Review
Played on: Xbox OneReleased: 2013
When I picked up a Xbox 360 back in 2007 with a couple of games, the original Dead Rising was one of them. While I really appreciated the scale, number of zombies on screen and the ambition, I felt the execution was annoying and badly executed.
It was based on the idea that you replay it multiple times to even have a chance at saving everyone. There were tiresome escort missions, clumsy controls and a very strict time limit to follow. These annoyances were the main factor I just skipped DR2 entirely. Don't get me wrong though, the concept was fantastic.
Water under the bridge now and perhaps I missed out on some good gaming in DR2, so when I needed a new exclusive for my Xbox One I decided to go for DR3. The game puts you in control of Nick Ramos, who is stranded in the fictional city of Los Perdidos after the zombie outbreak. You must first find your way to the city centre and collaborate with other survivors to escape.
Water under the bridge now and perhaps I missed out on some good gaming in DR2, so when I needed a new exclusive for my Xbox One I decided to go for DR3. The game puts you in control of Nick Ramos, who is stranded in the fictional city of Los Perdidos after the zombie outbreak. You must first find your way to the city centre and collaborate with other survivors to escape.
The city is fairly large, with three main parts and some highways to connect them. It's not as large as many open world cities, but it's a perfect size to learn by heart and get familiar with and features quite a few indoor environments too. Quality over quantity and all that.
I really did enjoy DR3, more so than I anticipated, and it's clear that it has it's own little sub-genre amongst zombie titles. With a little more tweaking on both the controls and the abandoning of time limits, it could become a fantastic franchise. I'd definitely recommend anybody interested in the genre to give this a go if they have a Xbox One, it's not exactly a system seller, but it's fun and made for the fans of the series.
Keep in mind to focus on the main missions each day, then take the time to check out side missions for the remaining hours of each day. As such, you'll hardly think of the time limit as an issue.
Similar to it's predecessors, DR3 mainly focuses on melee combat, though guns are easily available. The guns, however, don't rack up as many levelling points and can be rather bad to use when tons of zombies are grabbing out to get hold of Nick. Melee weapons seem to give you better crowd control when you are surrounded, and you'll be surrounded often, pushing the zombies back and creating some breathing room. There's even a fair bit of vehicle zombie slaughtering too.
New weapons and vehicles can be constructed after obtaining blueprints that are spread around the map. In a great Dead Rising fashion you can make some pretty fancy weapons, I especially enjoyed some of the brutal vehicles you could smash up tons of zombies with!
DR3 has an improved control setup but I still found it cumbersome. It's not often I fumble with the buttons in games, yet somehow I managed to do so with DR3. It just feels clunky and with little thought put into the flow of switching weapons fast or picking up stuff when you're being attacked. There should be an easier method of quickly obtaining weapons and separating healing items from the weapon wheel. Buttons are simply strangely placed compared to the standard setup in other titles.
That said, you get accustomed to the control scheme over time and I truly enjoyed killing off all these zombies with the tons of crazy weapons you have at your disposal. It feels very satisfying, something that's essential in a game like this.
New weapons and vehicles can be constructed after obtaining blueprints that are spread around the map. In a great Dead Rising fashion you can make some pretty fancy weapons, I especially enjoyed some of the brutal vehicles you could smash up tons of zombies with!
DR3 has an improved control setup but I still found it cumbersome. It's not often I fumble with the buttons in games, yet somehow I managed to do so with DR3. It just feels clunky and with little thought put into the flow of switching weapons fast or picking up stuff when you're being attacked. There should be an easier method of quickly obtaining weapons and separating healing items from the weapon wheel. Buttons are simply strangely placed compared to the standard setup in other titles.
That said, you get accustomed to the control scheme over time and I truly enjoyed killing off all these zombies with the tons of crazy weapons you have at your disposal. It feels very satisfying, something that's essential in a game like this.
There's another issue I had with DR3. While I do understand the decision to have a time limit before the whole city gets blown up, and it offers a healthy amount do of time to mess about, I just can't help feel it's an annoying pressure looming. Granted, the story spans over six days and the timer is essential to convey this. Certain tasks have to be completed on certain days, while side missions are free to do if you have spare time.
The timer though, constantly sits at the back of my mind when I'm playing, when I just want to have fun and explore. The limit doesn't suit the genre well. Luckily, the levelling, compared to DR1, is fast and you can accomplish high levels within one playthrough. Easing up the difficulty to complete the missions that are required.
