Review: Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition

Dead Rising was a launch game for the Xbox 360, and Dead Rising 3 was the same on Xbox One. Now, PC gamers get a chance to check out a higher-res version of the game on Steam, with all four of Dead Rising 3‘s “Untold Stories of Los Perditos” DLC offerings bundled in to boot. It’s a good day to be a PC gamer.

If you’ve played either of the Dead Rising games before it, you know what to expect from Dead Rising 3. Whilst the original Dead Rising was a trailblazer, it was decidedly Japanese: kooky and full of weird game mechanics and restraints. Want to save your game? Head to a bathroom. Your main character? Well, he’s a photographer who’s covered wars (you know). You get the idea.

Dead Rising 2 went to Blue Castle Games, now Capcom Vancouver, for some Western influence, and they didn’t disappoint. While keeping the game’s obscure timing mechanic – where anything and everything seemed to put you under the pump – they really focused on crafting; combo weapons were plentiful, super-damage dealing and very, very cool.

Dead Rising 3 takes even more Western influences and sticks them into the game. If the timers on missions and survivor rescues weren’t your thing, they’re gone… providing you don’t choose to play in “Nightmare” mode. Crafting is even easier this time around; as main character Nick is a mechanic, he’s somehow able to combine tools and vehicles to create damage-dealing weapons and super-transport. Sure, it’s completely unrealistic, but it’s so fun, you’re willing to turn a blind eye.

The story is much the same as in past games: you’re stuck in a zombie-infested city, under threat by weapons of mass destruction that will hit in a set number of days (though, that’s really handled by chapter progression now and not an actual countdown). Your main goal is to escape. Simple enough, eh?

Survivors are handled differently this time around; those with proper side-quests are saveable and can join your party as you progress through the world. That type of NPC will join you whenever called from a safehouse, be it up against the normal, fodder-like zombie horde or the crazy, crazy psychos littering Los Perditos. Other survivors might just open up a ‘clear the area so they can escape and never been seen again’-type quest. As always, completing quests give you XP, and that XP is used to upskill Nick with combo creation and more. Crafting relies upon blueprints scattered throughout Los Perditos. Really, it’s all standard Dead Rising stuff.

Whilst most of the changes to this game are positive, psychos really suffer this time around. Most are taken care of through guns and guns alone – even when you’re encouraged otherwise — and that’s a real shame considering my loadout in Dead Rising 2 was one katana blade and three food items for healing. With many psychos, you’ll find that a ton of guns and health are just lying around, ripe for the taking, meaning preparation is a thing of the past. Easier psychos plus much easier crafting really means that Dead Rising 3 is just a little too easy most of the time.

Back to my original point. There was nothing wrong with Dead Rising on the 360, but if you play it now, you’d be able to realise (and quickly) that it wasn’t really harnessing the power of the console. I believe that same will be said of Dead Rising 3 in a year’s time when it comes to the game’s Xbox One version. The PC version is much better at harnessing processing power, and therefore looks just that bit better straight away.

The “Untold Stories of Los Perditos” also add extra flavour to the mix, shedding light on why the city is a busted-up as it is. I’d personally hit up the Los Perditos stories before the main game, but to each their own. We’ve reviewed “Broken Eagle”, one of the DLC offerings, here.

Dead Rising 3 is a bit niche, but it does niche well. Especially if you missed it on the Xbox One, Dead Rising 3 is a unique experience that’s well worth the purchase.

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