My initial reaction upon hearing about a game that throws you into the middle of a zombie apocalypse was that of extreme joy. Who doesn't want to kill the undead? They fudging deserve it...always walking around, moaning like they're all that. Smacking them upside the head with a chainsaw sounds like a great time to spend your evening. Unfortunately the game falls far short of the awesomeness that you inevitably imagine.
Fun Factor
I actually found very little fun in this game. The combat is extremely stale, and consists of 1 to 3 repeating animations for your one button attack. I wasn't expecting a fighting game, but I was expecting a little more than doing the exact same thing over and over. At one point in the middle of the game I even thought that I was doing something wrong and went through each button again, trying to find an alternate attack button.
You can throw items, but this is not very effective. When the item you are holding inevitably breaks, it automatically disappears and causes you to freeze for a moment. I was disappointed by this as it prevented me from emptying a handgun into a crowd, dry firing it a few times and then chucking it at a zombie before running for the hills. Such a missed opportunity...
Timing
The one thing that I thought would prevent me from enjoying this game when I heard about it was the time limit. I was right. It is a constant burden and prevents you from really experiencing all of the stuff that is happening. The constant need to 'look at your watch' due to a prompt that never goes away is also pretty infuriating, especially since the action doesn't pause and it feels like a race to go through the new items and get back out of the menu before you are over run. The need for the watch is also pretty needless, as your objectives take up 1/4 of the screen throughout the entire game.
Boring Design
While I barely explored the map as I spent most of my time running from point A to point B due to time constraints, what I did see was pretty stale. The casinos are all lined with the same slot machines and surrounded by mildly different decor.
The zombies are also all very similar. You won't find anything besides the traditional zombie and a slightly evolved zombie later in the game. They really don't capitalize on the ideas of games like Left4Dead which use different enemy types to change up the pace. The only enemies that differ are the crazies, which are comically insane. Unfortunately their insanity seems to have enhanced their combat abilities by a thousand, because they are almost impossible to defeat.
Crazies
My first encounter with one of these crazies ended with me just giving up on trying to kill him, and simply put up with getting run down by him whenever I passed his area. The second one caught me by surprise since I thought I was simply going to save a survivor. I had only a couple of weapons, none of which could scratch his titanium skin (an apparent side effect of insanity) and was almost instantaneously trounced. The result was losing an hour of gameplay since there is a complete lack of auto-save.
The not-so-fun kind of Apocalypse
In the end I just did not enjoy this game at all. They obviously designed it with multiple playthrough's in mind, as I barely unlocked any abilities or combo cards, but I had no desire to repeat the experience.
It really just left me wanting a game that takes the hypothetical zombie situation more seriously. I would give anything to have a game that is closer to The Walking Dead than Zombieland.
The Dead Rising series has enjoyed a long and storied history over the years, but which game in the series is best?
Over the last week, Jake has been going back to the Dead Rising 2 Off The Record remaster and has been an absolute blast. When he was 15 he first got his Xbox 360 and Dead Rising with it, it was unlike any other experience. It made him wonder though, what happened to the Dead Rising series.
Interesting timing. This retrospective was released just a few days ago: https://youtu.be/Et-cKSrWuc...
Ah no, I just felt like writing it as I started playing the game again and wanted to offer up my opinions 😁
Seems like there was just a ton of infighting aswell and so many more issues. Honestly sadly Dead Rising 5 before it was cancelled sounded nothing like dead rising, nothing learnt from. Dr4 at all.
They're a solid channel. I always click on their vids, unless it's a series/game I simply have no interest in.
They took away the depth and charm of the game that made it fun and interesting, and made it into a generic zombie killing game.
This was the series the got me to buy an Xbox 360. The first one was so good. It still had horror elements. As it went on it became kind of a parody. Never forget getting Zombie Genecider achievement and then restarting the game to get the Mega Buster. That thing was monstrous against enemies.
Some video game weapons are so outlandish they could never realistically be used, and that's why they're on our list of the 10 most impractical weapons in gaming.
Not to be rude or mean to anybody, but this game looks like a game someone with a short attention span would enjoy, or a little 8 year old who has not yet played great games such as Left 4 Dead or Uncharted 2. I have been wanting a good third person zombie game for awhile now, but I guess I will just have to wait for another worthy game. After reading a few reviews and seeing a few gameplay videos this was the final review that final convinced me not to get it; Thanks for saving me $60! I think I will get the PS3 version of Mass effect 2 now!
I really enjoyed the first Dead Rising.
It did have some gameplay mechanics that were annoying. Like the time limit. But it wasnt to bad.
Some complained about the save system (no auto save) but I liked that as it made you pay attention to your health and when you last saved.
Beat the first game...would rate it a solid 8 out of 10.
When I first heard about the sequel and the fact the added Multi Player....I let out a negative SIGH.
MP....really. First Bioshock...now Dead Rising. But I was like Ill give a chance. But once I read about what it was going to consist of I knew it was a mistake.
Its like who makes these decisions....no one asked for MP. In the least if your going to add MP to dead Rising....4 player Co-Op would of been a welcomed addition.
Anyway...I rented Dead Rising 2.
Didnt read any reviews on it. But after realizing they tool the EXACT same formula from DR1 and copy and pasted with different characters. I was HIGHLY dissapointed.
Its a shame because they made a very good game with the first one. And instead of expanding on the game...like...making more attacks with each weapon. Or making the map a larger area.
The first game is in a mall. You might as well say this one is in a mall also.
And having to go back and give your annoying daughter zombrex all the time SUCKED. And trying to rescue survivors....not very fun at all.
And all this time doing this leaves ZERO time to explore and find things.
ANd like you said....the insane characters....I mean are the made of teflon LOL!!! I gave up on trying to kill that cook...it was ridiculous!
I have to say this game is a 6 out 10.
The time restraints really killed this game for me. If it loosened up on the time some. Easily a 8 out of 10.