GCG Feature: 'Footnotes on Dead Rising'

In the latest feature on Gamasutra sister site Game Career Guide, USC Gamepipe development lab graduate Greg Damiano examines Capcom's recent zombie-slasher Dead Rising, looking at the positives and negatives of its controversial saving system and its sandbox gameplay. Damiano starts: "The first few minutes of Dead Rising are spent in gleefully destructive exploration: like the protagonist Frank West, players wander the zombie-infested Willamette Mall, trying every weapon in reach, laughing at the animations for the first time and getting freaked out by the twisted boss encounters. Beneath the zombie-bashing surface is a game where the narrative is as deep as the player's ambition, and the result is what I consider the best video game ever made. This is surely the ideal mixture of gaming and "cinematic experience" that developers have been chasing since games started to borrow from the blockbuster film. Keiji Inafune's creation is like a masterclass in next-generation action games, and as gamers, developers and reporters we should all take a few notes. This article will be more parts reflection than review, a dissection of elements which spell success for Dead Rising: Controversial saving/replay system + Modern action sandbox + RPG management + High production values + Clever 'high concept' " You can now read the full Game Career Guide feature for more on Dead Rising's high-concept design (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).