Understandably, fans of the series were a touch disappointed with Frank being subbed after only a single outing, and while Chuck definitely grew on you, he's certainly no Frank. Taking his place was Chuck Greene, a motocross ace, who must venture out into the zombie infested city in search of Zombrex – a drug his daughter needs every 24 hours, in order to stop her becoming a full-on member of the undead. In Dead Rising 2 the story moved from Willamette to Fortune City – a caricature of Las Vegas – with Frank West also being replaced as the hero. Fortunately, scavenging all manner of unusual weapons from the mall that serves as the setting, and using them on the zombie shoppers, was, and still is, a lot of fun.
Aggressive time limits, constant escort missions, and annoying boss fights very nearly stifle any fun Dead Rising has to offer. It's initially disappointing to see that Dead Rising 3 didn't make it into the bundle, but on the positive side, this is the first time the original Dead Rising has appeared on a PlayStation platform, allowing anyone who missed it last generation to experience this first outing, warts and all.Įven back in 2006, Dead Rising was a hard game to like at times, mainly due to some very unusual design choices. Acting as a prefect primer for the series, this re-release triple pack includes Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, and if you don't fancy shelling out for all three, each one can also be picked up individually.
With Dead Rising 4 mere months away – though not for PlayStation gamers – the time is right for an opportunistic re-release of some of the earlier games.