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Dead Rising (video game)

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Dead Rising
Game Cover
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 1
Publisher(s)Capcom
Designer(s)Keiji Inafune (producer)
Platform(s)Xbox 360
ReleaseUnited States of America August 8, 2006
European Union September 8, 2006 [1]
Australia/New Zealand September 15, 2006[2]
Japan: September 28, 2006 [citation needed]
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single player

Dead Rising is a single-player video game for the Xbox 360 produced by Keiji Inafune and development by Capcom. It was released in North America on August 8, 2006. [3] [4] A playable demo was released for download to the Xbox 360 from the Xbox Live Marketplace on August 4, 2006.[5][6]

Storyline

The game takes place from September 19th to 22nd, 2006. The player character, Frank West, is an "overly zealous freelance photojournalist"[7] who investigates a series of suspicious goings-on in Willamette, a small town in Colorado, by helicopter, as the town has been quarantined by the National Guard. Flying overhead, he notices a large crowd attacking, but isn't sure what is going on. He is forced to land on the mall roof to get the scoop. He tells the pilot to return to pick him up in 72 hours, the time in which he must get his story and stay alive. The player must rescue other survivors and get out of the mall alive with the best scoop possible.

Gameplay

Frank West wishes to win a Pulitzer Prize for his story. During the game the player must choose between taking pictures, fighting the living dead, or managing both, bringing a twist to the gameplay. If the player takes good enough pictures, he may later win a Pulitzer, but it may make surviving more difficult. The player can also help other people being attacked by zombies, or let them get eaten, taking pictures of their demise. Depending on the actions a player chooses, the ending will vary.

File:Dead rising.jpg
An early image of Dead Rising

The main character can use hundreds of everyday items as weapons to kill zombies. Trailers show the player using a lawnmower, baseball bats, swords, CDs, 2x4's, showerheads, chairs, plates, bowling balls, knives, tennis racquets, chainsaws, hockey sticks, plastic lightsabers, safety cones, pies, plasma screen TVs, potted plants, fully deployed beach umbrellas, a battle axe from an antique store[8] and the more conventional shotguns, machine guns and pistols. There are over 250 items that a player can use to attack zombies.[9][4] Electronic Gaming Monthly explained there can be up to 800 zombies on the screen at once.[10] During the day the zombies are more sluggish, but at night they become more active and deadly.[11][12]

Open ended

Previews for Dead Rising described an open game like Grand Theft Auto: "Designed to be totally open-ended, Dead Rising allows you to investigate whatever you want, kill whoever you want and finish the game by completing whatever objectives you saw fit."[9] While there is a giant mall to explore, and players can occupy themselves with zombie hunting and item collecting, the game itself runs on a fairly strict clock. If a player runs around the mall too long, it becomes impossible to finish the primary objectives and resolve the plot. However, if the player fails an objective early in the game he/she will be given the option to resume the game; they then can freely explore the mall but cannot complete the game. There's also an "Infinite Mode" the player can unlock by fulfilling the objectives and completing the game; however, for this mode, the player's life drains slowly, hampering the player's ability to explore.

Save system

Dead Rising has an unusual save system: only one game-in-progress can be saved per memory device per profile. For Xbox 360 owners with hard drives, the only way to secure additional save slots is with Xbox 360 memory cards or by creating another Xbox Live Gamertag or using another profile. With this single-save system, it is possible to save a game far away from a critical objective with little time remaining, making it impossible to reach the next objective in time, and thus, impossible to complete the plot.

In these cases, Dead Rising allows players to save their current level and status, and restart the game from the beginning as a more powerful player. The system is a deliberate game mechanic, borrowed from one of Capcom's RPGs Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter [13] - the two games share some development team members.

The save game system has adversely affected the critical reception of Dead Rising: reviews from publications including 1UP and Games Radar questioned the juxtaposition of an unforgiving save structure and an open world environment.

Reaction

Dead Rising has earned generally positive reviews. GWN.com has a five page spread along with a video review, awarding it a rating of 89%, claiming "Dead Rising is not the best game on the Xbox 360, but it may well be the most fun." 1UP.com, which rated it 8/10, states that the game "provides a wealth of secrets and mysteries for both eager gamers and the adventuresome." TeamXbox.com gave it a 8.7/10, also earning an Editor's Choice Award. IGN gave the game an 8.3/10 while GameSpot rated it 8.4/10. [1]. GameSpy awarded it an Editor's Choice Award with a 4.5/5 score [2] while Yahoo! Video Games gave it the highest score of 5/5 stars [3].

