Dead Rising

The Good
When I first saw the commercials for Dead Rising, I had high expectations. But did the game actually live up to them? The answer is yes. But first, a quick summary of the plot. You play as Frank West, a photojournalist who is flown by helicopter to Willamette, Colorado to investigate why the National Guard has blocked it off. Upon landing at the city's mall, he discovers that it is infested with zombies. Frank has 72 hours to find out how and why the zombies are there. Dead Rising is a sandbox game. Because it takes place in a mall (with lots of different stores), anything and everything is a weapon (including but not limited to pistols, guitars, potted plants, knives, mannequins, human arms, gumball machines, Frisbees, bowling balls, and even novelty masks).

The Bad
While a great game, Dead Rising is not without flaws. My two main complaints are the save system and the transceiver. Only one save slot is available, which means that if you want to start a new game while still keeping your progress, you're out of luck. I absolutely hate the transceiver. It constantly rings and when I do answer it, I'm completely defenseless. I can't jump, use a weapon or anything. If the call is somehow interrupted, you are called back in a couple seconds and scolded for being rude, before they start giving you the same information from the beginning.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Dead Rising is a good game. It's not too easy, but not too hard either. Its difficulty is just right. If you're looking for a fun zombie game, then Dead Rising's for you. I'd recommend it to either a hardcore gamer or someone who's just looking for something to do.

The Good
The variety of stuff to do. You can solve the cases that surround the mysteries of how the mall became swarming with zombies (or not), you can go on a zombie genocide spree, you can rescue survivors and get them to safety, you can use anything even mildly pointy or heavy as a weapon (from cactus plants to chainsaws to garbage cans) and you can even shop the mall, picking up golf clubs, bowling balls and even milk and bread (which can all be used as weapons or health items)

The variety of attacks and characters is astounding and you can play through this game twenty times and still see or do something new every time.

There is no slowdown at any point during the game and the fun factor never ceases. The story for this game is also suprisingly excellent and averts the possible boredom that could insue from smashing zombies for hours on end. The achievement system is also top notch and is entertaining as well as rewarding (there is even a mode of play you can unlock where you have to survive in the mall for up to 7 game days, with a wonderous reward waiting for you on the other end)

The Bad
While the graphics are not on level with other Xbox360 games like "Condemned" and "Quake 4", the lack of detailed shoe textures is more than adequately made up for by the literally hundreds to thousands of zombies that fill your screen at any one time with no slowdown. The game is a powerhouse at rendering all those zombies with their own activities and personalities.

The save system is flawed however. There is only one save slot and minimal save stations around the zombie infested mall. It can be a real pain hoofing it across the entire map to get to a save point.

Also, the melee attacks availible to Frank vary from easy to use to downright awkward to pull off. Good thing they're all listed in your menu and told how to pull each off easily.

The Bottom Line
Top notch! Worth every penny of the $60 price tag with massive replay value, both hilarious and frightening characters and a suprisingly deep political story that will keep you intrigued until the final second of the 72 hour survival mode.

For some bizarre reason, you'll probably wish that the 72 hours would never end, this game is that good.

The Good
You have almost total freedom to do whatever you want. Great characters, graphics, and features are just some of the things this game has to offer. Capcom turned a simple idea (killing zombies) into a very unique and addicting video game.

The Bad
Occasional slowdown and lagging times,plus some disk read errors. But that's about it. Plus the escorts have extremely dumb A.I.

The Bottom Line
A very fun and addicting yet horrific title that you'll keep wanting to play. All the weapons and special moves you can ask for and plenty of unlockable content and secrets that won't lose your interest.