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Which Dead Rising games still hold up? (PC)
- Thread starter Sacrilicious
- Start date
A popular strategy for DR1 is to start a run and play normally, doing as much side stuff (rescuing survivors) as possible, while still trying to meet the main case time limits, but not really sweating it. You will inevitably run out of time after 3-4 hours of play. However, you will have a considerably leveled up Frank from making the best of your time. So, you can carry character progress over to a new game, do that. Start from the beginning, except this time you're faster, more agile, more powerful from the get go. focus primarily on the main story. You should have no problems completing it now. You may still have a few close calls if you allow yourself to wander off during some more strict timed cases, however, with the remaster, you can just constantly save to different slots, so you can reload if you screw up.
It's possible to finish the game on the first run, especially with the added save slots but I personally would advise against it as it may end up feeling a little too frustrating. The original design, with only 1 save slot, made it clear that the game is designed for players to try a run multiple times with character progression carried over as well as the knowledge that allowed them to optimize their routes for the next time.
Of course if you read up on certain strategies like how to basically make a certain really powerful weapon almost unbreakable then you can comfortably finish the game first go. But I think those strats just take away too much from the tension that DR1 is capable of creating.
I started replaying DR3 a couple months ago, and it's pretty fun. The setting and the main character aren't the best, but the amount of carnage and cool combinations are pretty great. 1 and 2 are classics and are always a blast to play. I never played 4, I bought it cheap but still haven't given it a shot. Everything I've read and seen about it just doesn't look good. Plus, 4 killed the franchise and the studio.
Happy Dead Rising 1 is recommended by so many! It is one of my favorites!
Surprised Dead Rising 2 is not as recommended. Still great fun and in coop it's blast!
Get both OP!
Surprised Dead Rising 2 is not as recommended. Still great fun and in coop it's blast!
Get both OP!
All of the people calling Dead Rising 3 good have me seriously puzzled. It's absolutely dreadful.
When you hear that music come on you know shit is about to get real
Dead Rising 1 is the only great Dead Rising game. 2 and Off the Record were okay but started the path of changing DR from a survival game where you make-do with whatever you can find into a wacky combo weapon power fantasy. 3 is incredibly boring and I never even bothered with 4.
1 and 3 are my favourites. On PC, 3 has a very bad port and you will have to tinker under the hood to remove the 30fps cap among other things, but once you get it running it's hilarious and super fun. Its more Saints Row with Zombies than Dead Rising but I loved it for that. Great open world, vehicles and weapons but the quality of the port often gets in the way.
1 is great. It can be very difficult if you don't "get" some of the mechanics and I recommend looking up tips on how to successfully escort survivors as "follow me" is a recipe for frustration. It can be very clunky to control and frequently frustrating, but very rewarding when you achieve something like defeating a psycho or escort a big group to safety.
1 is great. It can be very difficult if you don't "get" some of the mechanics and I recommend looking up tips on how to successfully escort survivors as "follow me" is a recipe for frustration. It can be very clunky to control and frequently frustrating, but very rewarding when you achieve something like defeating a psycho or escort a big group to safety.
DR1 is one of my favourite games, and DR2 is great! I think DR3 is my least favourite, as I went into 4 with low expectations and came away having enjoyed it more than its predecessor. Never finished OTR, but seems just as good as the original 2.
1 is the only one I come back to. It's so good.
2, 3 and 4 all were okay. 2 felt way too open. 3 get even larger and bored me with how bland each area was. 4 was a decent short burst of a game but it wasn't dense like 1 or 2.
2, 3 and 4 all were okay. 2 felt way too open. 3 get even larger and bored me with how bland each area was. 4 was a decent short burst of a game but it wasn't dense like 1 or 2.
1 is the best experience for what makes Dead Rising special.
2 and Off the Record are both still great (though if I were making buying decisions, I would hold off on Off the Record to see if you enjoy 2 first)
3 and 4 are both okay, but with the much looser clock and (what felt like at least) a lack of survivors, they are more generic zombies games than anything.
