Dead Rising

by Adam, 10.05.06

Welcome To the Mall, Please Kill Everyone

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Dead Rising is that intriguing breed of game that will have you singing its praises one moment, and then driving your controller into the wall the next. It combines over-the-top, intuitive and gory action with hardcore punishment, and objectives that force you to be punctual and goal oriented. You have to be on top of everything in Dead Rising. Even more so if you own a standard definition television.

Dead Rising casts you as Frank West, ballsy journalist investigating some disturbance in a mall. In that it's crawling with undead. As a gamer, this is of course almost heaven. Going to a mall and destroying everything in sight certainly sounds like a choice way to spend a few days (ahem... whether you're killing zombies or not), but Dead Rising makes you adhere to the characteristics of being a journalist. In gameplay, you'll get tips from a safe area within the mall as to where to look for the next big scoop. It's all about finding people in trouble, taking some pictures and killing zombies. I can appreciate Capcom's intentions here, keep the player moving so that the plot will have a greater impression and the action will always be fresh. But I found times where I just wanted to murder everything and not have to worry about "Jill Carson who is holed up in a camera store in the west wing"

It is fortunate then, that Dead Rising's plot is damn good. In addition to being brisk it's got a lot of subtle messages conveyed through its story. Jabs against commercialism and materialism are frequent, as is political commentary on ex-patriots, disillusionment, freedom of the press and imperialism. It's really quite surprising when you finish the game. In one sense you've just indulged in what is probably the campiest game ever to hit the market. Mowing zombies down with a literal lawnmower is about as eloquent as 50 Cent in a Parliament session, but the plot has excellent dialogue and should really be experienced by those looking for games with serious emotional messages to throw in the face of industry naysayers. I would offer one caveat though, many of the game's boss (known as psychopaths) encounters are extremely disturbing and downright bizarre, and it's almost impossible to examine the deep plot when looking at these guys/gals.

Despite the excellent story sometimes the game really is asking too much of your average gamer. As already intimated, Dead Rising is nothing near its first impression. The game moves in a real time structure so that events occur in perfect sequence. It's pretty cool, but I was soon feeling the micromanagement as the words, "Another piece of the truth has gone missing!" flashed across the screen. You see, I had decided to play around for awhile and neglect my journalist duties.
If you miss too many pieces of the truth than the game "ends" and the only way to progress further in the narrative is to reload your last save. But even that might force you to restart the game if you had saved after the point of no return. There is only one save slot which is really annoying for those who save under less than ideal conditions. The game simply forces you suck it up and restart the entire game if that's the case. Harsh indeed.

That's the main problem, and the only other one here is micro sized text. If you have a standard definition television then understanding your objectives takes some squinting, and forget about reading the handy information ticker that pops up every now and then. I suggest investing in a rather large magnifying glass, or an HDTV.

That said, the basic gameplay is fantastic. The wealth of stores provides an insane amount of potential weapons. Most will just distract or annoy the zombies, but there are plenty of objects left over to make the blood flow. The combat is visceral and satisfying, and there's a great balance of quick, light weapons, and stentorian brutalizers. Every weapon can be thrown as well, and the aiming controls are just like Resident Evil 4's, although not as fast as the laser sight. Finally, there are a number of comical weapons, including servo bot heads that can be thrown on a zombie to confuse it, Mega Man's own arm cannon (which lamentably does not do any damage), and the ability to heat frying pans on stoves that, when applied to a zombie's face, create a very satisfying hiss.

Which brings me to Dead Rising's most polished feature, the sound. Every single facet of which is spectacular. Be it mood setting dirges, different sounds for footsteps, howls, crunches, squishes, screams, spurts, revs, slams, and the like. I haven't seen a game with sound design this well done since BLACK.
Graphically it's a fine looking title. Faces are expressive and well synced, the animation is top notch, and everything is just very clean looking. Ironic, considering the amount of blood that's spilled, but there isn't a single displeasing visage in the game.... and that's on a standard tv.

Final Word

I really enjoyed Dead Rising for its literary surprises, but the game is at its best when it's just you fighting the zombies. A wonky save system and horrible TV optimization bring the overall score down. However, if you own an HDTV add half a point to that. And if you're a die hard George Romero fan then add a full point.