I thought it would be a good idea to try and squeeze another game out of my Xbox Game Pass for PC before it ran out and I chose Dead Rising 4. The series’ iterations always evolved but this time around the core mechanics are showing their age.

Dead Rising 4 is an adventure, adventure game released December 6th, 2016 and was developed by Capcom Vancouver and published by Capcom, Microsoft Game Studios.

Frank West is back, from whenever the last time he appeared (in Dead Rising 2?), to investigate yet another zombie outbreak INSIDE the newly renovated Willamette Memorial Mall in Willamette, Colorado. Frank West is recruited to investigate the cause of the epidemic. It comes to fruition that the strain of virus was that of the Los Perdidos. This helps push the plot and character development. Vick Chu is rebellious and is determined to expose all of those who are a part of the epidemic while Frank wants to “get in, get out and get paid.”

Frank is a snarky dickhead. He never takes a scenario seriously. He always has something to say, and a lot of the time it is something incredibly cheesy. It is just plain fun having Frank narrate his own race while zombies are crushed underneath his mini race car. The overall tone of the game thrives on bleak, dark, satirical humor. Holiday music plays on the menu screen and for that matter every where, so this contrast of murder and silly absurdity makes Willamette feel more real.

Willamette is enormous this time around. Frank is not just confined to the cheerful, Christmas themed mall, but has the entirety of the town to play around in. There is still a lot to do in Dead Rising 4. There are survivors to help, psychopaths to murder and blueprints for combo weapons to find, so it is hard not finding something to do in this world.

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Combo weapons are back and they are as fun as ever: A sledge hammer that has grenades tapped to the ends, a gun that fires plastic marlins, a sci-fi guns that makes zombies disappear and The Suckmaster 3000. All of these weapons reward those that have a thirst for imagination. I had only gotten about 43 different blueprints but every weapon was more enjoyable than the last blueprint that I had found.

The core game play has evolved the least out of all other facets of the Dead Rising franchise. Frank swings and swings and nothing more. I honestly believe that I need to replace my mouse because the left-mouse was used more than any game that I have encountered. It does get boring after awhile. If it was not for how fun the combo weapons were and the smart ass quips Frank says as he demolishes zombies, I would have put the game down.

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Photography takes the stage as a key mechanic in Dead Rising 4. If you had not already known, Frank is an investigative journalist. Frank takes pictures of the various scenes throughout the game, deduces the next step to his plan and ties everything up with a bow so the player does not get lost. Taking selfies and other photograph really does not add anything to the game really. The amount of PP that is rewarded is barely any at all, so it not worth it to invest time into getting the perfect or most gruesome shot.

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The game is easy, like, wayyyyyyyyy too easy. Even on the harder difficulties I found that Frank just cannot die. There are healing items literally everywhere as well. What are bullets to Frank West? Nothing. Hurt? well run away and pound back to back pain relievers to regain health and then jump right back in. Even the new types of zombies are not that threatening when Frank is a God in physical form. Their is a progression system that allows Frank more health, stamina, critical hit chance, etc, but it feels unneeded because it just makes the game easier than it already is.

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All in all, Dead Rising 4 is another good entry in the franchise. Killing zombies and investigating a government cover up is a good plot that kept my attention. straying off the beaten path to help survivors and kill psychopaths is still a good time. It is still impressive that thousands of zombies can be on the screen and my game still ran flawlessly. The co-op sucks and adds nothing to the main plot, Capcom Heroes is a quirky and exciting way to re-play the campaign. By giving Frank the powers of Capcom mascots like, Ryu, Dante, Jill Valentine and even Amaterasu is a quirky way to re-play the single player campaign.

Dead Rising 4 probably is the best in series even though the combat is absolutely terrible. If you haven’t played it and have Xbox Game Pass, I would recommend it.