Dead Rising 3: Fun Decapitates Flaws
He’s covered wars, ya know? Wait, Frank West isn’t in this game … oh well, time to kill some zombies in a crazy insane action game.
Dead Rising 3 is a survival horror action video game made by Capcom Vancouver, and published by Microsoft Studios. It came out on Nov. 22, 2013 as a launch title for the Xbox One. This game takes place ten years after the events in Fortune City, and the adventures of Chuck Greene, the protagonist from Dead Rising 2. This time, you play as Nick Ramos, a young mechanic in the made-up city of Los Perdidos, Calif., in the year 2017.
Dead Rising has always been a great fix for zombie slaying. It’s unique open world gameplay, and comedic sense is what sets it apart from other zombie games. And I am happy to say Dead Rising 3 takes the formula that made it’s previous titles fun, and expanded upon it greatly.
The game feels more explorable than previous titles. Using cars to travel around on roads and highways makes this game feel different from it’s predecessors. What I loved about this game was just how much content they put into it. The fighting mechanics haven’t changed much from previous titles, which I am happy about. There is a certain satisfaction about giving a zombie a good old-fashioned powerbomb, or a giant swing.
The combo weapons from DR2 have made an even more incredible return in DR3, but way better than the previous installments. There are some of the same combo weapons you can make in previous titles, but the combo weapons you can make in this installment come straight out of science fiction. When I first made my Flaming Sword, I nearly lost it due to my overwhelming excitement.
Also a first in the series, combo vehicles. That’s right — combo … vehicles. You can take two vehicles and merge them out in this open world creating the most ridiculous vehicles you will ever seen. But it’s so cool! Using these combo weapons and vehicles will earn you more PP than regular weapons and methods. You then take your PP to upgrade Nicks skills. Give your weapons armor, combine weapons/vehicles faster, get more health, and deal more damage.
One thing I feel the game kind of suffers from is a predictable story. Within my first hour playing, it was so easy to guess what this story was going to be, and I was right. It somewhat kills the experiences of learning about the game’s story, but honestly you’ll be having too much fun killing zombies to really care as much as I did.
As far as performance, DR3 does suffer from frame rate issues as well as screen tearing, and a ridiculous loading time. Graphics are not horrid — they are next-gen — but hardly noticeable outside of it’s cutscenes. But as you kill zombies you will notice the blood on Nick will increase the more you kill. What I did love is that the amount of zombies you run into in this game easily tops any other zombie game. I have moments when I was just free roaming the area, and would find myself up against potential hundreds of Zombies at a time, even trying to drive through them all with a regular car was taxing but satisfying. Another thing that is cool is the ability to pair up with NPC’s after saving them and earning their trust. Giving them weapons to join you as you take out zombies just felt so right, which is only a small fraction of what’s to come when you play co-op with a buddy.
Fans of the series, as well as other Capcom games, will notice several nods and Easter eggs towards previous Capcom titles, as well as Dead Rising history. Dead Rising 3 does a great job of filling that zombie killing void in our life. I highly recommend picking this game up, due to the fact it has the most satisfying zombie experience of any game, as well as the fun gameplay that most games lose. Playing with a friend is even better, and if you really want to challenge yourself you can try playing the hellish Nightmare mode.
With its fun gameplay, over-the-top creative weapons and vehicles, and an awesome co-op experience, I give Dead Rising 3 a 3.5 out of 5 — a score that would have been higher if not for the predictable story, and graphical performance issues.