2 and Off the Record are both still great (though if I were making buying decisions, I would hold off on Off the Record to see if you enjoy 2 first)
3 and 4 are both okay, but with the much looser clock and (what felt like at least) a lack of survivors, they are more generic zombies games than anything.
Those poll results are perfect. Dead Rising only got worse with each new game and DR1 is a janky masterpiece.
Basing my opinions off of a recent replay of the games I own on PC.
Dead Rising is phenomenal, and the PC port is practically flawless. Definitely play it. The survivor AI will be infuriating, but it can be dealt with. The port also has multiple save slots, so you can rotate to avoid saving yourself into a corner like you would've on the 360.
I played DR2 on 360 and it's a good game, but I recommend Off the Record from a pure gameplay standpoint because it's just 2 with more features. However, on PC it's a great game trapped in a subpar port, because it was ported back when GFWL was still a thing and later updated with Steamworks. The game itself runs pretty well for the most part, but the addition of Steam Input a few years ago broke controller support for the game and I had to use a third-party workaround to get an Xbone controller to work for it, which is annoying because I normally use a Switch Pro. I also seem to recall having a few crashes here and there. All in all, game is great but be prepared for issues with the port.
DR3 is just...ehh. I really wanted to give it another try, but there's so many issues with the game design and gameplay loop. So many of the side quests are fetch quests, and if you try to play on Nightmare Mode (aka the mode added for the "OG fans"), you will absolutely not be able to complete everything because of how quickly the individual timers expire because the game wasn't tested with Nightmare in mind. Enemies are spongey (especially human enemies) unless you use combo weapons, in which case the game becomes absurdly easy, and you can now spawn weapons with weapon lockers, so there's no reason to not just carry 5 of the best weapon in the game on you at any given time and just cheese the whole thing. Besides all that, there's also a known save corruption bug on PC, which stopped me from continuing the DLC. Overall, wouldn't recommend.
So basically, just play DR1 and OTR and pretend it's an alternate universe where Frank's story is complete. Watch one of the many videos out there about DR4 if you're curious about how much of a train wreck that game is.
Dead Rising is phenomenal, and the PC port is practically flawless. Definitely play it. The survivor AI will be infuriating, but it can be dealt with. The port also has multiple save slots, so you can rotate to avoid saving yourself into a corner like you would've on the 360.
I played DR2 on 360 and it's a good game, but I recommend Off the Record from a pure gameplay standpoint because it's just 2 with more features. However, on PC it's a great game trapped in a subpar port, because it was ported back when GFWL was still a thing and later updated with Steamworks. The game itself runs pretty well for the most part, but the addition of Steam Input a few years ago broke controller support for the game and I had to use a third-party workaround to get an Xbone controller to work for it, which is annoying because I normally use a Switch Pro. I also seem to recall having a few crashes here and there. All in all, game is great but be prepared for issues with the port.
DR3 is just...ehh. I really wanted to give it another try, but there's so many issues with the game design and gameplay loop. So many of the side quests are fetch quests, and if you try to play on Nightmare Mode (aka the mode added for the "OG fans"), you will absolutely not be able to complete everything because of how quickly the individual timers expire because the game wasn't tested with Nightmare in mind. Enemies are spongey (especially human enemies) unless you use combo weapons, in which case the game becomes absurdly easy, and you can now spawn weapons with weapon lockers, so there's no reason to not just carry 5 of the best weapon in the game on you at any given time and just cheese the whole thing. Besides all that, there's also a known save corruption bug on PC, which stopped me from continuing the DLC. Overall, wouldn't recommend.
So basically, just play DR1 and OTR and pretend it's an alternate universe where Frank's story is complete. Watch one of the many videos out there about DR4 if you're curious about how much of a train wreck that game is.
