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Dead Rising
I think I’ve come to the realisation that what I actually like in a game is something that’s a little unique, with free-roaming capabilities, not overtly hyped up and has lots and lots of zombies to take my anguish out on. Dead Rising seems to accommodate for all my needs in this instance. It appears that a mall in Colorado has become the chosen destination for a non-stop shuffle ‘n’ groan party for the undead. In the midst of this consumer-esque zombie apocalypse photo-journalist extraordinaire Frank West leaps into action with his trusty zoom lense to uncover what could be the biggest story of his life. And the clock is ticking. I have actually made myself physically heave reading that last bit back to myself but unfortunately there isn’t really any other way to describe the game’s premise without resorting to clichés. The story is not the game’s strongest point but it does give it a lot of scope and longevity if one decides to follow it. Being a freelance photographer who basically bribes a helicopter pilot to drop him off on top of the mall’s roof so he can check out what’s going on doesn’t sound like an edge-of-your seat opening to a game. However, the notion of having an entire shopping mall at your disposal in which you can run riot, hack at zombies with Flying V guitars and try on women’s clothing automatically sets itself up as one of those games that just has “fun” tattooed all over it by a big hairy biker named Tiddles. I actually found Dead Rising immensely fun simply for giving me cathartic methods for dealing with my unresolved psychological problems with a plethora of unconventional weapons. You’re basically given 72 hours (that’s in-game time not real time much to my disappointment). 72 hours to explore, kill, rescue, discover and cross-dress in a vast open space in what is essentially the world’s biggest zombie flash mob. The choice of how to play the game is left up to you from the outset and it soon becomes apparent that there may be a certain degree of pressure placed on you; a mere camera-jerk.
Amidst your own devious ploy to uncover the story there is a multitude of other characters stuck in similar predicaments; some of them germane to the plot, others…not so much. It does appear that the vast majority of people caught up in the middle of it all are a tad on the moronic side; having no survival instincts at all because a consumerist populace has become so jaded and docile thanks to a compelling urge to spend due to fixations with advertisements and the television age which has washed over our inherent aptitude that got us to where we are in the first place… Sorry, what was I saying? Plus they just seem to be an inconvenience to you and your own troubles. They need rescuing. Or they would very much like to be rescued. The delight of this, however, is that – unless you’re inclined to solve the main story – you don’t actually have to rescue any of them. (Frank West’s freelancing lifestyle strikes again!) In fact, it’s impossible to rescue everybody. There just isn’t enough time. Some may argue that this is a poor choice on the developer’s part but I find it an intriguing method that keeps the game fresh. Even after completing the game you have the option of starting again whereby you can rescue those that in your previous go you merely gave a passing wave to as they sank into a mosh pit of ravenous cannibals. The weapons available range from the conventional (guns, knives, baseball bats), to the puzzling yet handy (barbells, broom handles, potted plants) to the downright absurd and pointless (water pistols, giant teddy bears). This gives potential to a variety of amusing methods by which to kill zombies and/or innocents (if you’re like me and you get a perverse thrill from playing utter bastards in games). The novelty seems exciting at first as you zip around shops searching for the most incongruous weapon to take a horde out with. All weapons wear out after a while but the beauty lies in being able to pick up items from just about anywhere and it soon becomes a game of strategy of sorts as you develop a second nature for which weapons are best for which situations. Some weapons are good for mowing down swarms (like actual lawnmowers for instance). Some are good for dealing with zombies in quick succession. Others are good at using from a distance. And so forth. There is a stat-building element as well which can be increased with something called ‘prestige points’. These are obtained through a number of methods such as completing story-mode quests, rescuing people (but only tree-hugging fairies want to do this), killing zombies and taking interesting/amusing photographs. The stats you build up go towards improving Mr. West by increasing the number of items he can hold, his maximum health, new melee moves and other various masculine compensations. That being said the main character is not strictly the most cliché and therefore not wholly unlikable. Apparently his facial features (piggish and a little square) were a purposeful attempt by Capcom to set him apart from the westernized male ideal. He’s also not a grunt/marine/biological-shooty-twat gone wrong/Arnold Schwarzenegger so his unwieldiness brings him a little more down to earth. He is, however, a little arrogant and sarcastic much like a sullen baboon. If it too was arrogant and sarcastic. One of the biggest problems I have with Dead Rising is trying to fathom whether it’s trying to be serious or not. On the one hand you’ve got an unfolding plot that involves solving a cover-up story as supposed terrorists try to use your larynx as a final resting place for their bullets. The cut scenes – like most contemporary games – bring filmic elements into the story and the dialogue is hardly ripe with humour or even bad puns. But the gameplay itself has comic potential such as the aforementioned cross-dressing antics. Frank has the option to try on various clothes throughout the shopping centre and this does include women’s skirts and in one instance a novelty horse’s head. If you were to be wearing these during the cut sequences you would almost certainly be forgiven for not taking the plot seriously. So maybe the game is meant to be funny and the storyline is just a distraction for players who like linear structures. The game even goes so far as to reward bonus points for outtakes in photos: zombies pushing shopping trolleys around, zombies that have had the aforementioned horse’s heads placed on them and even erotica points for zombie cleavage shots! (“She may be sucking out my brains using my ear canal as a straw but fuck has she got nice baps!”) For the sake of argument I’m willing to go with the idea that Dead Rising is the kind of game that brings out some inner personality in the player. One who follows the storyline in hopes of achieving the positive ending is perhaps a more serious gamer. Someone who wields HDTV’s, bowling balls and umbrellas with a violent agenda in-mind is clearly after a few hours entertainment. While those that play it again and again, choosing different things like in some sort of bizarre zombie alternative to Groundhog Day evidently has issues with the outside world and those that inhabit it. |
