By NICK McCOY
Tiger Media Network
Ever since George A. Romero’s iconic “Night of the Living Dead,” Zombies have become a staple of fiction. Human corpses coming back to life and wreaking havoc can be found everywhere in media, from movies, books, TV shows, and, of course, video games. The thing is, the zombie apocalypse, and the whole idea of the zombie itself has become quite stale over the years. They’re either far too similar across all types of media, are simply used as window dressing for a story, or are just not as threatening or exciting as they should be. None of these are an issue for Capcom’s “Dead Rising.”
The brainchild of Capcom’s Keiji Inafune, best known for his work on the iconic “Mega Man” series, “Dead Rising” became an absolute phenomenon when it was released for Xbox 360 in 2006. With its goofy tone nicely contrasted by more serious story moments, a large level of freedom, and the sheer number of zombies on screen, “Dead Rising” soon made its way into Capcom’s ranks.
While there are aspects of “Dead Rising” I absolutely do not like, the majority of this game is beyond fantastic. From its intriguing story, memorable characters, unique charm and the complete satisfaction of mowing down hoards of zombies, “Dead Rising” is, in my opinion, a nearly perfect zombie slaying experience.
Release
- Released in August of 2006 as an exclusive to the Xbox 360.
- A Nintendo Wii port, subtitled “Chop ‘Till You Drop”, was released in 2007.
- A remastered version of the original game was released in September of 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PCs.
- Became the first game in the “Dead Rising” series, followed by “Dead Rising 2” in 2010.
Taking place in the fictional town of Willamette, Colorado, “Dead Rising” follows Frank West, a photojournalist who arrives in the town after hearing reports of strange occurrences. He soon discovers that the place has been overrun by zombies, and takes refuge in the Willamette Parkview Mall, the town’s massive shopping center, alongside many others. However, before long, the zombies are let loose inside the mall, forcing Frank to retreat to the building’s security room. Assisted by undercover DHS agents Brad and Jessie, and mall security guard Otis, Frank becomes determined to get the “scoop of a lifetime” and uncover the truth behind the outbreak, before a helicopter comes to extract him in three days. Along the way, Frank attempts to rescue other survivors, all while dealing with crazed occupants of the mall, known as psychopaths, and of course, the massive hoards of the undead that now freely roam the entire mall.
The story in “Dead Rising” is a lot more interesting than people may think. The characters are memorable and fully realized, and the themes explored throughout the story are actually pretty thought-provoking. Frank, as a protagonist, is genuinely great, crossing the fine line between a journalist trying to get his 15 minutes of fame, and someone who genuinely wants to uncover the truth behind this outbreak for the good of everyone. He also has this rather bizarre element to him, which I love. His interactions with other characters and the way the lines are delivered are complete gold, in my opinion. The game isn’t afraid to get serious, but also never takes itself too seriously. It’s no secret that “Dead Rising” as a series is pretty goofy, which is perfectly showcased when a cutscene is triggered with Frank wearing children’s clothes and a teddy bear head.
This perfect blend of comedy and drama is also perfectly captured with the psychopaths. Easily one of the series’ most iconic aspects, the psychopaths that Frank faces in this game are a great showcase of the game’s over-the-top presentation, while also showing that “Dead Rising” isn’t afraid to be grounded or tragic. Of course, a lot of the crazed survivors are played for laughs: psychotic supermarket owner Steve, the obese corrupt cop Jo, and the iconic, chainsaw-wielding Adam the clown. But then, there are characters like Cletus, Paul, and Cliff. Cletus is a gun store owner who has every reason to be scared of the other survivors and only acts in self-defense and out of paranoia. Paul, meanwhile, has been pushed to the breaking point, but can actually be saved and sees the error of his ways. Easily the most tragic is Cliff, a Vietnam war veteran who was overwhelmed by flashbacks after witnessing his granddaughter being devoured by zombies. These are all fantastic examples of Capcom’s ability to be serious while also being unafraid of being absolutely ridiculous.
