I love zombie games. I love zombie movies. I would go so far as to say that you can all start calling me Zombzi. That’s how much I love seeing those mindless, undead creatures get their heads ripped off.
A few days ago we rented, from Blockbuster, a copy of Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop for the Wii. I’ve been wanting to play a version of Dead Rising for ages, and since we lack a 360 right now I guess the Wii version will just have to do.
I will admit that I was skeptical. It’s Nintendo – they have a habit of dulling down the good games to make them more kid friendly, plus I wasn’t too sure on how the controls would work much less the graphics.
When I popped it in, I was pleasantly surprised. The graphics in the beginning for the intro weren’t that bad. Capcom does a great job with facial movements so they were right on the money with this one too. The intro also gave me a bit of storyline and set it up perfectly for the event that was about to occur.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Dead Rising or what it’s about, I shall share what little I do know. You play a man named Frank. He is a freelance photojournalist. You start off in a helicopter with some random pilot and are going to a town in Colorado (I can’t remember the name right now). Population is a little over 53,000 so it’s not that large. Apparently there were reports of civil unrest, and possibly riots, in the town yet very little information was getting out into the news. What was released seemed a bit off and also the death count was way too high. Frank decided to go investigate. As they are flying in, Frank notices that the roads going into the city are all blocked off. Very suspicious. Frank then sees a helipad on the roof of the large city mall and tells the pilot to drop him down on to it. As the pilot gets ready, three military helicopters swoop on it and try to drive you away. Frank, being determined to get his story, jumps out of the helicopter and on to the roof. From that point, you begin your escapades in the mall.
I like that the zombies in this game are the slow, stupid ones. Those are always the best. You can take your time beating the crap out of them, and there are plenty of objects in this game at your disposal. One that I used yesterday was a Servbot (from Mega Man Legends) head. It was fantastic.
The controls were easy too. You have to plug in a nunchuck for the game and use the joystick on there to move you around. When you use a gun to shoot, you hold down the B button on the Wii-mote to pull out your gun, then you move the Wii-mote around since that controls your aim and the reticle, and then you push down on A to shoot. Simple, no?
I also checked on the violence factor. The default settings are that the blood be red, and that the violence is on high. Me like. If you have children, or are sensitive to blood, there is the option to either make it green or to shut it off completely. You can also decrease the level of violence but honestly, if you want to play a game like that, you need to play it at it’s best. It’s just not the same.
I didn’t get to play the game for long, but what I did play I enjoyed. I know for sure I will play some more today because nothing puts a smile on my face like a pile of zombies.
As I progress in the game I will update you guys, but for now… if you own a Wii and dig zombies like I do, go pick up a copy. If you are skeptical, go and rent it. It’s worth it.
– She Who Has The Last Word.