The reviews shared a general consensus. All the reviewers commended the game's "sandbox" style mall to explore and the sheer amount of ways to kill the hundreds of zombies. The complaints mostly surrounded the archaic save system described above. Other complaints concerned the weak artificial intelligence, lack of multiplayer, difficult-to-read text on SDTVs, and the overall repetitiveness of the gameplay itself.

Due to its graphic violence, the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle, Germany's equivalent to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, has refused to rate the game. Because of that, only adults are allowed to buy the game and advertisement is forbidden.[14]

Prior to its release, Dead Rising topped the video game sellers chart of Amazon.com.

Trivia

  • The game's shopping mall environment is very similar to George A. Romero's classic zombie movie Dawn of the Dead. Because of such a similarity, Capcom has issued a disclaimer in the beginning of the game which states that this game is not licensed by George Romero as a game based on the movie, but more or less is a tribute to it.
  • Despite the presence of zombies, the game is not officially tied to Capcom's Resident Evil series. Inafune explained that the game is different in tone compared to the Resident Evil series. This is reflected by the main character himself, who is not a "cool" hero working for a special task force, but an average citizen with a common job.
  • Dead Rising alludes to the original Resident Evil game in the name of sandwich bar, "Jill's Sandwiches". This is based on Barry's infamous line in Resident Evil, "You were almost a Jill Sandwich!"
  • One of the "Accomplishments" in Dead Rising, "Zombie Genocider", is unlocked if the player kills 53,594 zombies. The unusual number is announced in the opening cutscene as the population of Willamette, Colorado, where the game takes place.
  • A costume that resembles the famous Capcom character Mega Man is available when the player earns the "Punisher" and "Unbreakable" achivements.
  • In another Mega Man reference, Mega Man's Helmet and Mega Buster (which shoots tennis balls) can be found in the movie theatre gift shop.
  • Earning the "Zombie Genocider" achievement unlocks Mega Man's real Mega Buster, which is the most powerful weapon in the game. Even though it only holds 300 rounds to shoot, it kills bosses in just a few shots.
  • A section of the mall is called "Movieland"; a reference to Capcom's Viewtiful Joe series.
  • One of the movies listed in the cinema in the mall is "Mega Man 2", a direct reference to the game of the same name. The player can also find Mega Man merchandise in the cinema store, including a toy Mega Man helmet, and a foam ball-launching Mega Buster.
  • A Mega Man Legends reference is themed around the Servbots. The player can take plastic Servbot heads and place them on him/herself or the heads of Zombies.
  • One of the articles of clothing the player can wear is red hearts underwear from the the Capcom game, Ghosts 'n Goblins.
  • Another Mega Man reference is visible on the menu on Frank's watch. The name of the watch is Mega Man, with an "M" logo.

References

  1. ^ "Dead Rising Banned in Germany?". www.1up.com. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
  2. ^ "Dead Rising + Bonus! (Xbox 360)". www.gpstore.co.nz. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
  3. ^ "Release Dates". www.capcom.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
  4. ^ a b "Dead Rising". xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17. Release date August 8, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "ign" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Dead Rising Demo Lurches onto Marketplace". Xbox Live Marketplace. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  6. ^ "Demo: Dead Rising". www.majornelson.com. Retrieved 2006-08-04. Xbox Live members can now download a demo for Dead Rising. This demo is not available in Mexico, Germany, Australia, New Zealand or Asia.
  7. ^ "Dead Rising (Xbox 360)". teamxbox.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
  8. ^ "Dead Rising - Hands On Impressions". 360.advancedmn.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
  9. ^ a b "Dead Rising Preview". www.myxbox360.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
  10. ^ Boyer, Crispin (2006). "Dead Rising". Electronic Gaming Monthly. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "Xbox 360: Dead Rising Preview". www.halflifesource.com. 2006. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ "Dead Rising Preview for Xbox 360". www.xboxcore.com. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
  13. ^ "Dead Rising 360 Review". www.1up.com. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
  14. ^ http://www.dreisechzig.net/wp/archives/566


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