Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition
Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition uses a nine-month-old game as a basis and that is of course a bit sour, although it is not unique that PC gamers have to wait a long time for their version of a game. This time they get a good deal in return. For three tenners you now get the game itself, plus the four DLC packages that previously appeared for the Xbox One version and cost thirty euros together. Furthermore, playing on the PC offers a small added value in the audiovisual field, but that difference is not very impressive. Dead Rising 3 remains a great game for anyone who likes to kill zombies, even if the game resembles its predecessors in everything and is therefore a game that has few surprises in store for experienced hangers-on.
Pros
- Lots and lots of zombies
- Creative weapons and vehicles
- Lots of content
- Dlc is included for free
Cons
- Little surprising
- Graphics could be better
What exactly is the status of Dead Rising 3? Should we consider the game ‘already released’, or is this week’s PC version of the game just the first to hit the market? A strange situation, which is due to the fact that Microsoft brings the Xbox One console to us almost a year later than in countries around us. The result: although the Xbox One version of Dead Rising 3 has not yet officially appeared here, the game is, of course, just about a year old.
Race against the clock
The game that was already available for the Xbox One three quarters of a year ago differs in a number of areas from the PC release we tested, but the content itself is the same. And so in Dead Rising 3 on PC you still start as Nick, who races against time with his friends to escape from Los Perdidos, a city that is clearly based on Los Angeles. Nick starts out with few resources and friends, but soon encounters several other characters, as well as truckloads of items that can be used as weapons against the hordes of zombies on your way.
Weapons and vehicles can be found with those objects, and they form an important part of the gameplay in Dead Rising 3. Nick can combine all kinds of weapons, but also all kinds of vehicles, to create the most horrible killing machines. For example, the combination of a motorcycle and boxing gloves produces mechanical boxing gloves, while the mix of a motorcycle and a steamroller produces a special engine that allows Nick to easily drive over hordes of zombies. And then, just to be sure, there’s probably a flamethrower on it too. It’s illustrative of Dead Rising 3 and of the very creative vehicles and weapons you occasionally create by combining all sorts of items.
sand box
Going wild with those special weapons on large groups of zombies is actually the best thing Dead Rising 3 has to offer. The creators also see the game as a sandbox game, and hope that the community will provide the PC version of the game with all kinds of mods over time, which will undoubtedly make the action even more crazy. Yet there is more than just ‘fooling around’. There is of course a story, there are several boss fights, and Nick is developing himself. This is accompanied by the spending of points with which various properties can be improved.
The functioning of these elements is fairly obvious. That’s not a bad thing, but it does prevent Dead Rising 3 from surprising. The game is very similar in its design to its predecessors. Over time, this creates a ‘been there, done that’ feeling. Since the gameplay is otherwise very solid and very entertaining, that is actually the biggest downside to Dead Rising 3.
In the countries around us, this was all there for the Xbox One nine months ago. So what exactly is new in this PC version? First of all, of course: the graphics. The Xbox One version ran at 720p and ran at 30 frames per second. That lock is still on the PC as standard, but can be removed if you estimate that your PC can easily handle a higher number of frames. In addition, the PC of course just runs at 1080p. Incidentally, it is striking that, despite those graphic extras, Dead Rising 3 will not immediately belong to the most beautiful PC games.
DLC packs for free
Furthermore, all four already released DLC packs are included, with which the events in Los Perdidos are always experienced from a different perspective, so with a different playable character. All weapons, costumes and vehicles from the DLC packs can also be used by Nick in the main game.
All in all, the conclusion around Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition is a somewhat predictable one. Of course we applaud that Capcom has brought the game to the PC after all. It also makes a very small difference in the local markets that the Xbox One version had not yet appeared here, although the fact remains of course that the game itself is almost a year old. Still, Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition, partly because it includes extra content that cost thirty euros on the Xbox One separately, remains a great option for PC gamers with a penchant for slashing zombies. We can’t remember a game where the latter was as tasty as in Dead Rising 3.