Just want to point out that some of the physics are tied to the frame rate on the Steam version. So if you play at a very high refresh rate you may get some wonky stuff going on. Easily fixed by locking to 60fps if it's an issue for you though.
it really depends on the price tbh. if they're asking full price for it then lol no. if it's 70% off then maybe.
I played OTR recently - i think last year and its great. Fantastic game.
I'd say DR1+OTR.
I bought Frank's big package and its more like Frank's limp dick.
I'd say DR1+OTR.
I bought Frank's big package and its more like Frank's limp dick.
its not really even dead rising. Its like zombie game musou or something. I gave up after I found a spot (some sort of truck with power armour) where I can then proceed to grind levels and was doing it a bit and then i was like "Is this even fun?"
The first one holds up incredibly well. Get it, kill zombies, pursue the story/sidequests if you want, and most of all don't worry about the damn timer. All it's actually ticking down to is New Game Plus. You get to keep your level, stats, unlocks, etc. for the next cycle. It's supposed to take several runs; you're not meant to do it all perfectly on your first try.
Dead Rising 2 + OTR is pretty good too; give it a shot if 1 did anything for you.
3 is okay but really flawed in a lot of places. By this point in the series most of the Dead Rising "magic" has really started to wear off.
4 is...just barely a DR game. They injected a zombie musou with a ton of Saint's Row wackiness and it just doesn't work. It features the "return" of both Frank West and the town of Willamette, and - fittingly - both are completely unrecognizable from DR1.
Dead Rising 2 + OTR is pretty good too; give it a shot if 1 did anything for you.
3 is okay but really flawed in a lot of places. By this point in the series most of the Dead Rising "magic" has really started to wear off.
4 is...just barely a DR game. They injected a zombie musou with a ton of Saint's Row wackiness and it just doesn't work. It features the "return" of both Frank West and the town of Willamette, and - fittingly - both are completely unrecognizable from DR1.
DR1 kinda needs that love for hard punching video games to be enjoyable. It can be hard AF. I can only imagine how bad the controls feel 15 years later.
I like the series from A to Z. I've played them all. I get the outcry for castrating the series, but I still find them all more or less enjoyable.
I like the series from A to Z. I've played them all. I get the outcry for castrating the series, but I still find them all more or less enjoyable.
4 could be a fun mindless hack and slash with a Christmas theme for you. Though the main character is utterly insufferable and you'll likely want nothing more than to feed him to the zombies.
honestly i've been replaying 4 because i wanted to collect all the data log collectible stuff (i didn't get a chance to in my first play through because of the data corruption bug in the PS4 version) and i have some thoughts about it:
the pacing is really weird. i guess in previous games you had, like, the whole world open to you from the jump (or at least most of it), but here it's gated off by progress so like, case 1 is confined to the mall, but then case 2 unlocks the next two areas and case 3 unlocks the final area. the case breaks occur at the weirdest times too - case 1 is fine, but case 2 seems like it should end when you try to enter West Ridge (there's a very clear act break here), then case 5 also has a very clear act break where it should end, but instead it ends right before the final, linear set piece?
for this game to be a "going back to the roots" moment, there's very little talk about wasps. if you just played dead rising 4, i'm not even sure you'd understand how zombies work in this franchise.
all of vick's uploads seem to indicate she's the star of a much more interesting game. it feels like in her game, there's an actual supporting cast, instead of "people you see twice in the game and who frank seems to just be annoyed by." i wonder if brad was initially meant to be the Dick-like co-op character but they had to scrap it? anyway playing 4 really highlights how much the first two games benefited from having allies in the safe rooms and like actual cutscenes with those characters.
