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Dead Rising 3
PC (Steam)
Killing Zombies for Fun and... Profit?
4/5 stars
The Dead Rising series appeals to my nature - for zombie, and for killing them in wild, wacky and violent ways. Dead Rising 3 is easily the best in the series I have played and, by most accounts, it will stay that way. I had previously played the second game on the PS3 back in the day, and it was fun, but this third version is bigger and better in just about every way. The world is bigger, the weapons are better and, aside from a so-so story, it's just damn fun to play. It's too bad the followup was a letdown and, subsequently, the company responsible, Capcom Vancouver was shuttered meaning Dead Rising might have already had its swan song.
Presentation: Like previous games, Dead Rising 3 takes place in a fictional location (Los Perdidos) where a zombie outbreak has forced survivors to fight or die. Unlike previous games, Los Perdidos is a fully-fledged city, featuring four different locations (accessed by a small interstate system) and while it's not as huge as, say GTA or Witcher, it feels much more like a Sandbox game then the first two, which were much more limited in size and scope. It also means you get more of everything: more zombies, more weapons, more vehicles, more characters, more psychos and more story to tell. The voice acting is good but nothing exemplary. The game had a few stutters - one of the DLC has a bug that prevents you from completing one of the optional missions. I also experienced a bit of lag now and then and did suffer through a couple of game crashes (including one in Nightmare Mode that set me back a a bit). Still, compared to a Bethesda game, I think it was stable enough and the effects of various weapons, vehicles and the different zombies made for a nice mix.
Story: Nick Ramos, a humble mechanic, is trapped in Los Perdidos following a zombie outbreak. Following the events of the first two games, the government has implemented chipping the population affected by the zombie virus. This is supposed to release the Zombrex treatment automatically, preventing anyone from changing into a flesh-munching monster. Of course, a certain segment of the population (referred to as Illegals - very subtle) refuses to be chipped and has to take Zombrex the old-fashioned way, even as they are hunted down. When the outbreak occurs, everyone just assumes it was an Illegal off their meds. Ramos, along with a small group of survivors, is holed up in a diner. After a supply run goes wrong, the small group finds itself on the run with Illegal Annie going off on her own, two dying and Nick teaming up with Dick and Rhonda, where they find a new refuge in her garage. There is only one goal - to get out of the city alive, because, in a scant six days, the city is going to be bombed into oblivion.
Seeking escape, the group heads to a military checkpoint only to encounter a biker gang instead. But they survive and Nick meets up with an old friend, now a soldier, Diego who has their escape - a plane that will take them out - after a little work. But Nick is bitten and realizes he needs Zombrex and he heads to a mortuary where he finds Gary, a bouncer, who is after a certain body for his boss - but there is no body, and no Zombrex, but Nick seems to have a natural immunity to the bite and soon learns his illegal friend Annie is the person Gary is trying to find. Thus Nick finds himself on two missions - to escape the city via plane and to track down Annie. This results in getting mixed up with Annie's group of illegals while also trying to make the plane air-worthy. But the game also reveals a deeper story involving Nick and Diego, along with the evil General Hemlock and a surprise appearance from Isabella Keyes, sister of Carlito Keyes (responsible for the original outbreak in Dead Rising) looking to clear her families name and come up with a medial breakthrough to halt the zombie epidemic once and for all. Or is she?
Gameplay: Dead Rising 3 remains pretty much true to its roots: a lone protagonist, surrounded by zombies, killing everything in his path while trying to complete the game in a set amount of time. There are no pictures that need to be taken, though you can still track down the various psychos (each one based on one of the seven deadly sins), rescue survivors (some of whom can follow you around if you choose) and build a variety of zombie-killing weapons (and vehicles) that you unlock by finding blueprints scattered around the city. It is easy to level up and unlock skills - from all the aforementioned ways as well as completing trials scattered around and killing zombies with specific weapons. If anything, Dead Rising 3 may be a bit too easy, but I don't consider that a fault, per se, as it gives you much more leeway just to have a good time. And, yes, there are plenty of achievements for killing zombies, along with various other things and I had a good time getting them (aside from that one glitched DLC one that kind of pissed me off).
Replayability: You bet - in fact, this is one of the few games I decided to go back through and play on "hard" (aka Nightmare) mode just because I could. The game lets you keep all your skills, weapons and such - so going through a second time isn't a slog at all. Plus, with a chapter select option on normal mode, you can go back and play to your hearts content. All in some decent DLC content as well and the game is the gift that keeps on giving (more zombies).
Overall: If killing zombies is your thing, and you've enjoyed past games in this franchise, Dead Rising 3 is a no-brainer. The story is a bit stale, but otherwise the game is solid and quite a bit of fun (with only an occasional bug).
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 4/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5
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