Frank is back, and he looks a bit different.
When Dead Rising came out in 2006, around the birth of the Xbox 360, it was an instant cult classic. Critics were a bit more lukewarm, but gamers loved it. Who wouldn’t like to be dressed as Evel Knievel, battering zombies with a sword?
Now, after almost 20 years, Dead Rising is back with a new voice for Frank, upgraded visuals, and some gameplay tweaks, while trying to keep the essence of the game intact. Playing through this game again in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, I was reminded – and shocked – by how experimental games used to be.
Dead Rising is a bonkers game, and it’s nice to be Frank once more. But the timer…
For those who haven’t played the 2006 classic game, this could be the perfect package for you. If you don’t know, you play the part of Frank West, a sort of middle-aged photojournalist who, at the start of the game, is in a helicopter heading to Colorado because of suspected rioting. It turns out the rioters are zombies, and the whole town is infected. Frank gets the helicopter to drop him off at a shopping mall. The pilot says he will pick him up in 72 hours, so off Frank goes into a wild adventure…
Playing this game a second time, I think I enjoyed the story more and saw lots of different elements in it that I missed before; probably because I was too busy killing zombies with a children’s toy sword. I enjoyed the Capcom bombastic storytelling trait and the host of different characters you meet, from a loony store owner with a shotgun and spiky trolley to a chainsaw-wielding clown. I think some of the viewpoints are very 2006 and might feel a bit dated now, but overall, I loved experiencing this narrative and all the side stories once more.
Gameplay-wise, it really does play with many different paint pots. First of all, there’s the exploration side of the game. You can explore the map and the mall with all its amazing different shops and whatever weapons they might have on offer. The main missions are called Cases, and they are activated at certain times. In between, you can go and find survivors that you can save and escort back to the safe room. This is slightly better than the original, where you can give them health or weapons. They follow or can be carried or held by the hands. But sometimes they are useless still, and you only have to blink, and they’ve been eaten.
The next main gameplay element is the combat. That’s still as fun as it always has been with all the Dead Rising games, and you can never grow bored of it. You can attack the zombies with a whole range of weapons you find. This can be anything from a gun to a whole shelving unit. Finding different weapons and ways of killing the mass of zombies is addictive and fun. What isn’t as fun is the boss battles and the psychopaths you meet along the way. It still doesn’t feel fluid in the fights and a bit stilted, and sometimes the AI can be idiotic and easily duped.
The photography element of the game is still excellent as well, where you take photographs of the zombie chaos and get experience points based on how good the pictures are. The experience points from this, completing missions, fighting, and rescuing survivors will get you to level up and gain more skills.
There are a lot of extra new features in the gameplay, like an easy-to-control Frank. Weapons tell you when they are going to break. Saving is much more lenient, and you can start from auto-save points. Then you can also fast-forward time to get to the next main mission. Which brings me to time and the lack of it. I don’t like to be rushed with my games and still hate the time restrictions found in Dead Rising, but of course, others love it.
Visually, as you would expect, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster comes with major upgrades. Frank looks different, being a bit older and a bit more out of shape looking. The UI is much cleaner and more modern. It all looks brilliant and sharp and fit for the modern age. The audio has also had an upgrade, with some different voices, including Frank himself, having been added. Its effects are great while in combat, and the music still holds up.
So, was it fun to be back with Frank again, with his new and improved upgrade? I think so! The story and setup of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster are still bonkers and fun, and there are great ideas and narratives all over the game. The visual upgrades and the combat are superb, except for the boss fights themselves. However, I do hate the timer, but that is a personal viewpoint, but the game has some great improvements to the gameplay mechanics that made me hate it less.
So if you want to get back to the mall for a bit of light mayhem, then Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is calling your name.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster: Because Sometimes, You Just Need to Bash Zombies with a Traffic Cone – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dead-rising-deluxe-remaster-because-sometimes-you-just-need-to-bash-zombies-with-a-traffic-cone/
Buy Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/dead-rising-deluxe-remaster/9P6BN1VHRRHN/0010
