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Awesome. The best game i’ve played since Lego Star Wars last year. Best story since HL2. We’ll see if Lego Star Wars 2 can top Dead Rising! Follow the jump to read more specifics, including some things i’ve found that weren’t mentioned in any of the walkthroughs. (nothing that exciting… :)) |
The Game
Dead Rising is a great game, if you aren’t afraid of zombies, gore, or starting over and over. At the beginning, the game is hard. Really hard. But its a “good” hard, in that you have to learn from your mistakes. I started over about a half dozen times, and every time i did, i learned something about why i should’ve done something a different way, or if i go this way instead of that way, i can avoid X.
it also allowed me to try on different outfits, figure out which books to hold onto, where all the good foods are stashed, shortcuts, vehicles, etc. I finished the full full game (to infinite mode) at level 38. Well, technically was level 37 when the last “boss” fight started, and as soon as i was down to 1 box of health left, i killed zombies and took pictures until i hit level 38 (and my life bar filled back up :D)
Another great part of the game is the multiple ending system. I’ve replayed the game several times, and a couple of times, saved at a spot where i knew i could get to a different ending, so i played through an ending. I was hoping each ending would have a nice long cutscene instead of just some text, but hey, just having multiple endings instead of “you lose! restart?” was fine with me.
The most annoying thing was the AI of the rescued people. I’ve had game dev classes, so i know how hard it is to code some of these things, like pathfinding, but that was me, and for a class. Having NPC’s not be able to get through an open door is pretty sad. Having them run 40 feet to go through a door when i just shot out every window from here to there is a little silly, having 6 rescuees stuck near the air duct exit because they are all trying to climb up on a 3 foot ledge at the same time is pathetic. I lost 2 survivers and missed being in the security room because i couldn’t get them ALL up at once. They just kept bumping eachother around and nobody could get up at all. That whole area is safe once you get off the elevator, if i go through the air duct and they are ALL on the roof, they should all make it in themselves. even something as simple as “if on the roof near the ledge climb up the ledge from oldest to youngest. respect your elders!” i shouldn’t have to go back out and get 2 of them. they just SAW 4 other people and me go through a duct….grrrr!
The second most annoying thing in the game is getting calls from Otis during boss fights. “Hey otis, can i call you back? I’m a little busy fighting a dual chainsaw wielding clown right now.” But nooooooo, otis just keeps ringing. I would have appreciated the clock and calls pausing during the boss fights, even if it was only the ones with no zombies around.
Gameplay
The controls are pretty good, and the special moves you get as you level up come in handy. The only problem i had was with accidentally taking pictures when i meant to zoom out, or when i went to aim, suddenly i’m facing the wrong direction. I set my “aim” mode to point the way the camera points (instead of the way the character is facing), and that made a big difference for me.
The only control problem i had was related to the d-pad. There were tons of times where someone would call on the walkie-talkie and i would press “right” on the d-pad to answer the call. instead of answering, i would drop whatever item i was holding. So i’d pick it back up, and wait for Otis to call back. And then i’d drop the item again. I never realized how bad the d-pad was until i played this game.
The Story
The storyline in Dead Rising is the best since HL and HL2. I’m not going to give any storyline spoliers, but there are people who die that you kinda get attached to, there are some twists, some turns, some “sonofabitch” moments, and some “yeaaaaaah boyeeeee!” moments too.
Even though I’ve finished the story part, i don’t have all of the achievements (i think i have 22 of 50?), and i didn’t get through half of the optional stories. I’m playing through again to try to rescue more people and do some of the scoops i missed the first time(s) through. There is SO much replayability here, and yet it feels open-ended.
My Hints
Here are some things i found that i didn’t see explicitly mentioned anywhere else on the web.
General
Finding “queens”: If you pick up the “weekly photography” book (iirc) from the first bookstore in paradise plaza, it highlights pp on zombies/etc and gives hints for picture opportunities. But: zombies with queens show up as green pp spots, and special forces show up as orange pp spots, EVEN THROUGH WALLS! They don’t always show up, but most of the time they do.
Overtime Mode
Overtime: pick up the health book (if you don’t already have it) from the empty store in the north plaza. It doubles the health value of food, so oj/milk will fill up 8 health spots. Very helpful near the end so you don’t have to carry so much food.
Blender:Don’t need to go to the food court for a blender. Can get one from roastmasters right across the hall from where you get the cold spray.
Levelling up inside Seons: There are tons of special forces guys inside seons, and they are worth 5k PP each. Go into Seons, and make a beeline for the pharmacy door between the meet shop and the pharmacy (where you went to get the first aid kit). if you close doors behind you, the special forces guys will get stuck by that first door. go into the pharmacy, and shoot them from the pharmacy counter. They will try to get through that door instead of shooting through the windows. Go replace all your guns, pick up some food, exit seons, and reenter. repeat!
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