The best Dead Rising games

Capcom's second biggest horror franchise besides Resident Evil would be Dead Rising. Focusing more on quantity than quality, Dead Rising packed as many zombies into the zone as the developers could and let you choose your method of slaughter.



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The first two games are still held in high regard as incredible titles of the seventh generation, but the series as a whole is quite varied in quality. It actually ranges from the best of the best to the absolute worst experience, which can't be said for most series. With several titles being exclusive to Xbox, it will be the preferred platform for the franchise.

Updated on October 17, 2024 by Dominic Allen: With the release of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, a full-on semi-remake of Dead Rising 1, this list had to be updated to include this recent title. Choosing the best version of Dead Rising 1 to play can be more difficult than you might think, so it's important to point this out now more than ever.


9 Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop

A mockery of the original game


Year of issue

Platforms

The developer

Publisher

2009 year

Wii

That's it

Capcom

Many of you probably thought that Dead Rising 4 would be the worst game in the series, but at least it was original. Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop takes one of the greatest zombie games ever made and completely destroys it. Gone is the picture-taking that was a core element of gameplay, as is the real-time clock and do whatever you want.

It was pretty amazing that you could theoretically sit on a helipad for six hours early in the game and get an ending. Now that's gone, and the campaign is based around missions that require you to rescue survivors in an incredibly repetitive way. If you played this game first, it could ruin the series for you, and for that, it has to be the worst title in the franchise.


8 Dead Rising 4

Destroyed the franchise for a while

Many people didn't expect Dead Rising to return at all, thanks to the massive critical and commercial failure of Dead Rising 4. At first glance, it was a game that seemed promising. Frank West was returning as a main character for the first time, canonically, since the original, and you were returning to Willamette, the location of DR1.

It seemed like a match made in heaven, but it was a match made in hell. The gameplay was boring, the graphics looked out of place, and Frank West just wasn't that kind of character. He's no longer the cool, down-to-earth, likable guy he used to be, and is much more annoying now. Sure, there was solid DLC content, but even with that, DR4 has to be the worst main entry in the series.


7 Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

A solid prologue section

Year of issue

Platforms

The developer

Publisher

2010 year

Xbox 360

Capcom Vancouver

Capcom

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is what Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes should have been. It's a low price of just $5 and gives a unique taste of what to expect from the full DR2 experience. It has a unique story that takes place three years before DR2, with multiple endings and all, and even though the map is very small, what do you expect from a $5 prologue?


6:23 a.m

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You get your money's worth from this game, but there's no denying it's lacking in content, and if you're playing it on newer Xbox systems, its 30fps cap looks terrible compared to DR2's 60fps and Off the Record. When switching between the two, the Case Zero looks like it's running in slow motion. Despite this, it's still a must-see chapter in the Dead Rising saga.

6 Dead Rising 2: Case West

The Better of the Two Standalone DLC

Year of issue

Platforms

The developer

Publisher

2010 year

Xbox 360

Capcom Vancouver

Capcom

Taking place after the end of A of Dead Rising 2, Case West is the canonical ending to the Dead Rising 2 story, and it's a lot of fun. Co-op was absent from Case Zero but is present here, and DR2's co-op has to be one of the most forgotten elements of the series.


This is great timing, plus it helps with the combo weapon system as you now have two inventories in the game. Plot-wise, Case West wraps up DR2 satisfyingly with plot twists as well as character arcs tying the whole story together. The map, once again, isn't too big, but the new additions make the steep $10 price hike worth the money.

5 Dead Rising 3

Better than you remember

One game that is a lot better than people think is Dead Rising 3. Sure, it has its issues, but it was a really good launch game for the Xbox One and something you definitely didn't see at the beginning of this gen. It had the feel of a next-gen demo with massive amounts of zombies on screen, and the gameplay additions were excellent.


The combo vehicles and new super combo weapons were great to play with and a blast to use. The massive four section city was really well designed, each area felt unique. On the other hand, the obstacles on the road were really annoying and maxing out your character made you a god. Some kind of prestige system would help a lot here. Overall, DR3 is a good game.

4 Dead Rising 2

The birth of the combo weapon

Dead Rising 2 was a huge step for the franchise, introducing the gameplay element most synonymous with Dead Rising: the combined arms. Since Chuck Greene wasn't a journalist, he didn't have a camera, but instead was able to make a combination weapon thanks to his motocross and engineering background. It was a new massive destructive weapon that you had to use.


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Dead Rising 2 and Off The Record are similar games, but not exactly the same.

They were a lot of fun to play with and, again, worked phenomenally for co-op play. The Fortune City location was very well designed, being the perfect extension of what the Willamette Mall had to offer. The AI ​​has also been greatly improved, and DR2 as a whole is exactly what a good sequel should be.

3 Dead Rising 2: Not recording

Even better

Be a “What if?” story, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, puts Frank West in Chuck Green's place among a host of other changes. This has to be the best DR2 experience ever. The campaign has been greatly expanded with many new story chapters; you've got a whole new area to explore, the difficulty has been bumped up a bit, and you've got a new addition to the sandbox mode.


With the timer removed, the sandbox is an extension of the infinity mode in DR1, minus all the survival mechanics. It was a great mode to just mess around and get achievements without interrupting the timer. The return of the camera was also very interesting and a feature requested by fans at the time.

2 Dead Rising

Great zombie game of all time

You just can't beat the original. Despite Dead Rising 1's infamous AI, everything else is about as perfect as you can get. A fun photo system, gorgeous 2006 graphics, a free-form campaign, and even an amazingly engaging story. It's definitely a page-turner and won't go where you think, given that Dead Rising is essentially Dawn of the Dead: The Game.


All side quests have an interesting element and are not played lightly. You'll come across a mom who just saw her child get eaten, or could potentially see another person dead. It's not a pure masterpiece, but it's definitely a blemish on gaming history.

1 Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster

After that, there is no going back

Although Capcom calls this game a Deluxe Remaster, it is essentially a remake as it is completely rebuilt in the RE Engine instead of the original MT Framework. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is incredibly faithful to the original, down to the smallest detail. There is one major aspect that makes the Deluxe Remaster the better version: the time skip.


The wait was one of the worst aspects of the original and killed the pace of the game. Once you start missing time, there's no going back. It's such a big deal. Unfortunately, the various voice actors aren't as good as the original, but there is a mod on PC to restore them, making this the ultimate way to play DR1.

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