Review No. 103 Dead Rising 3 - Xbox One (18+)

Strong Points:
Strong, solid game-play
Great scavenging element - weapon crafting is fluid and makes sense (some of the time)
Graphics are beautiful - really nicely done textures
Voice acting is great - even though it's clear story isn't the focus
Challenging - not impossible, but difficult

Weak Points:
Difficulty - can be a little too challenging at times (I am stuck about halfway through the story)
Leveling is a little weak - could be better, but could be worse
Can get repetitive and brainless - large swarms of zombies are too easy to deal with

Rating: 79%

In-depth Review:

Release Dates:
World Wide (except Japan): 22 November, 2013
Japan: 4 September, 2014

Controls: http://www.supercheats.com/guides/dead-rising/controls

Right Trigger: hold to aim gun. Aim object for throw. Spit (unarmed).
Left Trigger: hold to switch to photograph mode.
Right Bumper: switch to next object in inventory.
Left Bumper: switch to previous object in inventory.
Left Thumbstick: move.
Right Thumbstick: move the camera.
Y Button - order survivors to follow you.
B Button - context-sensitive activation (open doors, speak to people, pick up objects, etc).
A Button - jump.
X Button - press to attack. Hold to perform secondary attack.
D-pad Up: put away object (drop if inventory full) and switch to fists.
D-pad Down: drop selected object.
D-pad Right: answer transceiver call.
D-pad Left: look at watch, view current list of active scoops.
Back Button: pause the game and view a map of the mall.
Start Button: pause the game and bring up the pause menu.

Dead Rising 3, arguably the strongest game in the opening line up for the Xbox One, is a great game. It's thoroughly enjoyable to pick it up and play it for a couple of hours and bash some zombies to pieces in good old Dead Rising Fashion.


The number of zombies this machine can handle is incredible. I've seen literally hundreds of zombies surround me as I stand on a car, mowing them down and waiting for more to come and get me. It's a surprisingly atmospheric game, very dark and somber at times, although the bear-turret thing can ruin the moment a little.

The only complaint I have about the game is the repetitiveness. Hordes of zombies can be felled with a single weapon, or could be if there wasn't a deterioration mechanic.

I don't mind the deterioration, in fact I think it works well, but I wish there was a bar or a level or something other than a flashing red icon when the weapon's near broken. I wish I could measure the deterioration past "It's fine", "It's about to break", "It's broken".

Anyway, this game isn't all about the game itself. It's a tech demo, designed to show off how good the Xbox One can be, and it fills its quota through and through. If you have an Xbox One, this is certainly worthy of a few hours play time.

Euan