Review: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is timeless

It is hard to believe that Dead Rising is 18 years old at this time. This is not only because the youngest Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster makes the game look great while retaining the style and aesthetic of the original. For an 18-year-old game, the gameplay loop and the various zombie-killing and photography mechanics feel just as fresh today as they did back in the day on the Xbox 360.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster begins when photojournalist Frank West travels by helicopter to the picturesque town of Willamette, Colorado. He wants to report on the latest news regarding the alleged unrest in the town. Upon arrival, Frank witnesses some strange scenes of violence, but encounters no unrest. He discovers that the reason no information is getting out of the town is because of a military quarantine imposed by the U.S. National Guard. After making a deal with his pilot, Frank lands on the helipad at the Willamette Parkview Mall. He has just 72 hours to find out the truth and get the story first. It's not long before a horde of zombies break into the mall, attacking anyone they can get their hands on. With both his life and the truth at stake, Frank takes it upon himself to help anyone he can, perhaps take advantage of the situation and snap some photos that would make great for his Pulitzer Prize-winning story.

Frank doesn't come across as a nice person at first. He starts off as a selfish and aloof man who is only in Willamette to further his career at the expense of other people's suffering. It isn't until he witnesses the horrors caused by the zombies and the humans behind the outbreak that he takes an active role in helping the mall survivors and even befriends the DHS agents working on the case. Although some of the psychopathic boss characters come across as silly or comical, most of them are treated with a certain level of understanding and are rarely used as the butt of jokes.

It is usually only after the battles that Frank sees how the ongoing trauma and stress of the zombie outbreak has affected these people. Their lives have been drastically disrupted and they have had to cling to extreme and distorted versions of reality to cope with the circumstances. While Dead Rising is a comedy horror game that takes its subject matter and characters seriously. The first game in the series is particularly poignant as it offers a critique of rampant capitalist consumerism and its relationship to military imperialism, particularly as it relates to America.

Most of the comedy comes from the gameplay. Over the course of the 3-day story mode, Frank must juggle rescuing survivors, fighting zombies, taking photos, and completing each main case, earning Prestige Points (PP) along the way, which increase his overall level and unlock various stat upgrades and abilities. Level-up rewards are partially random, with some available in the lower level pools and some in the higher levels. Escorting survivors has been greatly improved compared to the original game, with the companion AI much better at avoiding zombies and following Frank. There is still a certain amount of friction when helping friendly NPCs, but that's part of what makes it so fun to play. Dead Rising exciting. Survivor escort quests have been reworked in general. Characters have favorite items and will respond and follow Frank better if you give them the weapons or food they like. NPCs can also give hints, point out hidden PP photo ops, and even tell where secret weapon caches are.

There are countless ways to kill zombies in Dead Rising Deluxe RemasterFrom a variety of more traditional melee weapons and firearms to sporting equipment, household appliances, and even benches and anything in the environment that Frank can interact with. Combat is as simple as picking up a weapon and hitting a zombie until it stops moving, which can range from a single hit to multiple depending on the effectiveness of your tool. One of the most notable quality of life changes in the remaster is the inclusion of an updated control scheme. While the original 2006 game is great, the controls aren't as smooth as some may remember. The modern controls make Dead Rising feels great. Special moves are mapped to the right bumper and pressing a face button, and the zombie grab reaction is mapped to the face buttons.

But killing zombies is not all that life has to offer. As a journalist, Frank also has to stay up to date and take photos of anything that could be of value to his story. This means striking images of drama, brutality, horror or comedic outtakes. It is important to note that the erotic genre in the Deluxe Remaster. However, this isn't a huge loss and doesn't significantly change how the photography mechanics work. Also new to this remaster are the various camera upgrades available throughout the mall. Some include a flash option as well as depth of field settings and are a nice addition.

Another new addition to Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is an enhanced dub. Now Frank and every NPC speak during gameplay and side missions. This does have a downside, however. The original English voice cast has been replaced by a new one. Terence J. Rotolo does not return as Frank's voice actor. In general, I liked Jas Patrick as Frank, even if some of Frank's most iconic lines sound a little odd coming from someone else. The iconic licensed music tracks return to DRDR with a streamer mode option that disables them to avoid copyright issues.

Finally, it should be noted that RE Engine Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster looks beautiful. The lighting in particular has been massively improved over the original game, which looked flatter in comparison. Looking at both games side by side, it's clear that there has been a massive improvement. However, the new remaster has convinced me that this is what the original game looked like back in 2006. The new character models are fantastic, and while Frank doesn't look exactly like he used to, and his new design makes him look a little older, I think he looks the part. In fact, I'd say he looks exactly like his original promotional design portrayed him.

Dead Rising was great in 2006 and continues to be great. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. The tension of playing through the main story events, guiding survivors to safety, and trying to complete all the side objectives while also keeping an eye on the in-game countdown is just as exciting as it was 18 years ago. Perhaps the most impressive thing this new remaster achieves is that it makes me believe this is how the original 2006 game was played. The QoL additions are a game changer and I can't imagine going back to the original control scheme. Unfortunately, some characters in the new English dub don't sound as good as the original cast. On the plus side, this is probably the only sore spot I can find in the remaster.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be released on September 19, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Windows PC via Steam.