(vick is also a really annoying character though and i'm not sure why she complains about frank stealing stories so much because that's... not part of frank's character or storyline or why they had a falling out)
easily the worst scene in the game is the one where you meet hammond and she asks frank to help her get her injured comrades to safety and he tells her to fuck off because he doesn't have time for it. this is like, literally the opposite of what dead rising is about.
i like the idea of the panic rooms, but i feel like it doesn't quite make sense to have a store in the brand new mall selling panic rooms when this is supposed to be post-zombie vaccine? also i think the panic rooms should come with large mirrors that let you change your outfit, it's weird that none of them have that.
also a thing the panic rooms should have had: actual, manual save points, of which there are none in the game for some reason? i genuinely don't understand this design choice, especially since both the panic rooms and the emergency shelters seem like places you could stick manual save points really easily?
capcom heroes removes all the collectables and weapons and clothing items and replaces them with capcom posters and capcom treasure chests an capcom stars. capcom heroes is basically capcom musou, except instead of a collection of fan favorites from across the decades coming together, it's like one middle aged man cosplaying. a lot of the costumes have terrible move sets, particularly the ones where you can't actually aim their ranged attack. cammy having infinite fire bombs and a gun that can actually be aimed made her an MVP. amaterasu's melee move set is useful and nice looking. sissel is literally invincible when he's doing his melee attacks as long as you don't unlock his finisher.
the pacing is really weird. i guess in previous games you had, like, the whole world open to you from the jump (or at least most of it), but here it's gated off by progress so like, case 1 is confined to the mall, but then case 2 unlocks the next two areas and case 3 unlocks the final area. the case breaks occur at the weirdest times too - case 1 is fine, but case 2 seems like it should end when you try to enter West Ridge (there's a very clear act break here), then case 5 also has a very clear act break where it should end, but instead it ends right before the final, linear set piece?
for this game to be a "going back to the roots" moment, there's very little talk about wasps. if you just played dead rising 4, i'm not even sure you'd understand how zombies work in this franchise.
all of vick's uploads seem to indicate she's the star of a much more interesting game. it feels like in her game, there's an actual supporting cast, instead of "people you see twice in the game and who frank seems to just be annoyed by." i wonder if brad was initially meant to be the Dick-like co-op character but they had to scrap it? anyway playing 4 really highlights how much the first two games benefited from having allies in the safe rooms and like actual cutscenes with those characters.
(vick is also a really annoying character though and i'm not sure why she complains about frank stealing stories so much because that's... not part of frank's character or storyline or why they had a falling out)
easily the worst scene in the game is the one where you meet hammond and she asks frank to help her get her injured comrades to safety and he tells her to fuck off because he doesn't have time for it. this is like, literally the opposite of what dead rising is about.
i like the idea of the panic rooms, but i feel like it doesn't quite make sense to have a store in the brand new mall selling panic rooms when this is supposed to be post-zombie vaccine? also i think the panic rooms should come with large mirrors that let you change your outfit, it's weird that none of them have that.
also a thing the panic rooms should have had: actual, manual save points, of which there are none in the game for some reason? i genuinely don't understand this design choice, especially since both the panic rooms and the emergency shelters seem like places you could stick manual save points really easily?
capcom heroes removes all the collectables and weapons and clothing items and replaces them with capcom posters and capcom treasure chests an capcom stars. capcom heroes is basically capcom musou, except instead of a collection of fan favorites from across the decades coming together, it's like one middle aged man cosplaying. a lot of the costumes have terrible move sets, particularly the ones where you can't actually aim their ranged attack. cammy having infinite fire bombs and a gun that can actually be aimed made her an MVP. amaterasu's melee move set is useful and nice looking. sissel is literally invincible when he's doing his melee attacks as long as you don't unlock his finisher.
Personally I prefer 2 because it has alot of fun real dumb weapons and lets you explore at your own pace if you want.
Dead rising 1 is a bit more demanding but is sill fun
3 is okay, but didnt sink enough time into it.
Probably avoid 4 as even watching it is boring
Dead rising 1 is a bit more demanding but is sill fun
3 is okay, but didnt sink enough time into it.
Probably avoid 4 as even watching it is boring
Thanks and "Capcom Vancouver" don't come up together often - it's much appreciated! I'm happy you like them! OTR was made with no overtime and a lot of love
OTR is probably my favorite DR - just an absolutely awesome game, with so many hours lost to it!