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Dead hard. Capcom really are being cruel at the moment. Two great games from them this month, and both are so tough, and in the case of Dead Rising so deeply flawed, that the fun and challenge of playing them is muddled with stress and heartache. These are games for people who are tenacious. Furthermore, Dead Rising is a game that, frankly, is a right pain if you don't have an HDTV. Why? Because the myriad side-missions are presented in the form of transceiver messages that appear as on-screen text, not vocals, in a ridiculously small, cramped font. Capcom explained that “Dead Rising was optimized for High Definition TVs. Due to this, the font in the game might be difficult to read on standard definition TVs,” and made a few completely useless suggestions for adjusting your TV set. Suffice to say, this is a catastrophic flaw.  Dead Rising. Seriously, how big a proportion of the gaming market has a big, pricey HDTV? I've talked about this before, but Dead Rising is the most problematic example yet. It's a mystery why Capcom didn't include a means of changing the font in the options. Anyway, it just makes a tough game tougher. And Dead Rising is survival horror at its purest – you really do have to survive for 72 hours in a mall infested with literally thousands of zombies, with only one save. If you get yourself into a corner you can restart with your current level and abilities, but it's a fairly extreme solution. Far from being a sandbox heaped with inventive zombie slaughter, Dead Rising is in fact a very heavily structured game that orders you to keep running about saving people. The escort missions can be a pain, especially as the AI of your rescuees isn't great (they get stuck and are just plain stupid, running into the densest patches of the dead). Despite all this – despite the font, the AI, the save structure, the constant buzzing of the transceiver when you're fighting off dozens of zombies, the relentless race against time - Dead Rising is a magnificent achievement. The very presence of so many foes in such a detailed environment, replete with myriad comic means of dealing with them (stick a toy horse's head on a zombie and slice it up with garden shears? Sure. Throw crockery at it? Fine. Do so while wearing a daffy costume? Go for it) is a marvel.  Dead Rising. Similarly marvellous is Capcom's other big release this month, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, the return of Sir Arthur and that irritating single inverted apostrophe. Taking full advantage of the PSP's screen, the side-scrolling action is set in a vibrantly colourful widescreen world where our hero is relentlessly assailed; even in "Novice" mode he takes a battering. Skilled gamers may well consider this a fairly leisurely experience, but it's not exactly a walk in the park for those of us who are more averagely skilled. As for Dead Rising, although it gets easier the more you play and you level up waddling photojournalist Frank West's health (he runs like he's got terrible haemorrhoids), I really wish Capcom would patch it to solve the font issue. It's a challenging game, but being unable to read on-screen mission instructions, and therefore being left largely clueless about the details of your activities, really does take the difficulty to gratuitous levels.
Daniel Etherington
Dead Rising is out on 08 September 06 on Xbox 360. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins is out on 08 September on PSP.
 comments
Read members' comments related to this game.
comment by brocksamson26
Sep 22, 2006
beating bosses, firstly theres a few key places and items that make the game very easy, SPOILERS AND HINTS AHEAD1, when you first enter the mall go the to the right a bit past a couple of shops to see some stairs with a few zombies on, get to the midsection of the stairs and jump across to the blue ledge, follow this round for an orange juice carton and then an uzi (essential for beating the convicts in the jeep and carlito easily) this gun respawns every couple of hours and theres also an uzi in the fountain up past the hardware store in alfresco, jump in to locate it. Have an uzi on you at all times and you can kill bosses easily. Alternatively when you do the scoop called out of control which is in wonderland plaza, you fight a clown with 2 chainsaws called adam, he may seem very hard at first but he is very easy to beat using this strategy, keep quite far away from him and when he starts blowing up a balloon shoot it and then he drops it, shoot it again and he starts to cough, he is vulnerable at this moment so let off a few shots and his energy goes down quite well, rinse and repeat till he dies, then stop the ride by activating the controls and a security guard gets off, be sure to pick up the 2 small chainsaws the clown drops as they are the best weapons in the game, they kill zombies in 1 hit and bosses in 3 hits they also respawn whenever u go back to the ride in wonderland plaza. you should also follow and protect the guard to the toilets he guides you to and note the hatch in the ceiling as its a shortcut back to the toilets in paradise plaza which saves loads of time etc now heres the real key to easy mode in the game, there are several books which prolong the life of the chainsaws which are found in 2 of the bookshops in the game its essential to carry these 3 books as they make the chainsaw last 27 times longer, two books are found in bachmans books in paradise plaza one is called engineering and the other is called entertainment, you must get these 2 books when u have the small chainsaws, the third book is called criminal psychology and its found in the bookstore where u rescue the japanese tourists near the ride in wonderland plaza, with these 3 books u will see 3 purple circles next to your small chainsaw, they now last for hours rather than breaking after a few kills and this puts the game into easy mode, you also want to carry an orange juice, wine or milk around to heal any damage you take,
comment by some1else
Sep 22, 2006
You have more faith than i do simon. I will try again next time round. just rescuing people this time and waiting for the chopper. 42 hrs to go.
comment by TIGER in COMBAT
Sep 22, 2006
I can't remember what lvl I'm up to. I've just got the dodge ability though to be honest I've spent more time playing Company of Heroes on the PC recently.Due to the amount of zombie on the screen at any one time, and thus the amount of polygons, the PS2 and Xbox 1 would chug like a steam powered turtle.
comment by Simon-Games Nut
Sep 21, 2006
I don't think the xbox would be able to run it also Good luck beating Carlito Some1 you can do it
comment by some1else
Sep 21, 2006
The PS2 doesnt have the capabilities to run Dead Rising
comment by Simon-Games Nut
Sep 21, 2006
Some games are exclusive for the x-box only this is one of them plus only a pc could come close to runing this game as good as the 360 does
comment by Psychotic Evel Knievel Carrot
Sep 21, 2006
Was there any Explanation Why?, because they Usually bring a Xbox and PS2 version later.
comment by Simon-Games Nut
Sep 21, 2006
No only the Xbox 360
comment by Psychotic Evel Knievel Carrot
Sep 21, 2006
Does any on know if Capcom intend to bring Dead Rising out on any other format..........
comment by Simon-Games Nut
Sep 21, 2006
First off the only good way to kill him is with the sniper or the shot gun if you enter the gun shop as soon as you are able then no one will be there failing that when the zombies first enter the mall one guy who gets killed has a shotgun if you can find it on the floor.The other way is with the handgun which takes along time or the sword or katana the best way is to take a few shots with it then run away. With the sniper when you first go up to the second floor postion your self by the railing opposite the makeup shop and you can get a few good shots in early untill he runs then just repostion your self and repeat
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see also
 autumn 06 roundupdead rising previous gaming columns  call of juarezgames #168  n3games #167  mmofpsgames #166 autumn 06games #165  ...middle earth ii games #164books  books and comics archive Author interviews and reviews from 2002 to 2008. |
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