Dead Rising 4 Review (Xbox One)

INtroduction 

Frank West is back and he's better than ever. Dead Rising 4 makes an exploding arrival for all fans of Xbox One and Windows 10 to enjoy. Dead Rising 4 is a timed exclusive for Xbox One and Windows 10. Dead Rising 4 is based off the original video game Dead Rising 1 which was released in 2006, was of Frank West covering a story in Willamette of the original zombie outbreak. So technically this is a sequel to the first, and it shows.

Dead Rising 4 can be bought on Microsoft Store, starting at 59.99$ for a Standard Edition.

Watch our Let's Play below:

Character

Yes, I'm talking about Frank West. 

First thing to notice about the video game is that Frank West's character has received a massive overhaul. His appearance, voice actor and general demeanor have been amplified. Although, Frank West is considered, "the old man" of the series he seems rather young, (and immature). The corny jokes he makes, the cliche acts he does, and his massive selfish personality really helps keep the gamer. grasped into the gameplay.

Dead Rising 4 is all about Frank West, and he makes it that way. His personality keeps the game going, I've even found myself to laugh at his short pun-like remarks. He's a massive, I repeat, massive improvement over the last few characters that were within the series. You have no one to care for, no one to find zomrex for, nor do you have some lover you are hunting for. The changes made on Frank West won't break the game for you as it was well needed in order to give Frank a more life-like feel. He's a Deadpool of the Capcom world. His phrases will keep you laughing or at least get you to smirk at the mere stupidity of them. They're not only creative but also, not much repeated or over-used. There was even an instance of him saying, "that's what she said" to an actual great example of the joke. His "I don't care" attitude will keep you interested and wanting to play more knowing that you don't have to truly babysit someone. Frank West is a very likable character.  

Gameplay

The gore factor in this game is amazing. It truly shows the degree of havoc that you will release in this game. Your character isn't the only one that will get bloody in this game either. Zombies will get sprayed with their companions own blood as you murder them one-by-one. The conclusion of every horde battle will show as well. There will blood sprayed all over the walls, ground and yourself as you realize the amount of death that you're actually capable of. There is an in-detail damage system that really shows how much damage you do to a zombie. Have a sword? Hit a zombie with it and watch an arm fly off or his torso sliced in half. Oh, but don't forget to stomp his head in after you make him into a crawler. Zombies are more ruthless than ever and use their numbers to their advantage.

Yes, finally the camera is back in the game and it's better than ever. All the original scoring procedures are back with horror, brutality, humor and exotica. You can even take selfies with not only zombies but the maniacs you encounter as well. The game wants you to use the camera and rewards you greatly for using it. There is also a form of the PP stickers throughout the game but in this turn, they're called graffiti tags. Another nifty feature is that Frank reacts to the pictures you take. Trust me, if you take a bad picture he lets you know with his reaction. Not with just a simple "oh no" or grunt. Another great thing is you can take selfies. Sneak up behind an unfortunate enemy, perform a stealth kill with your camera out and Frank will take a selfie with the victim. Whether it be a zombie or a human.

The new inventory system is a great update from the last inventory system. I was a little hesitant at first with using the new inventory system as it takes time to get used to, but with time I realized it was a great improvement. It truly showed how much the old inventory system has aged. With this inventory system, it gives you more time to kill and less time rummaging through your inventory. It is categorized into three different wheels. The melee systems are in the center category following the thrown on the left and the ranged on the right. With this, it creates an extremely organized inventory system with the player being able to change his weapons with the flick of his left, right or up on the directional pad. Food items also have their own slot as well which just an image of a, "+" at the bottom of the player health screen. Pressing down on the directional pad will make Frank eat/use whatever health item he has. LB will automatically throw a thrown weapon and holding LT will automatically aim the ranged weapon. Clicking RT will make Frank begin spraying his ranged weapon. There is one awkward thing that was implemented in the game which is that you cannot throw your melee weapon which seems like an odd removal. The another issue is that when you want to drop a weapon you must hold down on the directional pad, which seems like it shouldn't be an issue. Because if you don't hold it down, you will mistakenly use a health item and those become crucial to survival in the game. Overall, the new inventory system is a plus as I've found myself not stressing about the little space I have within start up. I get to have as much fun as I want to be able to use as many weapons as humanly possible.

Combo-Weapons are back and better than ever, they're actually extremely overpowered. The game follows the same blueprint system as Dead Rising 3, and the weapons are insane. Let me rephrase that, the weapons, thrown weapons, vehicles, and ranged weapons are insane. They launch out an incredible amount of damage and wreck a massive amount of damage. When creating a combo-weapon prepare to wreck the most havoc imagined as most of all the weapons are exaggerated to an extreme degree. Not one of the combo-weapons that I have created were boring, nor were they useless. There's even a skill that you can unlock very early in the game that allows you to craft items without having to pick both items up. You can just have one item in your inventory and hold B on an item on the floor that would fit a blueprint and you can craft it right there. There's no need to clear out inventory space and drop other weapons in order to fit the two weapons in your inventory.

The hit combo is also back rewarding players who reach a combo limit to combine "Y+B" to do a signature move with the weapon. The signature moves are deadly too. Not only with combo-weapons but even with average weapons found within the game world itself. I used a stool and made it to the signature move and the result was extreme. It was gory and gruesome. The thing that surprised me was that certain vehicles and all combo-vehicles have a hit combo signature as well. Reach a specific hit counter and your vehicle may begin to scan zombies in front of it and blow them all up or go into complete electrocution mode and zap anything even in the proximity of it.

