When there is no room left in Hell, the dead will walk the mall.
Dead Rising isn't just your typical "city gets invaded and an aspiring journalist gets trapped in a mall while the zombies are out to get him" scenario. Actually, that's exactly what it is. That's not to say that there isn't more that Dead Rising has to offer than just shamelessly slaughtering zombies in a mall.
You play as action-hero - wait, no, sorry - a photo journalist who is supposed to document this whole zombie invasion, but instead gets caught up in it and ends up being the only person capable of saving the remaining survivors in the mall and fighting the insane bosses, which include an over-protective gun-store owner, a grocery store manager, a dual-chainsaw wielding clown and a military bad-ass. Unfortunately for you, they're all very powerful, and when defeated by them, you must all the way back to fight them again at their fight locations.
Like all Capcom games, you get points (PP in this game) for killing stuff. The easiest way to achieve PP is just to kill all the zombies you see in the most creative ways possible, the most efficient way being the car, which you get at the end. Unfortunately, the car isn't very fun to drive and feels very unrealistic, and the garage you drive it in is packed full of zombies who might as well just be sticks. They don't even move while you run them down, and they look terrible compared to the, dare I say, "lively" zombies in the main part of the mall. It's because the game can't handle more than a certain number of zombies on-screen at a time, but even so - they should have put less zombies in at a time and at least make the zombies move a little bit.
The zombies in the day-time are slow-moving and easier to take down than the night-zombies. At night, the zombies have an even bigger advantage over you, because they're faster, scarier and stronger. They're also harder to see, which gives the game kind of a suspense element during the night levels, since you don't know where they're going to come from next. If a zombie grabs hold of you, you will have to "waggle" (shake the Wiimote) your way out before the zombies turn you into a human..... snack(?)
Graphics
The graphics in this game aren't brilliant by any means, but they aren't awful. It's disappointing that some of the later parts feature zombies that look like card-board cut-outs. The character faces and expressions are fairly well done, but for the most parts all of the characters' movements seem very robotic. The cut-scenes look great, however, and are some of the best and most interesting on the Wii to date.
There are quite a few technical glitches in Dead Rising, including a bit of freezing that will either last a few seconds or cause you to have to start up the game again. Sometimes when you swing at a zombie, it will just go through the zombie or you'll get stuck in the zombie, which is also pretty annoying. Most of the glitches are minor, for the most part, but they sometimes take away from the game's
Sound
The voice-acting is pretty well done, especially T.J. Rotolo, who played Frank West (as well as a few other voices in games and shows like Power Rangers). I have to admit, even the zombie moans were great and realistic, if you're into the slow-moving moaning zombies instead of the hissing Usane Bolt zombies from Left 4 Dead. They really have a great voice-cast for this game, despite the odd voice that doesn't fit well.
The sound-track in this game consists of barely any tracks, most of which aren't very memorable at all. They mostly consist of calming elevator music or mall music, but the boss battle fight tracks are kind of lame, considering boss battles are important parts in a video game. The sound effects are also kind of clunky and the same ones are recycled over and over again. For instance, you'll get almost, if not the same, sound from hitting a zombie with a 2x4 and a cash register.
Story
The story is fairly easy to follow, and is actually one of the best stories in zombie video-game history. It's very well told, and there are some pretty tough choices to make when you have to choose between saving one survivor or the other. The side-missions are also very interesting, especially one of the later ones that features a cult trying to sacrifice a girl. The ending is epic either way, even if you don't get the "A ending", which allows you to play through the true ending of Dead Rising. You get to fight a military soldier on top of a tank and the rest of the story is unveiled.
You meet very interesting characters along the way, and hey - not all of them are dead/want you dead. Some of the initial survivors play a key part in helping you unravel the mysteries behind the zombie out-break, especially Brad and Jessica, two DHS agents who help Frank along his journey.
There are plenty of weapons in Dead Rising, most of them being melee weapons. You can utilize practically anything that you can pick up (besides zombies) in the mall to your own advantage, even obscure items like cash registers. There is also a gun-shop which you will be able to purchase guns at (because for some reason money still matters in a zombie apocalypse) after you beat the semi-insane owner of the shop in a battle where you either die, or he gets beaten.
Longevity
Overall, Dead Rising is a very solid experience on the Wii, even if the graphics aren't up to par. You''ll probably finish this game's 72-hour mode + Over-Time mode in 14 hours or so, but then you'll want to go back and beat some zombie butt, or play on Infinity mode, which is a realistic mode where you actually get hungry and have to stay alive for as long as you can without dying.
There aren't really any collectibles that will keep you coming back after your first playthrough, though, and there are only two endings (win/fail), so that's another reason not to play again. I wanted to play through it again just to beat up some more zombies, but after doing so I got bored in another hour of gameplay.
The Verdict
Pros:
• Plenty of weapons to kill zombies with
• Decent story
• Great cast
Cons:
• Dated graphics
• Short
Gameplay: 8.5
Graphics: 7.0
Sound: 8.5
Story: 8.0
Multiplayer: N/A
Longevity: 8.0
This game is really a love-letter to zombie fans, but it isn't as much of an open-world game as it aims to be, and it is better played in short bursts. It really isn't for everyone, but if you like zombies games, you're bound to spend some serious hours on this game.
7.5/10