DISCLAIMERS:
- the reviewer has not finished the game with 100% completion
- the game was played on the Xbox One S using the version of the game intended for United States audiences
Three years after Dead Rising 2 Microsoft got Capcom to release Dead Rising 3 exclusively on Xbox One. This was one of the Xbox One’s launch titles and was a bit controversial for running at the same resolution as a last generation game at 30 FPS. This review will judge Dead Rising 3 on its own merits.
The gameplay of Dead Rising 3 is easily its biggest draw compared to the other aspects of the game that didn’t do a particularly good job at impressing. The standard open world on a clock gameplay style returns in Dead Rising 3, but with much better execution. The time limit concept isn’t developed essentially at all from earlier games, though, so it still has a lot of untapped potential. Weapons are much more satisfying to use compared to previous Dead Rising games and have much greater variety. Boss battles are also much more interesting fights than in previous games in the series. The newly introduced vehicle combinations are interesting at first but all generally have the same effect and all become useless soon after being created because there are so many roads that are blocked by barriers. The game feels like more than a generational leap compared to older Dead Rising games in terms of control. Engaging enemies or mechanically interesting objectives are still lacking in this game, though. Overall Dead Rising 3 is a braindead game with really good execution.
The sound in Dead Rising 3 is about average. The music mostly blends into the background so it doesn’t really effect the game’s quality whatsoever. Sound effects are what one would expect. Voice acting is all good but doesn’t stand out for being exceptionally quality in any case. Overall the sound in this game is only as good as it needs to be.
Technically Dead Rising 3 is a mixed bag. The game itself is far from ugly, though some might call the color range boring. Graphics are an extreme upgrade from previous Dead Rising 3 and the presentation still holds up even compared to many late Xbox One games. The problem is that this all runs at 720p and 30 FPS which was the seventh generation standard. A launch game for a brand new console shouldn’t be running at a last generation standard. Still, despite the resolution the game does look good overall and runs smoothly enough for framerate to not be an issue. This is overall one of the better aspects of Dead Rising 3.
The story in Dead Rising 3 is overall predictable and generic. The writing itself doesn’t really ever impress either. Overall the story is barely intrusive on the gameplay so this isn’t such a big deal. Probably the most interesting thing about this game’s world is all of the Capcom references.
In terms of value Dead Rising 3 is definitely worth full price. The game’s overarching time limit makes it highly replayable and even a single playthrough is about long enough to justify paying full price for the game if that is the type of player you are. The whole game is also playable in multiplayer which adds a lot of replay value as well. This is an overall impressive game for a launch title even despite the technical shortcomings.
Overall the reviewer would give the game an 7.5/10.
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