The timer though, constantly sits at the back of my mind when I'm playing, when I just want to have fun and explore. The limit doesn't suit the genre well. Luckily, the levelling, compared to DR1, is fast and you can accomplish high levels within one playthrough. Easing up the difficulty to complete the missions that are required.
There's of course the option to replay the game with the levels you have obtained, a sort of new game plus. I'm guessing it will be a fair bit easier in the first days of the outbreak with a highly levelled character!
I really did enjoy DR3, more so than I anticipated, and it's clear that it has it's own little sub-genre amongst zombie titles. With a little more tweaking on both the controls and the abandoning of time limits, it could become a fantastic franchise. I'd definitely recommend anybody interested in the genre to give this a go if they have a Xbox One, it's not exactly a system seller, but it's fun and made for the fans of the series.
Keep in mind to focus on the main missions each day, then take the time to check out side missions for the remaining hours of each day. As such, you'll hardly think of the time limit as an issue.
Newcomers may find the whole thing slightly overwhelming and fairly difficult at the beginning, but give it some time and you will find it to be a very enjoyable and original experience.
Released: 2014
Here's where the crazy begins! Apart from the more standard DLC's, this late arriving one with the rather Capcom-ish title, a nod to you Street Fighter, is the one that sets itself apart. In fact it's such a different game to the original Dead Rising 3, it should have been a standalone game not requiring the main game!
Review
Played on: Xbox OneReleased: 2014
Here's where the crazy begins! Apart from the more standard DLC's, this late arriving one with the rather Capcom-ish title, a nod to you Street Fighter, is the one that sets itself apart. In fact it's such a different game to the original Dead Rising 3, it should have been a standalone game not requiring the main game!
In a typical Final Fight style game you have four areas of the city to fight in, each area contains a few set goals to complete before advancing to a boss. Each round has you saving hostages, collecting items or blowing up stuff, sort of mini-missions if you like. You choose between characters from the DR series: Nick, Annie, Chuck (from DR2) and Frank (from DR1) and completing levels, tasks and finding items will unlock crazy new outfits, or should I say cosplays, for each of them. Each outfit gives you specific abilities and weapons.
I went in to play Annie with a reason: her third locked costume was Regina's outfit from one of my favourite games of all time, Dino Crisis. She has the pink hair, assault rifle and an awesome flying dinosaur as a super attack! I was very satisfied, being a huge Dino Crisis fan!
I went in to play Annie with a reason: her third locked costume was Regina's outfit from one of my favourite games of all time, Dino Crisis. She has the pink hair, assault rifle and an awesome flying dinosaur as a super attack! I was very satisfied, being a huge Dino Crisis fan!
You can also unlock a Chun-Li and Sakura outfit for Annie of Street Fighter fame, these outfit base themselves on hand to hand combat to suit their origins. It's a nostalgia party unlocking outfits for this game, at least if you have any prior knowledge of Capcom classics!
I enjoyed the variety in the stages that are based on DR3's city, thankfully they have visually been changed up. Making them feel more like new areas. Here there are huge colourful banners, neon lights and cartoon outlines around everything, making it look and sound like a crazy arcade game. The visuals and the retro electronic music all come together nicely.
I enjoyed the variety in the stages that are based on DR3's city, thankfully they have visually been changed up. Making them feel more like new areas. Here there are huge colourful banners, neon lights and cartoon outlines around everything, making it look and sound like a crazy arcade game. The visuals and the retro electronic music all come together nicely.
Gameplay is all about racking up points and keeping within time limits. It's a game that begs for replaying again and again, beating your last high score and unlocking even more stuff. I'm sure that playing this four player coop is an amazing experience with a ton of laughs to be had!
I really do think it should've been a standalone release so four people didn't need to won the original DR3 to play this. It truly feels like a completely different game altogether compared to DR3!
Just like the old arcade games this DLC is based on, it focuses on taking missions over and over for better scores and as such it may tire on you as quickly as it becomes addictive. You need to set yourself in the more retrogaming mood to fully enjoy it and accept the way it makes you play levels over and over, constantly tempting you with beating the last high score you banked
Just like the old arcade games this DLC is based on, it focuses on taking missions over and over for better scores and as such it may tire on you as quickly as it becomes addictive. You need to set yourself in the more retrogaming mood to fully enjoy it and accept the way it makes you play levels over and over, constantly tempting you with beating the last high score you banked
I warmly recommend this wild and very different DLC for DR3 owners, it's a ton of fun and takes itself far from seriously.
