Back when Dead Rising 3 showed it's familiar zombie-filled face at Microsoft's E3 2013 media briefing, I had a hard time understanding what to make of it. Could you blame me? Sure, the roughly two-minute trailer showed a gritty next-gen version with lots of shambling undead, but I didn’t see much of the freedom or comedy that drew me to series. As someone who loved the first Dead Rising, I found the lack of any specifcs disturbing. Since then, Dead Rising 3 slowly dropped from my radar. But I probably should have tried to keep up, because what they've shown since has only gotten better.
Interestingly, I wouldn’t see the cool stuff until Tokyo Game Show 2013. I had a chance to sit in on a demo of Dead Rising 3. And what I saw convinced me not only to take Dead Rising 3 seriously, but it's the first game I'm looking forward to play when the Xbox One launches on November 22.
Freedom is a major hallmark of the Dead Rising series, and during my demo I was reminded just how open both combat and exploration could be. From the start, the Microsoft representative guiding our demo switched weapons constantly. He tossed a flashlight into a zombies face, pulled a wrench from his inventory and violently pummeled a few zombies. He continued to do the same with a traffic cone, and a katana -- which the rep used to initiate a special kill move that ripped through a zombie like butter.
The environment itself looked great, with everything running at a steady 30 frames-per-second rate according to Producer Mike Jones. A reporter in the room mentioned some of the prior framerate issues seen previously at Gamescom. Jones replied that they've been working closely with Microsoft to correct the issues from the prior build. This one performed notably well in all situations. Even when zombies were everywhere on screen. And this was true during a funny grand finale that I'll explain later.
Jones also briefly demonstrated how Smart Glass works with Dead Rising 3. Although this feature to add more mission via surprise off-screen phone calls to your mobile device seems cool, I wasn't as interested, but folks who want to track down every possible mission will likely be drawn to it. I coop, we learned that a host can allow an online buddy to activate missions. If so, the host will teleport over from a separate place on the map to help complete it together.
Admittedly, I haven't played much of Dead Rising 2 since its Fall release back in 2010 for work-related reasons. But one of the things I lamented most about skipping the sequel to one of my favorite games from this generation was building weapon combos -- a process involving blueprints that allows you to craft fantastic weapons like the Driller, a drill strapped to your wrist that can bore a hole into undead enemies, or the Super Slicer, which looks like a hat with a helicopter blade that you can use to charge head first into hordes of zombies.
While I saw some returning combo weapons, like the popular laser sword, I also witnessed some interesting new features. In case you missed it (I did) Dead Rising protagonist Nick can now build weapons combinations anywhere on the map, and he can continue to add on parts and make bigger, badder combinations through a new super combo system. Take, for example, the powershot, a weapon that he can create when he combined a megaphone with speakers. The powershot fired waves of sound that bowled over any opposition. But let's take it a step further. By adding a battery to it, it gained electrical properties that could shock zombies. Now add more speakers and the powershot had a wider range of fire and stronger impulse strength that would push around cars and other objects.
According to Jones, getting the most out of this system will require a big investment: You have to track down the blueprints and the items needed. But the results can be pretty amazing. During the demo I saw more examples of super combos. The Freedom Bear, a kind of turret returning from Dead Rising 2, got turned into a Grisly Bear -- a deadly stuffed animal mounted on the front of a small bike that can attract and kill zombies within a certain range. Using the Grisly Bear as a protective measure by the front door of a chokepoint, a player can freely explore without the constant worry of more undead entering the room.
The last super combo weapon I saw turned a pair of gloves into a Dragon Punch weapon complete with a familiar, "Sho-ryu-ken" shout. Now that's funny. And, of course, super combinations are also available for vehicles too.
Dead Rising 3 had all of the freedom and creativity I expected, and thankfully it also had the humor. Now, I should be specific: I'm never amused by games that let me run around in ridiculous outfits, but I do appreciate a game that let's anyone customize their character to suit a particular mood.
During the demo, I saw the protagonist slip into a tuxedo, a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, a regular trucker outfit, and more. And the weapons extended the visual comedy, where Nick and a coop buddy were Dragon Punching zombies or using a Roller Hawg -- a vehicle combination that combined a Steam Roller with a motorcycle. Oh, and it shot out fire through an exhaust too.
In the closing moments of the coop demo, Nick and his buddy pulled out a massive bomb, a special weapon that’s made by combining dozens of explosives. Once triggered, the bomb went off like a nuke that covered the entire screen in white light. Once the explosion passed, I saw our coop duo covered in dirt and wearing boxer shorts with nary a zombie in sight. The two players then took swings at each other in an attempt to grief the other player. Sure, it's a silly ending, but a lighthearted one that provided plenty of levity to this devastating apocalypse.
Jose Otero is an Associate Editor for IGN and host of the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast. You can read more of his silly opinions by following him on twitter
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