Covering wars once again.
I have so many fond memories of Dead Rising. I fell in love with the open world zombie genocide game with its kooky atmosphere, licensed soundtrack, and interesting mechanics. It was a breath of fresh air, especially in the early days of the Xbox 360 when almost nothing was coming out for the system. When Dead Rising 2 was announced, I was all on board. I even reviewed it for this very site, and loved every minute of it. Sure, these games are not for everyone, but there’s a lot to be had. Now, I get to re-live it again on my current generation of consoles in 1080p at a damn impressive 60 frames per second.
The Dead Rising Triple Pack comes with Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, along with all the DLC that was ever added to those games. Dead Rising as a series formulates into a simple concept: players have a certain amount of time to get save as many survivors as possible in a zombie-infested area (mall or casino chain), survive boss fights with insane humans, and make it out alive when the final day counts down. Along the way, find or create new weapons to dispose of the undead.
Platforms: PS4, PC, XB1
MSRP: $59.99
Price I’d pay: $59.99
I know a lot of the first two games, but have never actually played Off the Record. Funny enough, Off the Record has probably the best mode in the series. It comes with a sandbox mode where players can take on challenges while not having to worry about time limits the standard game has. This really opens up the game in a great way, allowing me to do what I wanted and go wherever I pleased.
Dead Rising is the hardest one to go back to. The really difficult time restraints, the saving areas being so sparse, and the visuals looking at bit dated even in 1080p (this game is 10 years old at this point) it can be the hardest one to actually get through. Dead Rising 2 and Off the Record still actually hold up very well, especially in the graphical department. I can’t stress enough how great these games play at 60 frames per second, and with as many zombies that can be on the screen at once, it really can look great.
Now, the biggest question is, is this collection for you? Well, it depends on if you have played any of these games before or if you really want to go back to them. There are no other extras. Players get the DLC costumes for each game and that’s it. These are the standard games just up-rezed. Granted, each game can last players a good 12 hours apiece if not more, so you’re looking at a nice 40 hours worth of game here for only $60.
My only wish was we could have gotten the two smaller prologue and epilogue to Dead Rising 2 – Case Zero and Case West. I find it strange they left them out, but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. Of course, Dead Rising 3 would have been nice, but that would be asking a bit too much for the price. At the end of the day, you will get three fully packed games that were and still are pretty fun to go through. Sure, there’s some choice mechanics that don’t hold up, especially in the first game, but for the price, fans of the series or people looking to try this series out for the first time will get a lot for their money.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
