X05: Dead Rising Shuffles Onto Xbox 360
Capcom's other zombie game brings fast-paced undead action to the next-gen. New screens.
Like zombies? And guns? And violence? Welcome to your next game. Dead Rising is Capcom's answer to the creaky, sometimes-plodding nature of its own Resident Evil series - a game that shamelessly swaps tension for gratuitous all-out devastation.
You play as Frank West, an "overly zealous freelance photojournalist", according to Capcom's press material, who is out for his big story. One quick jump cut later and you're in a Dawn of the Dead-esque shopping mall overrun by zombies and overflowing in weapons.
The heart of the game is the freeform combat system that allows you to use not only the standard shotguns and pistols but also just about anything else in the store you could imagine using as a weapon.
The action is fast-paced, with a steady flow of zombies shuffling ever closer, forcing your hand. According to Capcom, the zombies have retained some of their pre-undead lives, giving them unique appearances and behaviour. The game also employs a day-night system that affects how the zombies move around the mall. Dead Rising showed up at Microsoft's X05 event earlier this week and it was greeted with the same rapturous response it drew at last month's Tokyo Game Show. All signs point to this being one of the Capcom's games to watch on the Xbox 360.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games