Audio/Video
The graphics in Dead Rising are very impressive. There’s very little to be said against this game as Capcom must have spent ages perfecting every aspect of it. Texturing, lighting and the various panning motion blur effects are generally superb. The in game character models look detailed too, and no matter what attire Frank wears, he always looks good.
The in game engine used for the incredible cut scenes are probably the best I’ve seen so far on the 360. They look truly incredible, and professionally done. The opening scenes are almost enough to persuade anyone to purchase a 360 alone given the visual quality. Seeing the facial hair on a key female characters face is extremely impressive. How the engine manages to keep a solid frame rate with literally thousands of zombies on screen at once is beyond me. I had no frame rate drops at all during my lengthy gaming sessions and everything was remarkably smooth. The downside to this is that there are loading screens, thankfully they don’t make you wait very long so it doesn’t detract from the gameplay.
Visuals wise, Dead Rising cannot be faulted at all, and this transfers to the audio side of the game which is equally impressive. No one can beat, let alone match Capcom when it comes to zombie games. The moaning, shuffling zombies sound spot on, and the weapons sound perfect and weighted. Killing zombies with a sword invokes a lovely ‘slash’ sound that is satisfying. Sledgehammers have a heavy impact thud sound that feels spot on. The voice acting is superb, but nothing special in this day and age.
Multiplayer
Dead Rising sadly has no multiplayer aspects to it. Given the nature of the game Capcom would be hard pressed to come up with anything decent, although if they allowed Co-Op mode for fighting through the zombie hordes, that could have actually worked.
Achivements
Dead Rising has the best achievements I’ve seen in any 360 game to date. They are the reason why I played this game constantly 14 times in succession. They’re so well implemented and enjoyable to obtain – well apart from one. Defeating 53,594 zombies was not fun!
Conclusion
Dead Rising is yet another essential 360 game that everyone should purchase. Almost every aspect of the game is perfect, and gameplay is very addictive and enjoyable. Dead Rising doesn’t take itself too seriously and you’ll feel compelled to last the full 72hrs just to get that true ending.
The game however isn’t very friendly to low level players or newbies. Since you begin the game with only a few cubes of health, levelling up should be at the top of everyone’s priority. After Lv12 the game becomes much easier and you’ve got access to a greater array of fighting moves and a larger inventory so naturally staying alive is easier.
If you remain patient you’ll have a hugely enjoyable game at your disposal. One which is very addictive and hugely enjoyable.
Rating: 9/10
Pro’s:
- Superb graphics and cut scenes
- Engrossing if non-original storyline
- Superb use of sound all round
- Huge variety of weapons and objects to kill zombies with
- Funny psycho boss characters
Cons:
- NPC AI can cause problems
- Otis ringing you up at the worst of times will make you go mad
- No multiplayer. Co-Op would have been an immense boost