Chad:
3) Dead Rising 4
It’s not hard for me to recall the day when I first read about the original Dead Rising, because it seemed too good to be true. Now, a decade later, Capcom Vancouver is getting ready to unleash Dead Rising 4 onto the world. A game that, to the appreciation of longtime fans like myself, was revealed at this year’s E3 expo, after being rumoured and speculated about beforehand.
Although Dead Rising‘s save system eventually turned me off, there was nothing like experiencing the freedom that came with it for the first time. The mall was my playground, and everything in it could be used to lay a beating (sometimes hilariously so) upon, or toy with the hordes of undead that roamed within its shops, halls and concourses. I felt like a kid in a candy store, so to speak, except this one happened to feature golf clubs and zombies.
Say what you will about Dead Rising 3, but it still stands as one of my favourite current-gen games. Sure, it had some faults, but it was a standout launch title for the Xbox One and is something I plan to go back to when I can find the time. Loud, efficient and fun, it presented me with the type of game I can play over and over again. The only true downsides came in its world design — which sometimes made the game’s overload of backtracking a pain in the ass — and the fact that its season pass DLC ended up being so disappointing.
Although I’ve only been able to play a short, several minute-long demo of Dead Rising 4, I feel confident in saying that it’s going to be an even better game than its most recent predecessor. In fact, it has the chance to end up being the best Dead Rising game yet. Not only is Frank West returning, but the series’ notoriously clunky inventory system has also been reworked to allow for much more ease of use. And, above all, it’s shaping up to be a hell of a lot of fun, with some badass combo weapons that will be tough to forget.
