Dead Rising (デッドライジング, Deddo Raijingu?) is an action-adventure, survivor horror video game, developed by Capcom and produced by Keiji Inafune. It was released on August 8, 2006 exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game console.[3][4] The game was a commercial success. It has been introduced into the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits lineup, and a cell phone spin-off has been released. A sequel, Dead Rising 2, has been developed by Blue Castle Games alongside many of the previous developers of Dead Rising and was released in September 2010.
Dead Rising's story centers on Frank West, a photojournalist who ends up trapped in a shopping mall in the fictional town of Willamette, Colorado, that is infested with zombies. Frank must defend himself from zombie attacks, rescue survivors, contend with crazed psychopaths, and stay alive while still attempting to uncover the truth behind the incident. The player controls Frank as he explores the mall, using any available object as a weapon. The player can complete several main and optional missions to earn Prestige Points (PP) and gain special abilities. The game is designed as a sandbox game and features several endings, depending on the decisions the player makes along the way. A Wii remake was released in February 2009 titled Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop.[5]
Dead Rising is notable for the hundreds of weapons that the player can find in the mall and use against the zombies. There are over 250 items that can be used as weapons, ranging from powerful to near-useless.[8] Weapons will break down or run out of ammunition with use and be discarded, though certain weapons can be reused after breaking down. For example, a push broom can break in two, leaving the wooden staff to be used as a spear, or mannequins break into their component parts (arms, legs, and torso). Others can be changed by the environment, such as the frying pan, which can be heated on a stove to both increase damage and gain access to a special move. The player can also lift larger items like benches or cash registers that can be used to smash foes or be thrown at them. These items, dubbed heavy weapons , are not considered part of the player's inventory, as the player cannot store the item and it will be dropped if the player selects a different weapon.
Dead Rising has an unusual save system: only one game-in-progress can be saved per memory device per Xbox 360 profile. Whenever the player is killed, Dead Rising allows players to either load from their last save or to save their current level and abilities, then restart the game with their level and abilities applied from the beginning. (This option is offered due to one of the factors that when the player is in the early stages of leveling Frank, some of the challenges and bosses may be proven too difficult to complete till a higher level is reached. The difficulty of this depends on the player's own skill level.) This system is a deliberate game mechanic, borrowed from the Capcom RPG Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter; the two games share some development team members. The save system was implemented to give players a sense of responsibility for their actions when making various decisions throughout the game.[9]
