Zombies and video games have gone hand in hand ever since Capcom introduced its Biohazard series (known as Resident Evil outside Japan) to the world. Capcom is ready to go back to the zombie drawling board, so to speak, with the upcoming game from Mega Man creator Kenji Inafune, Dead Rising.

Unlike the Resident Evil titles, Dead Rising doesn’t’ exactly take itself seriously and is actually a lot like the classic George A. Romero zombie flick “Dawn of the Dead” which depicts a town being taken over by zombies and a small handful of survivors seeking refuge inside the local mall. In Dead Rising you play as Frank West, a photojournalist looking to get the scope of a lifetime, our friend Frank finds himself in a very similar Romero, Dawn of the Dead esque, scenario when Frank is sent out to photograph the zombie infestation of the fictional town of Williamette, Colorado.

Once Frank arrives in Williamette via helicopter and he heads straight to the mall, where the zombies seem to pack in. He will have more than his share of photo opportunities and in Dead Rising you will be able to snap a photo whenever you please during the game, which will result in getting Frank “PP” points which will allow players to upgrade Frank’s stats, such as his speed, attack, and number of items Frank can hold at once. This should help flesh out the gameplay in Dead Rising. At it’s core though Dead Rising is still about bashing in the brains of the brain dead with practically anything that isn’t glued to the ground; including flower pots, light sabers, cash registers, and even the heads of those cute little Servbots from the Mega Man Legends games.



Dead Rising is a mission based game and the missions will consist of Frank helping out other people in the mall by fighting off the zombie hordes by their side or carrying the injured to safety, there is also something called “Case Files” that you will find and piece together throughout the game. The case files should help flesh out Dead Rising’s story as to why these zombies are all in the mall in the first place. You’ll have to make sure you keep a nice time schedule though, the main game is called “72 Hour Mode” and it’s exactly what it sounds like, you’ll have a total of 72 hours to make it back to the helicopter that drops you off at the start of the game. Once you have conquered the “72 Hour Mode” you will unlock an unlimited time mode, allowing you to go back and do as you please with no worries of time running out.

Dead Rising isn’t going to wow people with it’s graphics like a title the likes of Gears of War, but it defiantly looks good and has its own unique look and style. The thousands of the zombies that swarm the screen are all unique and none look exactly alike. The fallen zombies also don’t just simply mysteriously vanish like many enemies in other games do, instead the bodies will rack up across the mall floor as you slaughter a countless number of undead, sadistic, yes. Satisfying, you bet your ass it is!

With the dry summer coming to a close soon, Dead Rising could be the title to keep 360 owners busy until the fall. Killing countless hordes of zombies with anything that isn’t tied to the ground? How can you not have fun with that?



Demo thoughts: The Dead Rising demo had just been added to the Xbox Live marketplace and while it only lasts about 15 minutes, it gives you a great taste of things to expect out of the retail version of Dead Rising. In the demo you are basically given a small portion of the mall to explorer, if you leave that area you are treated with a nice cut scene followed by the end of the demo. In the demo I was able to hit zombies with bowling balls, shopping carts, water guns, and my personal favorite, throwing pie in a zombie’s face just like in Dawn of the Dead.

If the demo is any indication then Dead Rising might become a must have title for the Xbox 360. Check back at 360 Advanced next week for our full review of Dead Rising, but until then go chop till’ you drop in the Willamette Mall with the Xbox Live demo.