Dead Rising 4 Review

The allure of the original Dead Rising's goofy and gratuitous zombie slaughter was the reason I bought an Xbox 360 back in 2006. Dead Rising 4 ratchets that arcadey, hack-and-slash power fantasy and self-aware satire up to new heights.

Dead Rising 4 Review: A gore-filled wonderland

In recent years, I've felt like the zombie-theme has been played out a bit, with a plethora of television series, films and of course games. In one brilliant swoop, Dead Rising 4, developed by Capcom Vancouver and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox One and PC has changed my mind completely.

Dead Rising 4 Review (Xbox One)

What to smash, what to blow up, what to kill?! Those are the questions you will find yourself asking when playing Dead Rising 4. Dead Rising 4 is an open-world zombie game centered on Frank West investigating another zombie outbreak in Willamette, Colorado where the first Dead Rising took place.

Hack and slash gameplay is fast-paced and fun; Frank West is still pretty funny; great art direction

Much easier than before; camera grading system makes taking pictures more repetitive than fun

Dead Rising 4 Review

After all, DR3 had completely and expertly wrapped up the series - the zombie virus has been cured! Beloved characters return! Plot threads from the first game are tied up! What could a fourth entry possibly offer

Power Armor + Snow Cone Machine = walking ice tornado

Starting New Game+ and realizing there's only about two hours of story

Dead Rising 4: "Makes the zombie apocalypse fun and silly again"

Not always thrilling, but Dead Rising 4 feels like the series getting its sense of fun back. And that's a great thing.

Frank West is the charming anti-hero you can't help but love; The Willamette Memorial Megaplex is an exciting labyrinth to explore; The removal of the timer means you can have fun at your own pace

The majority of Willamette is a sleepy; uninspiring blur; The story lacks a satisfying villain; Too many objectives turn into retreads of the same old routes