Can a new generation teach an old genre some new tricks? Matt Maguire gets creative with Capcom's Dead Rising 3, an exclusive Xbox One title.

Smooth combat and movement; Awesomely satisfying zombie-slaying carnage; On-the-fly weapon crafting; Combo vehicles; Excellent UI; A large, interesting world; Great co-op

A retread for a story; Some jaggies, pop-in, and framerate problems; Weak boss battles

Man, the Dead Rising series has been an evolving experience for me, every new instalment has come at a different big stage of my life. Dead Rising came out when I was 13 still absolutely terrified of horror games, thanks to a Resident Evil 4 prank my cousin decided to pull.

Dead Rising 3 has made its brand of zombie-slaying as much fun as possible, but it needs to fix a lot more than that before it becomes the king of the undead.

Killing zombies is uncomplicated fun; Fixes so many of Dead Rising's problems; Feels next-gen in scope

Way too many fetch quests; Characters more gross than endearing; Lacking in personality

mere weeks away, competition between Microsoft and Sony is at an all time high, with both companies claiming their games console has the superior launch lineup. To help decide which is actually better we got some hands-on time with one of the Xbox One's exclusive launch titles, Jumping into the...

doesn't get by on its looks, but its meaty zombie-slaying combat and nearly endless supply of undead and ridiculous weapons go a long way. Through its lengthy campaign, I was always eager to see what crazy zombie-squishing contraption would come along next.

Tons of zombies; Great weapons; Fun co-op

Performance problems; Twisted map

It may suffer both visually and technically next to its fellow launch titles, but there's no denying there's still some madcap brand of fun to be had in Los Perdidos.

Refined and balanced weapon crafting; Open world brings broader scope

Vehicles handle terribly; Crowbarred Kinect functionality

Let me get this out of the way first. I didn't really like the first Dead Rising. I had great fun playing in the sandbox, hitting hockey pucks into zombie heads and running crowds of the undead down with shopping trolleys, but I hated the way the game was structured, specifically how the save points...

lit up the Xbox 360's launch period with its standout comical zombie escapades, but as a fan of the series, I admit to feeling slightly worried by this sequel's seemingly darker, grittier new direction when it was first announced.

The best Dead Rising so far and purveyor of some of the most entertainingly absurd weapons in all gaming – just don't expect any depth or longevity.

Wonderful outrageous weapon and vehicle combos, and an impressive number of zombies on-screen at once; Lots to see and do and a usefully expanded co-op option

The gameplay is still extremely shallow in almost every aspect, and the novelty wears away considerably after a few hours; Prescription-only combo weapons still seem a missed opportunity

Dead Rising 3 is the weakest in the series, then. It's no kind of technical showcase for Xbox One, although that didn't really bother me once I got into it, and if all you want for a launch title is something passably entertaining to plug away at for a few long evenings, it will suit you fine.