Capcom's second biggest horror franchise, outside of Resident Evil, is Dead Rising. Focusing more on quantity than quality, Dead Rising packed as many zombies into an area as the devs could and let you decide how to kill.
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The first two games are still well respected as the seventh amazing title, but the series as a whole varies in quality. Honestly, it ranges from the best of the best to the worst experience, and you can't say that about most series. Since several titles are Xbox exclusives, this is the preferred platform for the franchise.
Updated on October 17, 2024, by Dominic Allen: With the release of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, the semi-complete remake of Dead Rising 1, this list needs to be updated to include this recent title. Choosing the best version of Dead Rising 1 to play can be more difficult than you think, so it's more important to point out now than ever.
9 Dead Standing: Slash until you drop
A parody of the original game
Year of publication |
platform |
Developer |
PREACHER |
---|---|---|---|
2009 |
Wii |
Cough |
Capcom |
Many of you probably thought that Dead Rising 4 was the worst game in the series, but at least it was original. Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop takes one of the greatest zombie games ever made and completely destroys it. Taking pictures, which is the main element of the game, is gone, like a real watch and make the kind of impression you want.
It was amazing that you could sit on a helipad for six hours at the beginning of the game and get an ending. That's gone now, and the campaign is mission-based, requiring you to rescue survivors in incredibly repetitive ways. If you played this game early, it could ruin the series for you, and as such, it has to be the worst title in the franchise.
8 Dead Rising 4
Killed the Franchise, for a while
Many people did not expect a return of Dead Rising, due to the massive and commercial failure of Dead Rising 4. This is a game that looks promising on the surface. Frank West returns as a main character, canonically, for the first time since the beginning, and you return to Willamette, the location of DR1.
It's like a match made in heaven, but a match made in Hell. The gameplay was boring, the graphics looked subpar, and Frank West's character just wasn't the same. He is no longer the cool, down-to-earth, lovable and annoying guy. Sure, there was solid DLC content, but even with that, DR4 has to be the worst online entry in the series.
7 Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
Intense Prologue Episode
Year of publication |
platform |
Developer |
PREACHER |
---|---|---|---|
2010 |
Xbox 360 |
Capcom Vancouver |
Capcom |
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is what Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes should have been. It's priced low at just $5 and offers a unique taste of what to expect from the full DR2 experience. It has a unique story that takes place three years before DR2, with multiple endings and all, and even though the map is small, what do you expect from a $5 prologue?
6:23
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You get your money's worth in this game, but it's undeniably lacking in content, and if you're playing it on a newer Xbox system, the 30fps cap looks terrible compared to the 60fps DR2 and Off the Record. When switching between them, the Case Zero seems to run slowly. Regardless, it's still a must-play chapter in the Dead Rising saga.
6 Dead Rising 2: Case West
The better of the two standalone DLCs
Year of publication |
platform |
Developer |
PREACHER |
---|---|---|---|
2010 |
Xbox 360 |
Capcom Vancouver |
Capcom |
Taking place after the end of A of Dead Rising 2, Case West is the canonical end of the Dead Rising 2 story, and it's pretty cool. Co-op wasn't there in Case Zero but it is here, and co-op in DR2 has to be one of the more overlooked elements of the series.
This is a great opportunity, and helps with the combo weapon system as you now have two lists. Storywise, Case West ends DR2 with a plot statement, and the character reveals tie the whole story together. The map, once again, isn't that great, but the new additions here make the $10 price tag well worth the money.
5 Dead Rising 3
Better than you remember
One game that is better than people make it out to be is Dead Rising 3. It has its share of problems, it's definitely a great starter game for the Xbox One and something you missed on the Xbox One. beginning of this present-gen. It had the next movie show with a lot of zombies on the screen, and the additions to the game were very good.
The new combo cars and super combo weapons were fun to play and felt great to use. The main city with four sections is very well laid out, and each district feels unique. On the other hand, the roadblocks were very annoying, and increasing your character made you a god. A respectable type of system can help a lot here. Overall, DR3 is a solid game.
4 Dead Rising 2
The birth of the Combo weapon
Dead Rising 2 is a big step for the franchise, introducing the game element that is synonymous with Dead Rising: combo weapons. Because Chuck Greene wasn't a journalist, he didn't have a camera to use, but instead was able to make a combination of motocross and mechanics. These are the new powerful weapons you have to use.
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They were a lot of fun to play with and, again, worked wonderfully for a co-op game. The Fortune City location is well designed, a perfect extension of what Willamette Mall has to offer. The AI has also improved, and overall DR2 should be a good sequel.
3 Dead Rising 2: Unwritten
Even better
What if? The story, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, introduces Frank West in the role of Chuck Greene among many other changes. This should be the best DR2 experience of the lot. The campaign has been greatly expanded with many new episodes throughout history; you have a whole new area to explore, the difficulty has been slightly reduced, and you have the new Sandbox mode.
Removing the timer, Sandbox is an extension of the Infinity mode in DR1 minus the whole survival mechanic. This is a great way to just mess around and get achievements without the timer getting in your way. The return of the camera was also very nice and was a big fan-requested feature at the time.
2 Dead Rising
Great Zombie game of all time
You cannot highlight the original. While Dead Rising 1 has bad AI, everything else is as perfect as you can get. The beautiful graphics system, beautiful graphics for 2006, the free campaign, and even the amazing story. It's a real page-turner and it doesn't go as far as you might think, considering Dead Rising is Dawn of the Dead: The Game.
All side quests have their own interesting elements and they don't play smooth. You will see a mother who has just seen her child eaten or you may see someone else who is no longer alive. It's not a pure masterpiece, but it's definitely flawed in the game's story.
1 Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
There is no going back after this
While Capcom titled this game as Deluxe Remaster, it is essentially a remake as it was completely rebuilt in the RE Engine instead of the original MT Framework. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is faithful to the original, down to the smallest detail. There is one key factor that makes the Deluxe Remaster the best version: time lapse.
Waiting around was one of the worst aspects of the original and killed the pace of the game. Once you start passing time, there is no going back. This is very important. Sadly, the different audio players aren't as good as the original, but there are mods on PC to restore them, so that's a safe way to play DR1.
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