

It's the kind of design that might scare off veterans but bring in fresh zombie killers into the fold. The holly jolliness adds a touch of flavor to exploring parts of town beyond the mall that might come off as boring during any other season. The approach works well because the small-town setting is so well-realized, partially thanks to its Christmas theme that infects the core 10-hour story as thoroughly as the sickness infects the zombies. So heavy is the sandboxy exploration emphasis that Frank doesn't even have to head anywhere to craft his sometimes silly murder devices: he can cobble together firework-shooting crossbows or electricity-shooting go-karts right there in the field. Capcom removed much of the series' previous urgency by ditching the timer, which frees up Frank's time to track down a sleigh's worth of blueprints and assorted collectibles, as well as stopping off from time to time to save survivors stranded in the undead sea. I could never shake the feeling that Dead Rising had sacrificed much of its identity.īut you might find cause to stick around if your interests lie elsewhere. I'm inclined to believe there's no way a town like Willamette was home to that many people in the first place, but the crowds make the yuletide slaughter consistently enjoyable.
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Never before has the series tossed the undead at you with such relentlessness. The melee controls are satisfying and intuitive, although the removal of throwable melee weapons stings bitterly and ranged weapons suffer from poor aiming.

It's about strapping on hulking (and rare) exosuits after zombies overrun the Willamette Memorial Megaplex after Black Friday and cutting down them with an electrified battleaxe or using blueprints to make quirky weapons like an "Ice Sword" from scattered items like liquid nitrogen and machetes. Still, this is a tale about blasting zombies with a gnome-capped staff called the "Gandelf" and gleefully plowing through literally hundreds of zombies in a city park with a lawnmower. You look at a game like Red Dead Redemption that essentially offered the exact same kind of DLC (Undead Redemption) – and yet it had hours of new content and story, for the exact same price that you’re paying for Frank Rising.The melee controls are satisfying and intuitive, although the removal of throwable melee weapons stings bitterly. Sure, some gamers might be motivated to play through a second time to find collectibles or finish on a harder setting – but they’re still getting the same, minimal amount of content. Sure, you get to play a Dead Rising game as a semi-zombie – but a playthrough will take you no more than an hour and a half. Second, the amount of content is minimal at best.
#DEAD RISING 4 PC STEAM REVIEW FOR FREE#
If the developers hadn’t quite completed it, then it could have been released at a later date for free as an added bonus. This content should have been included as a bonus for completing the main game. Without playing Frank Rising, you’ll never know the real conclusion of Dead Rising 4 – and that’s just not acceptable. First, the content is a direct continuation of the main game which has direct implications on potential sequels. Here’s the problem with Frank Rising – it’s a rip-off. Completing the DLC allows you to replay it over again with all your health and collectibles – however, you’ll have to regain most of your enhanced abilities again. While I was able to complete the DLC on my first try – it was damn close (like a few minutes to spare!). In fact, if you die, you’ll head back to the nearest checkpoint, with however much health you had when you got to that checkpoint – but the time remaining doesn’t replenish! That timer just keeps ticking away. However, the 90-minute timer is constantly ticking down. There are special “trials” that allow you to enhance your abilities and there are plenty of collectibles to find as well. The entire DLC environment is identical to the primary campaign – no new areas have been provided. You’ll be given directions throughout the short campaign, heading from one checkpoint to another collecting mission critical items that’ll help restore your humanity and escape the city. To regain health, Frank will have to feed off other zombies or humans – no more food or medkits. No longer will he have access to any melee weapons, combos, guns or EXO suits – he’ll have to rely on his bare fists and these three new abilities to survive (oh, and dress up time is done too, no costumes here!). In Frank Rising, Frank West has three new abilities: howl (which stuns enemies), pounce (which leaps onto a targeted enemy), and vomit (which sprays enemies with caustic vomit).