Exo-suits are a great addition to the game and their placed smartly too. There isn't an abuse of the exo-suits, and you aren't forced to use one as part of the game. They're a rarity and can only be found in encounters and some within the story mode if you wish to use them. They also have a very small charge to them so that you can't abuse them or get bored of them. They are extreme death machines and it shows. What little charge they have is made up with extreme firepower and death making power. There are, of course, wireless charging stations throughout the game, but the only time I've ever had the chance to find them was during the main story quest. These exo-suits can be upgraded with boxes hidden throughout the map, what these boxes include is a mini-gun attachment to your shoulder, a mortar launcher on your back and sharp disk plates on your arms. They make the ultimate zombie killing machine. If that doesn't spark your interest, there's even a smoothie machine you can attach to your exo-suit to create blizzards to freeze zombies and launch them into the air. You can even launch icicles to impale zombies with your newly created slushie killing machine.

Safe houses help you with vendors which sell valuable equipment. You use scrap as currency to purchase anything from the vendors. You get scrap from literally anything, from killing zombies or searching bags. In order to unlock safe houses, you must clear them of all zombies. The cool feature which makes an appearance again is that the survivors you save in a specific area end up in that safe house in the area. It's a nifty little feature that shows the survivors actually go to safety rather than poof away. It benefits you as well as survivors usually carry interesting weapons and they level up the local safe house vendors which in turn, increases the items they sell.

The game rewards you for literally anything. The PP, (prestige points), is used to level you up. When you level up you gain one skill point which can be used within the game's complex and in-depth skill tree. The perks you unlock are extremely useful in the game and all have great benefits. You can get PP from just breaking things, or going into the extreme number of stores around the map. There's an insane amount of stores as well and going inside of them gives you a generous amount of PP.  

Zombies are also unique as there are three different types of zombies. There are the average zombie, the fresh zombies which are faster, more aggressive and stronger. They dive at you and pressure you as much as they can. Then there is the most dangerous of them all, the evo zombie, which is intelligent in which it takes cover from you, hides from you and pounces you when you least expect it. The zombies force you to change your game strategy based on the type of zombie you're facing. The extreme amount of zombies on screen will also challenge your will to survive and make it to a specific area. Be prepared to kill hundreds of zombies to get to certain mission areas or even just areas you'd want to go to. Personally, I've gotten into such a massive crowd of zombies that I lost myself from the vast amount of characters on screen.  

The world is very much alive in this game as you hear gunshots in the distance, other survivors struggling to live. Screams fill the air as they beg for help. It truly shows that you're not the only one there.

Story

The story of this game is actually pretty intriguing. I was genuinely interested in the story unlike the other Dead Rising games. I even felt involved within the story as the game puts the player in steps of capturing a case. When the player goes into a story mission that includes an investigation mode they must take pictures of a specific area or thing. Sometimes the player must use alternative camera modes in order to succeed which adds a level of interest into it. It makes you feel like an actual journalist trying to uncover the true mystery of Willamette. It also helps that Frank West only truly cares of his motives and no one else's. So it shows that the game revolves around you and not following some others' commands and orders. For once a Dead Rising story is interesting again! It's filled with plot twists and interesting characters. They aren't generic and come with their own funny quirks. The story doesn't feel like a chore to complete and it keeps you wanting to do more and more.

Investigations require heavy use of the camera inside of missions and outside of them. There are panic rooms that Frank West can find using his alternative filters included on his camera. It's a great addition that gives even more challenges for the player to follow. These rooms usually contain beneficial items that aid the player in the story. Sometimes, there're also trapped survivors that you can find which help level you up and your safe house.

The side missions and "encounters" consist of saving survivors, destroying military equipment, or killing a lot of zombies. There is also a sum of "investigate the rumor" side missions and "kill the maniacs" type of side missions. The negative thing about the maniacs is that they don't have their own original intro video or their own death scene video. Which is missed but a minor impact. And again, this game attempts to eliminate loading screens and increase fluidity.

The game is MASSIVE, it doesn't just focus on the Willamette mall, it focuses on the town as well. Which gives you the best idea of how the town looks like. The story takes advantage of the size of the map by spreading out missions and side missions throughout the map itself.

One thing to note, though, multiplayer is not the same as the story. Co-op mode gets its own game mode which is basically infinity mode from the original game. Basically, it's a mode for which up to four players play around in the sandbox and have one goal. To kill zombies and maniacs.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are great and up-to-date with other AAA games. The gore system is what makes the game so amazing as it feels great to slash a zombie and see all the blood shoot out. The sound of the zombies making chomping noises and growling at you truly make you feel like you are in a zombie world.

The city is also beautiful with snow covering specific areas and truly providing a cold-like environment. The mall is unique and filled with color and life. Every store is designed differently, not one store looks like the other. Not to mention the huge amount of clothing available to the player to make the perfect Frank West for every player.

Conclusion 

Dead Rising 4 is an amazing game, it does all things right and gives the player a great feel of the original. It's almost an updated version of Dead Rising, and there's even a good amount of references to the first game as well. There is a lot of killing to do and a lot of damage to deal with the exaggerated combo-items.

If you're looking for an action-packed, zombie-slaying, destroy-anything-in-your-path game, then this is the one for you. For once, you can like the main character and laugh at his jokes. So go out there, make your own personalized Frank West and kill some zombies with some odd-like combo weapons! And remember to take a lot of selfies! Because you've covered wars, you know.