Dead Rising

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• Dead Rising
• Review
• by Rich Hojnacki
• CIS 487 Fall 06

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• Developed and published by Capcom
• Action game with elements from several genres
• Survival horror
• Free-form Grand Theft Auto
• Classic campy zombie flicks
• RPG-lite
• Single player
• Developed for Xbox 360 platform
• Requires means for a saved game
• Requires display capable of 1280 x 720
• Price - 59.99

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• Main character is Frank West, freelance
  photojournalist
• Small Colorado town by the name of Willamette is
  quarantined by the National Guard without any
  explanation
• Frank West hires an independent helicopter pilot
  to scope out the town
• Willamette appears to be under a riot
• Frank West is dropped off on a helipad at the
  Parkview Mall and tells the pilot to pick him up
  again in exactly 72 hours
• Main storyline goal is to uncover the nature of
  the zombie outbreak and then escape

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• Player must survive their 3 days in Parkview mall
  (1 real time hour 1 day in-game).
• Player must complete case files to receive
  pieces of information about the zombie outbreak
• A case file must be completed on time, or it
  disappears and the storyline is broken (bad
  ending)
• Case files occur at certain spots in the mall
  (not random)
• Player must be at the predetermined spot, before
  the time limit runs out
• Case file usually involves a boss battle
  (psychopaths which are not zombies) followed by a
  cut-scene with some info about the outbreak

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• Franks stats are determined by his level
• Max health level
• Size of inventory
• Ability to perform martial arts moves
• Prestige Points act as the XP
• Killing a certain number of zombies (100, 500,
  1000, etc)
• Leading survivors from various parts of the mall
  to a safe room
• Frank didnt forget his camera!
• Earn massive prestige points for capturing
  interesting photos (survivor getting eaten)

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• Wide array of weapons
• Pipes
• Boards
• Sledgehammers
• Lawnmowers
• Chainsaws
• CDs
• Chairs
• Firearms
• Cars and trucks
• Bowling balls
• Frank regains health by consuming food (food
  items can be mixed to produce various effects,
  example zombie bait)
• Frank can wear outfits found in mall stores (yes,
  you can dress him up in womens clothing)
• Free form gameplay can go anywhere in the mall
• Funky mall muzak to slaughter zombies by

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• Strengths
• Vast number of zombies (and methods to kill them)
• open ended
• Semi-interesting storyline
• Weaknesses
• Virtually impossible to play in standard
  definition (480) due to unreadable text
• Forcing players to perform case files under a
  strict time limit is unforgivable
• Closest genre is Action
• Many more enemies than typical action game, more
  combat
• Mostly free form, which is vastly different than
  most action games

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• Dead Rising is more enjoyable than the average
  action game for people that love horror
• Typically less intense and terrifying than a good
  survival horror game
• Audience is definitely 17 and older due to gore
  and violence
• One design mistake total incompatibility with
  standard definition displays
• Improvement in several areas would be nice
• More side quests
• Dont force player with strict time limits
• Worth the 60

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