Dead Rising 3 Review

The zombie outbreak in the city of Los Perdidos has finally spread to the PC, and along the way the horde has picked up higher resolutions, better textures, keyboard and mouse support, as well as a higher frame rate if you so dare to enable it.

The third full instalment – Dead Rising 3 – ditches the mall and larger mall/casino layouts of the first two major titles and instead expands out into city limits. That means, much to fan delight, there’s a whole new scale to the zombie legions to mow down, chainsaw, dropkick and wallop an acoustic guitar over. Thankfully it stays true to the series with its shameless embrace of B-movie shenanigans and packed full of larger-than-life and totally over-the-top villains. Dead Rising has never been one to take itself too seriously, and so it’s not about to start now.

The streets are paved with zombies, but that just means more PP for your tyres

We take charge of the young Nick Ramos, a mechanic with a talent for slapping objects together to make things both ludicrous and deadly to the undead, or even not-so-undead, which now stalk the fictional Los Perdidos. This is no vacation though as Nick and his survivor buddies have just a handful of days to get what they need to escape or be vaporised in a scheduled bombing of Los Perdidos. Also like its predecessors there are five total endings depending on our choices.

If you didn’t like the previous Dead Rising entries because of the time pressure then you’ll be glad to know that, while a clock is still ticking, it’s nowhere as demanding for Nick. In fact you’ll have plenty of time to go off exploring the city, picking over weapons strewn practically everywhere and even hunting down the many collectibles. These range from statues of Frank, Dead Rising’s original protagonist, to blueprints of new weapons and vehicle combinations. Yes, vehicles are available to play with and even combine with others for some very special surprises.

There’s also no need to look for the nearest workbench either as Nick can combine weapons and objects out in the field, but he does become vulnerable to attack. There’s many a place to catch a breather, like on a car or climbing up a short building or two to keep out of zombie reach. In fact there’s a lot more ‘platforming’ in Dead Rising 3 as some of the collectibles are in hard to reach places, and take some noodle scratching to get to.

A pillar of the series is undoubtedly the weapon combinations and there is no shortage of crazy contraptions you’ll be able to fashion. These aren’t just for laughs either as some can be very powerful in dispatching larger crowds of zombies. Speaking of crowds, the zombie hordes can truly balloon to terrifying numbers in Dead Rising 3, especially on the long stretches of highway, making those combo weapons and vehicles all the more precious. Much like in the previous games we’ll be upgrading our character, Nick, as he progresses through the game collecting Prestige Points (PP).

Upgrades for Nick are more powerful than what Frank or Chuck enjoyed in the previous games, as now we can unlock some very helpful passive bonuses and perks. Should you reach level 50 then the very top abilities become available, like Nick being able to regenerate all his health without the need for food if he stays out of harm’s way long enough. Other upgrades include better weapon durability, indestructible vehicles, and improving our survivor posse. Survivors are now recruitable to take with us out into the world and we can take multiple when Nick levels up. These survivors seriously level the playing field, especially when you equip them with powerful weapons, as they get to enjoy infinite ammo and durability unlike Nick. Saving survivors is significantly different in Dead Rising 3 as most times you need only ‘clear the zombies’ from around them before they scamper off. No more escort runs to a central safe zone, which was fraught with peril mainly due to poor NPC AI.

There are combos and then there are the special combos for extra pwnage

Outside of the primary missions for advancing the main story, side missions will slowly pile up by way of a radio Nick finds early on. Again as time is not the threat it once was in the previous games; there’s no need to immediately drop everything to rush off and complete them. Some reward just PP, while others could yield a new weapon combo or even a new recruitable survivor. Your posse can be managed somewhat at safehouses you’ve cleared out of zombies, which also provide a closet for costume swapping and a weapon locker containing every weapon you’ve ever handled or unlocked. Different survivors have different stats so some will become your BFFs.

Los Perdidos is a welcome break to the sometimes stuffy and claustrophobic settings of the original two games, however there is a slight step backward as the game’s map is devoid of any name places for stores and buildings, which can prove frustrating if you’re trying to find a particular weapon or place for a combo or to meet a demand of a side mission. To get around this you’d need to use Microsoft’s SmartGlass which pairs with Dead Rising 3 and does reveal names on the map, except it isn’t supported for PC and remains exclusive to Xbox One.

Another gripe is how difficult it can be to navigate all those objects around you, as trying to pick up a specific item turns into a frustration, especially if you’re in a hurry. This is compounded further when that same button is used to generally interact with the world, so using a weapon locker can be almost impossible if there’s a pile of items in front of it, or you’ll accidentally start a swap fest of weapons with your posse. Boss fights therefore can be a tenser affair as you fight both them and the game’s own mechanics if objects are clumped together.

Psychos are another hallmark of Dead Rising and they still plague the poor few who’ve managed to outlive the zombie outbreak. They’re just as crazy and deranged as before – more so, in fact – but this time they are given their own little arenas to do battle within, and aren’t directly connected to the wider areas of the city. They’re inside a courtyard for example, a restaurant or a shop specialising in things of an adult nature. Most will yield a special weapon when defeated or a key. They seem to be much easier to tackle in Dead Rising 3, with little need to take them on as a powerhouse Nick. Also your survivor posse can really help out in most cases.

Graphically Dead Rising 3 for PC is superior and I’m fortunate enough to be playing this on a machine that can laugh at its recommended specs. Everything was turned up to maximum, including anti-aliasing, and I even ‘unlocked’ the frame rate to 60 FPS using the custom user.ini file. I have also been playing it on a 27” monitor at 2560 x 1440 – effectively doubling the Xbox One’s limited 720p to 1440p. I haven’t experienced a single crash or even notice any frame rate drops despite plowing through zombies with my flame-spewing rollerhawg – many, many times.

Thankfully Nick doesn’t need his hands to answer his phone – a Bluetooth warrior

If you’ve got the PC rig for it then Dead Rising 3 can be buttery smooth, but Falling short of what Capcom recommends to power the game will doubtlessly lead to some performance issues given the increased viewing distance, and sheer number of zombies. As PC gamers we get the extra treat of a hybrid control scheme. At any time you can switch between a controller and the keyboard and mouse on-the-fly – no need for menus. Naturally the game plays better with a controller since it was built for it, but being able to quickly exploit the mouse for more pinpoint precision shooting or throwing a weapon is most welcome.

Dead Rising 3 is a step forward for the series as it finally finds the confidence to expand its setting, which is mostly down to better hardware being available. Hopefully the focus going forward can be put on fleshing out more of its mechanics and not just creating larger areas, like perhaps a more in-depth survivor posse system for example. If you feel some things were better off as they were then the game’s Nightmare Mode will surely appeal as it restricts you to saving only at set points, just like the original. Much like Frank, Chuck or Nick – Dead Rising 3 is definitely accumulating those Prestige Points and levelling up the series, but it’s still got some attribute points left to spend and hopefully Capcom will unlock them next time.