Gameplay is where “Dead Rising” truly shines, and is what makes it such a great zombie title. Players can freely explore the mall any time they wish, with shortcuts and more accessible routes being unlocked by progressing through the story and defeating psychopaths. There are two types of missions: Case files, which progress the story, and Scoops, which are side missions that usually involve fighting psychopaths and rescuing survivors. By completing missions, killing zombies and taking pictures with Frank’s camera, players earn “Prestige Points,” or PP, which increases Frank’s level and gives him random perks, including increased speed, attack power, health or inventory space.
One thing players need to keep in mind is the timer: In order to get the true ending, players must complete all case files and be at the mall’s helipad in 72 hours, with each in-game day lasting roughly two hours of real-time. This adds some incredible tension to the game, and makes every decision you make have some weight. Whether you focus on rescuing survivors, defeating psychopaths or completing the story, time is always counting down. The thing is, it’s not even required for you to complete the case files to finish the game; players can choose to ignore them and explore the mall at their leisure, with multiple endings depending on the missions completed or whether or not you made it to the helipad. On top of this, players can only save their games in bathrooms or in the security room, making for some intense sections that may result in lots of progress lost. Some may not like the timer or the save system, but I think it adds so much to the “Dead Rising” experience.
Now, let’s get into what the bulk of your experience will be: killing zombies. The entire reason the game was originally an Xbox exclusive was because the higher processing power allowed for more zombies to be on screen. Indeed, the sheer amount of undead roaming the halls is staggering. What’s even more so is the number of things you can use against them; basically, anything that isn’t nailed down can be used as a weapon. Ranging from highly damaging items like guns, knives, hammers and chainsaws, things like chairs, racks, and wooden planks, to completely useless items like toy swords, water guns, and giant teddy bears. Anything and everything you can imagine can be used against the undead.
Each weapon has its own level of durability, and will eventually break, usually at the worst times. Health can also only be regenerated by food and drink items found around the mall. This creates some good tension, especially near the beginning when your inventory space is severely limited. Do you stock up on orange juice and pizza, or carry as many weapons as possible? And when a weapon inevitably breaks, you’ll usually gravitate to the nearest item: you’d be surprised how effective a potted plant and a plastic sign can be. Plus, I can’t think of any other zombie games where you can mow down hoards with a shopping cart. All of these factors make “Dead Rising” such an endlessly entertaining time.
Other notable aspects:
- An Infinity Mode: Unlocked after getting the game’s true ending, allowing players to freely explore the mall while trying to survive as long as possible.
- Unlocking weapons, including a laser sword and the mega buster from Mega-Man.
- You can start a new game and keep all of your stats and PP from your previous save
Unfortunately, there is one aspect of this game I absolutely can’t stand: escorting survivors. Rescuing survivors and taking them back to the security room is not required for completion, but does grant you a large amount of PP, and is genuinely satisfying to complete. However, the act of taking them to the security room basically encompasses everything I hate about escort missions. The survivor AI is simply terrible, often running directly into hoards of zombies or choosing to fight zombies rather than just running away. There will also be times when they just stand still, get stuck on geometry, or if you’re escorting more than four of them, will just get stuck on each other. I remember when I first played this game back in 2016, I often just let the survivors die rather than go through the painful process of escorting them. It may feel good to complete them, but the missions themselves are completely dreadful.
Other criticisms:
- Aiming weapons can be cumbersome
- The dodge roll mechanic you automatically get by leveling up does way more harm than good
- Frank runs like a goblin (This doesn’t affect gameplay whatsoever; I just felt it was worth pointing out)
Overall, despite my hatred of some aspects, I genuinely love “Dead Rising.” Its story and characters are way better than they have any right to be, with the perfect contrast of goofiness and seriousness that I appreciate. Killing zombies never gets old, and the sheer amount of ways you can do so provides endless entertainment. With equal parts difficulty, charm, and just genuine fun, “Dead Rising” is an absolutely fantastic zombie game that, with some adjustments, I could consider perfect.
Nick McCoy is a senior at Fort Hays State University, studying digital media and journalism. An avid gamer and music listener, he reviews video games and songs and hosts the radio show “The Understanding of Nick” for KFHS.
