X05: Dead Rising Hands-On

AMSTERDAM--Since the game had seemed so impressive at the Tokyo Game Show just a few weeks ago, Capcom's Dead Rising was one of the first games we headed for at Microsoft's X05 press event. The demo was, unfortunately, the same one we played in Tokyo, but killing those undead is so much fun that we just couldn't resist having another go.

In the Dead Rising demo--in case you missed our previous coverage of the game--you play as a photojournalist trapped inside a shopping mall, where a handful of shoppers and workers are attempting to escape from a seemingly never-ending supply of zombies. Some of the aforementioned humans are doing a great job of defending themselves with firearms and such, while others have merely taken to hiding or climbing up to places the undead have trouble reaching. Your job is to help out in any way you can, which often involves locating and/or escorting missing persons and, of course, killing as many zombies en route as you possibly can.

One of Dead Rising's coolest features is simply that so many objects in the game can be used to your advantage. There are two stores in the demo version--a supermarket where you can eat food off the shelves to replenish your health or use cash registers to beat zombies, as well as a hardware store that's full of poles, planks, cans of paint, and loads of other stuff that, in the right hands (your hands), becomes a deadly weapon. You'll also get to steal weapons from some of the zombies in the game, so if you beat down an undead policeman, for example, you can expect to get your hands on a pistol or a nightstick.

Fortunately for us, we were able to get a much better sense of the sound effects in Dead Rising this time around. The moaning of the zombies served as a constant reminder that we were in danger even when we thought we had time to grab a quick snack, and most of the weapons made satisfying noises as they met zombie flesh.

We were a little disappointed not to see a new version of Dead Rising at X05, of course, but we were happy to play the game again nonetheless. We look forward to bringing you more information on Dead Rising just as soon as we get our hands on a more-complete version of the game.