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(More customer reviews)Although I prefer FPS (first person shooters) to the 3rd person adventure games, I loved the latest installments of the Lara Croft and the Hitman series games. As of this writing, I have completed Dead Rising in the 72 hour mode and am now replaying the game to try to earn all of the achievements.
Dead Rising is a brand-new genre for the Xbox 360. It's closest cousin is Condemned, a first person horror adventure game but Dead Rising has a number of unique features that set it apart. First off, you can pick up just about anything in the area and use it as a weapon. Potted plants, lawnmowers and even an electric guitar are all at your disposal. There are easily hundreds of potential weapons in this game and part of the fun is discovering new ways to fight off zombies with what you have available at hand.
Adding to the distinct style of Dead Rising is the ability to customize your character. As you make your way through the mall, you can try on new clothing available from the various shops. Cool suits, fashionable glasses and, yes, even women's and children's apparel is fair game to put on. Besides wearing it as you battle the zombies, your character will also appear as you have dressed him during the video cut-scenes, which is a nice extra touch I was delighted to see. Food has also been given special "abilities" in the game. For example, you might find a frozen or raw food somewhere in the mall. If you eat it, you earn one or two points of health. But pop it into an oven before you eat it, and it will completely fill your health meter. Likewise, you can mix certain fluids in a blender can make an extra powerful energy drink!
If you can't tell by everything I've already mentioned, this game is deep. I've only touched the surface to avoid revealing any spoilers, but trust me when I say you can get totally wrapped up in this game. The plot, the game and every little thing (be sure to check out the bookstore!) in the vast mall has been developed with so much detail that you'll find yourself enthralled by it.
However, when undertaking such an ambitious project, there have to be some downfalls. The absolutely worst is the save game methodology. The developers have decided that you must find a restroom or a couch to save. While this seemed cute and clever at first, it quickly became frustrating and enraging (when you couldn't find one right before you got forced into a boss fight). Every player on the planet will find this feature problematic, I guarantee.
One thing that other reviewers haven't mentioned is that some of the level bosses (called "Psychopaths") are redundant or unfairly matched. For example, often you'll be faced with enemies with devastating long-range weapons when all you have is a knife or 2x4 to try and knock out your opponent with. In another boss attack, I literally started at a save point and had to go through two full levels to face a boss who would inevitably defeat me and then I'd have to start all over again. These opponents often have a move that will completely incapacitate you in a single swipe, even when you have full health. This, combined with the fact that you will often have to run halfway across the map (where your last game save was) to repeat the battle, makes the game incredibly annoying. If you could ammo up, then save right before the boss battle, the game would be considerably more enjoyable.
Another item, although mentioned by others in a different light, is the text-based mission objectives. Many reviewers have stated that the text is almost unreadable on smaller, standard definition televisions. However, my biggest complaint in this area is that the text is used at all. This game, by its very nature, is immersive. When you're trapped in a mall and having to fight zillions of zombies, you shouldn't have to stop to read the text of another character. I honestly wish Capcom had spent a little extra time and money to change all of the text interactions to spoken instructions. Not only would this have solved their biggest technical problem with the game, it would have also helped keep the suspense.
Finally, there's a lot of "load-screen-itis" in this game. And by that, I mean that you'll be seeing a lot of the loading screen. Granted, the mall is a huge environment, and the load times are a snappy 5-6 seconds, but it gets annoying when you walk into an elevator and wait, walk down a hallway and wait, turn left and wait... You get the picture.
There is no online component to allow multiplayer (which would be awesome!) but Dead Rising does have downloadable content from Xbox Live. It was available just days after the game released and consists of eight "keys" which unlock several new outfits for the main character, available at no charge. As you'd expect, the game also supports Xbox Achievements, with 50 of them to earn, each worth 20 Gamerscore points. You'll have to spend hundreds (if not thousands!) of hours in this game trying to obtain all of these objectives and I don't consider many of them a "walk in the park."
Honestly, it seems like I'm spending a lot of time picking on the problems of this game, but they will plague you as you try to play through the levels. But when it comes right down to it, this game has all 5 "Es" that make it a powerhouse: Exciting plot, Engaging environments, Enlightening characters, 360 Exclusivity and Encredible customization! (OK, that last one wasn't an "E" but you'll have to forgive me, just like you'll have to forgive certain flaws in this game!) In short, you should definitely pick this game up, but love it for everything it accomplishes while forgiving it for the technical problems that it has. I give it a solid 5 stars for fun, but a 3 star rating for the inherent problems.
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Product Description:
Dead Rising follows the harrowing tale of Frank West, a freelance photojournalist after the scoop of a lifetime. In a small suburban town that's overrun by zombies, he escapes to the local shopping mall, thinking it will be safe. Now it's a standoff, with zombies unable to get Frank, but him unable to get out & escape. Fortunately, he's got an entire mall at his disposal. Utilize everything you can find to fight off the flesh-hungry mob and search for the truth behind the horrendous epidemic.
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