Dead Rising 4 E3 2016 Preview

I was able to get my hands on the Dead Rising 4 demo at Xbox’s E3 booth this year. I’ve always been such a huge fan of the series whether that was early moments surviving in the mall or later when we went “Off the Record”. The point I’m making is that Frank West is the heart or this franchise. The other games were fine in their own respects, but you just can’t beat West.

With this demo we got thrown into the middle of a zombie scenario in Willamette, Colorado. This unique place, or well the mall specifically was the setting of the first game. Frank is back to investigate and discovery the truth once more in this town while actually getting to visit the whole place this time. This shows not only a progression in the technology, but also that they’re aiming to bring back that classic feeling of the original location. The demo sets us off in the middle of a zombie crowded street, throws a marker and lets you have at it. I immediately went to just killing zombies by the dozens.

Weapons are now set to distinct areas based on style with thrown, shoot or melee. This felt more fluid than the cumbersome selection wheel, but not enough time to truly find if this is better for longer sessions. The game feels very similar to Dead Rising 3 with small improvements to the hud. It also looks cleaner and was running smooth in comparison to many of the other demos at E3. This is important, as it means this game is basically ready to go.
Dead Rising 4 E3 2016 Preview
Back to the gameplay it felt so right getting back in there and just slaughtering zombies by the dozens. It also brought an important element of fun, while somewhat dark the series is known for joking around and that was clearly back in this demo. I shot a firework crossbow, grabbed a dev gift of an exo suit and took selfies with zombies.

The camera is obviously back with that statement and greatly improved. It comes up quick and looks slick with easy capturing abilities. I captured some great fun shots, selfies and one special moment as those have returned, you get a notification of these events in advance usually for extra bonus points. After satisfying my zombie kill desire I headed over to the key objective.

There were some side opportunities that appeared which I walked by as it’s timed and a few military goons in the way as well. Once inside I investigated a military area/converted building for clues. This lead me to my next point where I took on a boss, but I failed as my time ran out. This was fine as I just wanted to see how it plays. Now that I’m done with that let’s go over some info I grabbed chatting up a developer, they always love someone that actually enjoys their titles.

The story takes place during Black Friday and the town of Willamette was actually rebuilt after the first game. You will also be able play the game in cooperative where I assume two players can together as is tradition, he didn’t mention a number. The mall will also be back, though no idea how it will look. I’m pumped for this game and looked forward to reviewing it on December 6, 2016.

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Dead Rising 4 E3 2016 Preview

Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner