Without a doubt, the graphics of Dead Rising are one of its high points. The environment is so rich with detail that it feels like a real mall. Each store, café, or lounge has a unique feel with clearly detailed walls and accessories all over the counters. You can tell that a lot of work went into creating this behemoth of a mall, which is basically a small city.
The character models are also some of the best I’ve seen on the 360. The cut scenes really showcase how well the characters are detailed, with sharp details on their skin and clothes. All the people you interact with in the game look extremely lifelike and all the zombies look extremely... deadlike.
Animations in the game also look very well done and fluid. Frank has a number of fighting styles and abilities and they are all animated quite well. The game simply looks stunning and it runs perfect with practically no frame-drops.
While graphics hold their own firm ground in Dead Rising, the audio never disappoints either. The dreadful hum of zombies is in this game, which gives away their position, and the developers did a good job of integrating it into the game so it never gets annoying to the player. All the weapons in the game, which range from CDs & teddy bears to Kitana swords and M16 machine guns, have their own unique sound.
The voice work in the game is very well done and the actors definitely knew what they were doing. Each voice fits the characters nicely and extends that human likeness to a 3D model.
The controls in Dead Rising were a bit disappointing, or frustrating to be more precise. Your left trigger acts as the camera which uses the A and B buttons to zoom in and out, an odd choice from the start, then your right trigger is used to aim your weapons for shooting or throwing. The problem with the aiming is that the game uses the left joystick to control it, and that really takes a while to get used to; what’s more once you do get used to it, you’ll quickly notice it’s not quite as fluid as it needs to be. Because of this aiming at moving targets becomes a very frustrating task.
Dead Rising definitely has a lot of replay value. The developers went an extra mile to make sure you replay the game numerous times, using various methods. When you restart the game, your level is maintained so you are automatically stronger than last time around, and there are also numerous achievement points that can only be achieved by replaying the game a few times. Most importantly, Dead Rising just has a load of stuff for you to discover, and it is almost impossible to find all of it in one run. The way the game paces and also the way it starts and finishes, leaves you wanting to replay it a couple more times, and if not for the achievement points, hidden items, or your character’s level, but for simply killing a few more zombies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Dead Rising is definitely a solid title for the Xbox 360. It feels like a next-gen game, also looks and sounds like one as well. The story is a little humorous and ridiculous, but most of the game carries that type of corky setting through out.
While the game does have its flaws with the save system and the controls, killing some more zombies will usually make up for it. The amount of detail that went into this game is amazing and can definitely be appreciated when looking back on the game in the long run. Dead Rising is definitely worth checking out.
