Dead Rising 3 - Hands-on at E3 2013
Ask us which Xbox One title we were most excited about at E3, and we’d have to say TitanFall. That said, Dead Rising 3 comes a very close second. Created by Capcom Vancouver, Dead Rising 3 is not the most visually advanced next-gen game or the one that’s most likely to push the frontiers of gameplay, but one thing it’s almost certain to be is a whole lot of fun.
Like previous games in the series it’s an open-world game of action, horror and survival, though this time the action moves from the Vegas-like Fortune City to the fictional Californian city of Los Perdidos. The new hero is a young mechanic, Nick Ramos, and his objective to escape the zombie-stricken city before a military strike wipes it off the map.
Watch the Dead Rising 3 announcement trailer:
Read our in-depth Xbox One vs PS4 comparison
Meanwhile, the tone remains one of ultra-violent slapstick; it’s not just about staying alive and slaying zombies, but about looking good while you do it. Not only can Nick adopt a selection of different clothes and uniforms, but he can scavenge items and combine them into a vast range of offensive weapons, going all the way from flaming broadswords to sledgehammer-chainsaws and high-explosive shotguns.
Where Dead Rising 3 moves on from the earlier Dead Rising games is in terms of visual style and scale. Los Perdidos is big – apparently bigger than the settings of Dead Rising 1 and Dead Rising 2 combined – and you can wander in and out of buildings or enter different parts of the city without any loading times. What’s more, the increase in console horsepower has been used in the most obvious way: to add more zombies. In Dead Rising 3 the flesh-chewing chumps are everywhere, packing out the streets and increasing the chances of Nick becoming swamped. You’ll find yourself taking to the rooftops and clambering onto cars and tricks in order to avoid an inglorious demise.
The look this time is deliberately more realistic, with the colours toned down and a lot more textural detail in the environments, characters and zombies. However, don’t think for a minute that Capcom Vancouver has been looking at The Last of Us for inspiration. There’s still something reassuringly comic-book about the zombie-bashing blood and gore, as the flaming sword slashes the walking dead into two burning chunks, or the ‘sledgesaw’ literally divides and conquers.
Beyond this, there are some major changes to the gameplay. Where previously new weapons could only be crafted at a workstation, the more resourceful Nick can craft new items anywhere provided he has the right ingredients and a plan to work with. Zombies now come in more varieties, with some attracted to light or sound. Start blasting away willy-nilly with a shotgun and you’re guaranteed to get more attention than you could handle. Some zombies can also alert other zombies to your presence. Luckily, you can use some of this zombie-intelligence to your advantage. Fire off a flare into the distance or get something to make a noise and you can lure the shambling hordes away from your location.
From what we’ve seen the game has missions pushing you on to specific objectives, but also more ad-hoc events that prompt you to go and find survivors. Meanwhile, a tie-in with an Xbox SmartGlass app allows you to use a map and look-up nearby resources on your tablet – or even call in an airstrike when the zombies get too numerous to handle.
Dead Rising 3 - First Impressions
With the likes of Dead Island: Riptide out and Dying Light on its way, there’s more competition in the zombie crowd-control genre than there was when the original Dead Rising appeared, but there’s something daft and more exuberant in Capcom Vancouver’s take that just clicks. It might not do anything radically new, but if Dead Rising 3 can maintain the demo’s pace over the long haul, then we could be in for a gruesome treat.
Next, read our WatchDogs hands-on from E3 2013
