As we play offers the thought strands of the reviewer as they’re going through the game. This offers unique content for the reader so they can come to understand the conflicting feelings of the reviewer as they’re playing a game for the very first time.
All feedback on this concept is welcome.
Dem opening moments
In just 12 hours, the city is considered in crisis and after a day, airstrikes come in. It’s all kicking off from the get-go!
Dead Rising 3 throws you right in at the deep end and has Nick Ramos stumbling around half-dead. He’s also craving food. Fortunately for him, he finds a nice sweet bagel and stuffs it …right into his forehead? Oh, dear, that hand to mouth animation is a bit off?
I’m not sure Kinect voice commands will ever replace a button press for me, but being able to say drop current item when you’re walking around feels pretty neat. It’s nice to have the option there, I guess and it works really well, providing you give the precise command it asks for.
I like the feel of light and heavy attacks. There’s a clear difference and even just punching through some barricades, it’s all very noticeable. It definitely works well.
Already, i’m getting a feel for crazy amounts of zombie on my screen at one time. Dead Rising 3 feels more atmospheric than previous titles and the intimidation factor with zombie hordes changes everything!
The weapon diversity in just the first few minutes is astonishing. Cinder blocks. Car exhausts. Handguns. Crowbars. This game is oozing with morbid creativity.
Character expressions are going to be such an enormous part of next-gen. The fear in Nick’s face when he sees Zombies all around him. Couple that with the environmental damage and you can see how games are going to evolve over the next few years.
Dead Rising 3 is frightening. The amount of zombies on-screen at one time is beyond any fair levels, and with all of them coming to attack you at one time? It’s as intimidating an in-game prospect as i’ve encountered in a long time.
So many abandoned vehicles around. Most of them you can’t use. Dead Rising 3 is loving teasing the player and that’s not necessarily a good thing. It should be as generous with vehicles as it weapons.
There are plenty of things to do, that’s for sure. Sole survivors to save, Frank West Statues to grab and Tragic Endings to find. Dead Rising 3 has a lot to offer the player and you’ll be spending weeks uncovering it all.
Man, the loading screens take as long as the console to boot up. I understand there’s a lot going on, but it certainly makes for an arduous wait.
I’ve never really been a Dead Rising fan. I’ve never really ‘got it’ but DR3 has totally won me over. The absurdity of it all is still in tact, but the slightly more serious, mature tone has levelled the experience and made it that much more compelling and engaging. I want to take in all the side-stuff, I want to get involved in the story and take on as many missions as I can. There’s a lot of content here and I am enjoying every single second of it.
Car-combining
It’s one thing to combine weapons and create deadly swinging combinations, but vehicles as well? A deadly tank variation with swords for sides and a cannon-gun at the top. Killing zombies should not be this much fun, surely?
I think the use of vehicles in a Dead Rising game is the element that has kept me most entertained. I’ve never felt confined by a Dead Rising game before, but there is something to be said for driving around streets, running down hordes of zombies and using unrealistic weapon combinations to dice them to pieces. Where Dead Rising has always made you laugh for dressing up as a knight, whacking zombies in the face with boxing gloves on, this still embodies the same stupid characteristics, but evolves them and progresses them in slightly more mature ways. Vehicles play such a crucial role in that. I’m already much more invested in this world than I was whipping around corners in GTA V, and that speaks volumes for me.
SmartGlass
The SmartGlass app is so incredibly detailed (though the noise used to move between sections is abhorrent!) You can get phone calls that offer you additional side missions and text messages from contacts within the game. There are also hints towards your current objectives, opportunities to call in backup. You can even customise your wallpaper and ring-tone.
The SmartGlass mission I took on asked me to clear a Safe House, then go and unlock a box full of extra weapons and bonuses.
This game is already offering more than most Wii U games. The companion app is superb and is a treat most people will be able to experience by just having a mobile phone. It really adds a lot to Dead Rising 3 and should be experienced by everyone who owns the game. Though getting fake phone calls really trips me out and can get a bit frustrating when in the middle of a life/death struggle.
As for being able to send in Drone Strikes? It’s one of the neatest features i’ve seen put into a game. Just a tap of your screen and things go boom on the TV. Video games are changing and this is surely just the beginning.
This is the finest game Capcom have produced since Dragon’s Dogma. It’s a statement of intent and the best Dead Rising title to date.
(We’ve yet to play enough of the game to establish a final verdict. At this stage, we find the game favourable and enjoyable, but wonder whether killing zombies could become tedious as we get deeper into the game)
(Time Played: 2 hours. Progress made: 19%)
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