All the missions have a time limit and if you fail to reach the place in time you will loose the mission. Loosing a mission usually means that someone dies and you missed out on some points, but if you fail a main mission, you will have to go back and load the game. Because of the stupid walky-talky, you are always loaded with more missions than you have time for, so you have to pick and choose what you want to do.
Save innocent lives, or play on the treadmills? The choice is yours.Because you are missing out on so many of the missions, you will naturally want to go back and play the game over and over again until you have done everything. Even if you somehow manage to complete every single mission on the first run through, Dead Rising still has incredible replay value, despite that fact that there is no online or multiplayer. If you played the demo, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. There is something about killing as many zombies as possible with all sorts of wacky weapons that keeps you coming back. With the addition of Xbox Live “Achievements” to score some Gamer Points, this game will long and often be in your Xbox 360.
The graphics in Dead Rising are well done, if a bit inconsistent. The environments are outstanding while the character models are just a notch above what the previous generation could pull off, even in the FMV sequences. The lighting is probably the best part of the visuals, adding to the brilliance of the environment. Sunlight shines through large windows when it is a bright afternoon. As such, the lighting is dependent upon what time it is in the game, as it’s an adaptation to “real-time”, though 1 hour in the game is 5 minutes to you and I. The afternoon is where the graphics really shine… literally. Daytime is colorful and comfortable whereas the nighttime is creepy and dark. To send that point home, the zombies’ eyes glow red at night and they are harder to kill, which makes the game feel a lot more like it should be.
How do I look?While the graphics are sound, the audio is just a little better. The sound effects made by all the different weapons in the game are the high point. Whether you are slicing zombies in two with a katana, or just bombing them on the head with a teddy bear, it is going to sound great and realistic. The voice acting, which it mostly during cut-scenes, is also recorded very well. The character’s voices all fit their design and assist the character development throughout the game. It would have been nice, however, to have a lot more voice-overs for the side missions that you receive over your walky-talky so that there is a clear understanding of the mission importance and goal.
Dead Rising is a good game, but is it $60 worth of good? With no multiplayer and many annoying problems, it is hard to say it’s worth it. If you enjoyed the demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace and can’t stop playing it, then it will likely be worth your money. However, expect to be let down by a few of the issues mentioned here. The demo seemed very polished where as the full game seemed rushed. If you aren’t sure about Dead Rising, rent it first and see how you like it.
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| The Core Score |
Overall
8 |
| Fun |
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9 |
| Gameplay |
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7.5 |
| Graphics |
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7.5 |
| Audio |
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8 |
| Replay |
|
9.5 |
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| Kid Safe Score |
| 2 Horrible |
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Dead Rising contains loads of blood, gore, and violence; and of course lots of killing. Not intended for younger gamers. |
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