Dead Rising 3
For: Xbox One
From: Capcom
Four stars (out of five)
Although not familiar with the two earlier titles in the franchise, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Dead Rising 3, being one of the few Xbox One exclusive titles available on the console at release.
The game follows protagonist Nick Ramos and his attempt to survive a massive zombie outbreak in the fictional city of Los Peridios, California.
I was pleased to find that my lack of knowledge of past games was no hindrance to the experience.
Although I never felt particularly engaged with Nick and the other characters, the sense of overwhelming odds and time pressure placed on the player are palpable during the game.
The opening sequences offer a clear insight into the endless swarms of zombie mayhem ahead.
Although the graphics themselves couldn't be considered ''next generation'', what the game offers is a zombie horde on a scale that is almost unbelievable and an outstandingly entertaining weapon and character customisation.
Combat is an effective simple system of light and heavy attacks, but the extravagant animations and incredible variety of effects the 300-plus weapons have on the zombie hordes are more memorable than the combat mechanics.
Much of the entertainment in Dead Rising 3 revolves around the discovery of blueprints and the subsequent creation of a wide range of kooky weapons from everyday items.
Or create the chest beam, made by combining a microwave and a motorcycle engine, allowing you to shoot out blasts of energy capable of atomising a nearby crowd.
Weapons can be made even more powerful and entertaining through combining two or more already constructed weapons.
Vehicles can also be combined to create a range of moving zombie destroyers.
A personal favourite was the forklift-cum-fireworks-display, the Fork-work.
Because weapons and vehicles take damage over time, they will eventually break, which means you never really get bored of any one tool and are creating weapons as blueprints and resources come to hand.
Although the open world of Los Peridios is relatively small by today's gaming standards, the city packs in a wide variety of distinctive and detailed locations to explore and I never felt too contained as the story progressed.
As entertaining as the gameplay proved, it would be impossible to ignore the game's performance issues.
Load times are slow and the frame rate is choppy.
Also, from time to time I encountered survivors who would become stuck in scenery or disappear completely.
Although not terminal, it was disappointing, given expectations around the new Xbox platform.
When I finally completed the story mode, the zombie kill counter in the corner of my screen was over 25,000.
Even though I had spent well over 10 hours hacking, slashing, shooting and bashing, that is still an impressive number of walking dead eliminated and a reflection on the frenetic mayhem that escaping Los Peridios offers.
Despite a few technical issues, Capcom has delivered an action packed title that delivers on in both humour and creativity.
- Nathan Campbell
