Zombies
To paraphrase a Marine Corps saying: "Killing zombies is easy and fun". At least, it is when you're playing "Dead Rising", the latest zombie title from Capcom.
But let me clarify the above point a bit. When I say "easy", I'm talking about dealing with individual zombies or small groups of them. As one character tells you in the beginning, "The good news is, zombies are slow and stupid!" The bad news is that what the shuffling undead lack in speed and smarts, they make up for in sheer numbers. Dealing with one zombie is easy, dealing with 20 is a whole other matter.
"Dead Rising" puts you in the shoes of Frank West, a freelance photographer who gets wind of something going down in the secluded Colorado town of Willamette. After bypassing military roadblocks by hiring a helicopter to ferry you in, you touch down at the local mall to investigate.
The early stage of the game is peppered with quite a few cutscenes, but they are surprisingly engaging and set up an intriguing storyline. The character models are alarmingly realistic, right down to those wispy hairs women have on their cheeks, but there are quite a few uncanny valley moments.
As Frank explores the mall, you will discover vast array of zombie-killing implements, each with their own unique effects. In just an hour or so of play last night, I used a lead pipe, a 2x4, a baseball bat, a golf club, a cleaver, a sickle, and a pistol. The sickle was particularly satisfying. After Frank buries it in a zombie's neck, he dislodges it by bracing a foot against its chest and kicking it off, which has the effect of decapitating zombie in a gush of blood. I guess that why they say sickles really satisfy.
But even zombie-hacking would get old after a while, and so it's to Capcom's credit that they've designed a deeper and more engaging game. Frank's real objective is not to mow down endless numbers of zombies, but rather to uncover what the hell has gone so horribly wrong in Willamette. He does this by tracking down survivors and piecing together information from a couple of apparent government agents also trapped in the mall.
Frank also has to document what is happening by taking photos. The game walks you through a tutorial that instructs you on how to compose pictures with horrific, dramatic or erotic compositions. The more of those elements you can squeeze into a photo, the more "player points" you earn and the faster your skills improve.
There are also plenty of side missions, from checking out mysterious developments to rescuing other characters and leading them to safety.
I do, however, have two complaints. One is about the camera. Instead of staying right behind Frank all the time, he can rotate in your field of view so that what he's looking at isn't necessarily what you're looking. Sure, you can reorient the camera behind him with a click of the thumbstick, but it's still annoying, especialy when you're beset by a dozen zombies coming from all sides. It also makes it hard to use aimed weapons like the pistol.
The other complaint is about the save system. Basically, you have one save slot, and you can only save at your "home base" of the security room, or in the mall's bathrooms. Unfortunately, you can find yourself quite a ways away from those places while carrying out a mission, and if you die, you've just lost a good chunk of progress. Also, from some of the reviews, the single save slot can also be problematic because many of the missions are timed, and if you save at the wrong point, you may not have enough time to complete the mission, requiring a total restart.
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to some good old-fashioned zombie bashing, with a bit o' "X-Files"-style conspiracy thrown in to boot. If you're antsy for some good 360 action during the summer lull, it'd be worth your time to check out "Dead Rising".
But let me clarify the above point a bit. When I say "easy", I'm talking about dealing with individual zombies or small groups of them. As one character tells you in the beginning, "The good news is, zombies are slow and stupid!" The bad news is that what the shuffling undead lack in speed and smarts, they make up for in sheer numbers. Dealing with one zombie is easy, dealing with 20 is a whole other matter.
"Dead Rising" puts you in the shoes of Frank West, a freelance photographer who gets wind of something going down in the secluded Colorado town of Willamette. After bypassing military roadblocks by hiring a helicopter to ferry you in, you touch down at the local mall to investigate.
The early stage of the game is peppered with quite a few cutscenes, but they are surprisingly engaging and set up an intriguing storyline. The character models are alarmingly realistic, right down to those wispy hairs women have on their cheeks, but there are quite a few uncanny valley moments.
As Frank explores the mall, you will discover vast array of zombie-killing implements, each with their own unique effects. In just an hour or so of play last night, I used a lead pipe, a 2x4, a baseball bat, a golf club, a cleaver, a sickle, and a pistol. The sickle was particularly satisfying. After Frank buries it in a zombie's neck, he dislodges it by bracing a foot against its chest and kicking it off, which has the effect of decapitating zombie in a gush of blood. I guess that why they say sickles really satisfy.
But even zombie-hacking would get old after a while, and so it's to Capcom's credit that they've designed a deeper and more engaging game. Frank's real objective is not to mow down endless numbers of zombies, but rather to uncover what the hell has gone so horribly wrong in Willamette. He does this by tracking down survivors and piecing together information from a couple of apparent government agents also trapped in the mall.
Frank also has to document what is happening by taking photos. The game walks you through a tutorial that instructs you on how to compose pictures with horrific, dramatic or erotic compositions. The more of those elements you can squeeze into a photo, the more "player points" you earn and the faster your skills improve.
There are also plenty of side missions, from checking out mysterious developments to rescuing other characters and leading them to safety.
I do, however, have two complaints. One is about the camera. Instead of staying right behind Frank all the time, he can rotate in your field of view so that what he's looking at isn't necessarily what you're looking. Sure, you can reorient the camera behind him with a click of the thumbstick, but it's still annoying, especialy when you're beset by a dozen zombies coming from all sides. It also makes it hard to use aimed weapons like the pistol.
The other complaint is about the save system. Basically, you have one save slot, and you can only save at your "home base" of the security room, or in the mall's bathrooms. Unfortunately, you can find yourself quite a ways away from those places while carrying out a mission, and if you die, you've just lost a good chunk of progress. Also, from some of the reviews, the single save slot can also be problematic because many of the missions are timed, and if you save at the wrong point, you may not have enough time to complete the mission, requiring a total restart.
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to some good old-fashioned zombie bashing, with a bit o' "X-Files"-style conspiracy thrown in to boot. If you're antsy for some good 360 action during the summer lull, it'd be worth your time to check out "Dead Rising".
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