalypse has started and after being dropped off at a mall helicopter pad it is up to him to find the cause of this zombie outbreak. What is really impressive and also annoying about the story is that you can avoid it completely. Sadly when you do want to replay the story you always have to start at the beginning and not where you left off last. The games time system can also cause you to miss story events which will lock out progressing the story which then requires you to start over again and that is annoying.
Easily the best aspect of Dead Rising is the environment that it puts you in. Being stuck in this Willamette mall is a fantastic design choice. Much like any mall you have tons of stores and areas to explore. Each store can also open up a new way to fight the zombies. Maybe you can find a baseball bat in a sports store, or a stack of plates in a food court, or maybe you will smash some zombie skulls in with a dumbbell from the gym. The Willamette mall itself is a pretty decent size but how the game handles this is a bit messy. This is because each section of the mall has its own loading screen and some really annoying enemies, like the prison convicts, inhabit certain areas.
Fighting the zombies while you adventure around the mall is thankfully a very fun endeavor. There is so many items laying around waiting for you to use to beat down some zombies. Some items like a big teddy bear are there for laughs but then picking up a chainsaw from the hardware store feels awesome as you cut zombies in half. Sadly each item you use will eventually break which sucks but it does give you a reason to try out lots of different weapons. While fighting the zombies is a lot fun fighting the various humans are not. Many of the games bosses are these deranged humans that are annoying to fight. While they have some crazy designs like a crazy clown or an obese corrupt police officer but each of these bosses require way to many hits. Beating each boss feels like it's more about cheesing the games mechanics then using actual skill.
The leveling system in Dead Rising is cool but also problematic. The game severally limits what you can do at the start until you raise your level by collecting Prestige Points. You manly get these from saving people which is very annoying due to bad A.I. Your survivors are always get trapped in groups of zombies or on things like doors or potted plants. It requires way to much effort to save people and it gets very frustrating. When you do start leveling up things get better by giving you more life, more inventory space, and some great combat moves to fight off group of zombies or other crazed humans.
I was really surprised how many little secrets that are in Dead Rising. Some powerful weapons like a mega man style arm cannon can be unlocked. There are lots of way to get extra Prestige Points like running on all the treadmills in the gym. You can do other neat things like cook some food for extra health regeneration or even mix some food items in a blender for extra effects.
Control
Overall I found the control to be okay. Using the analog sticks to move and control the camera. Other buttons are using to attack, use your camera, and interact with items or objects. I did find it annoying that a dive move is activated by clicking in the left analog stick. I ended up accidentally activating this move throughout the game and it was very frustrating.
Graphics
I liked how many character models looked, the mall environment was neat, and I was impressed with the amount of zombies on screen. Yet there are also weird issues with the graphics like objects popping into view which can be very annoying. There is also a very limited about of zombies models in the game. It does look weird to see the same Hawaiian shirt knife wielding zombie one after another.
Sound
I felt the sound and audio was well done. The boss battle music helps add to the tension of fighting them and the mall has a nice theme played as you adventure around it. Some enemies like the prison convicts have their own soundtrack which is nice. Character voices sound great as well but it gets annoying to constantly hear them crying in the security room.