Dead Rising Triple Pack

Editor's Notes

Digital PS4 version reviewed. The three games are included in the 'Triple Pack,' but can also be bought individually as digital titles.

Introduction

The 'Dead Rising Triple Pack' brings three of Capcom's zombie-filled open world games to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It contains 2006's 'Dead Rising,' its 2010 sequel 'Dead Rising 2,' and the spin-off 'Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.' This collection also serves as a celebration of the series' 10th anniversary before 'Dead Rising 4' releases this December.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

I was nervous about starting the original 'Dead Rising' for the first time since 2006, as many well-received titles from the era have aged extremely poorly. I've realized that many games I once cherished are now no longer enjoyable due to dated control schemes or just baffling design choices. Thankfully, that isn't the case here. In fact, all three of the games in the 'Dead Rising Triple Pack' are still really fun to play.

The reason why all three open world titles are still fun is due to the core gameplay remaining delightful. Each game had me killing massive crowds of zombies in increasingly dumb ways, and the shopping mall locale provides a great location for the mayhem to unfold. I had a dumb smile on my face every time I would use a shopping cart to plow through 30 zombies, and then used a fire extinguisher to freeze my undead followers. The 'Dead Rising' series doesn't take itself seriously, and that's exactly why the zombie killing is still fun here despite being played out elsewhere.

Besides the delightfully brutal combat, the gameplay in all three titles revolves around completing timed-missions (each protagonist has a 72-hour time limit they need to fulfill their goals within), and helping save any fellow survivors. This helps give the game a nice structure, while also letting it thrive in such an open world. Side missions are plentiful, but there wasn't really a penalty if I chose to cause mayhem instead of being a hero. 'Dead Rising' gives the player enough freedom to do what they want, with only a handful of missions being do-or-die scenarios. 

One really interesting thing about playing through 'Dead Rising' to 'Dead Rising 2: Off the Record' was getting to see how the series evolved over time. The 2006 original definitely feels the most dated, as it requires the player to manually save and can feel awfully punishing when it comes to deaths. Losing chunks of progress isn't fun, but it's something that unavoidably will happen while playing. Eventually, the series starts to add save prompts after major missions, and by 'Off the Record' it implements checkpoints like most modern games. It really shows how the series kept building on a solid base and how it all culminated in the design of 'Dead Rising 3,' although players won't be able to check that out in this collection.

The downside to seeing the series evolve is that the games are largely untouched from the original versions. That's a bummer when compared to Capcom's previous remasters such as 'Resident Evil 0' and 'Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition,' as they added significant new features into the mix (such as new playable characters or control schemes) and helped modernize older games. It feels like a missed opportunity not giving players additional save slots (the original 'Dead Rising' only has one) or adding in optional checkpoints. Existing fans won't be bothered, but it's not exactly a pleasant experience for a newcomer.

While checking out the first game was a great nostalgia trip, I really feel like 'Dead Rising 2' is where the series started to shine. This is due to it being the first game in the series to support online cooperative play, and the zany action is only enhanced when playing with a friend. Not only does this make the experience feel less punishing (as my partner could revive me if I went down), but my favorite moments came from coordinating with a friend on ways to kill enemies in silly ways. One memorable sequence had us escorting a tiger, and getting it to fend off zombies as we raided a bar for vodka (one of the best healing items, obviously).

Overall, the 'Dead Rising Triple Pack' serves as a healthy reminder of why Capcom's series is so much fun. None of the included games are as polished (either graphically or mechanically) as 'Dead Rising 3,' but it's definitely nice to be able to play them on current systems once again. They also each provide unique locales (a shopping mall in the original and a Las Vegas knockoff in 'Dead Rising 2') for the action to unfold in.

If there is one really disappointing part of the package, it's that it doesn't include the complete 'Dead Rising' catalog from the last generation of consoles. Both of the downloadable expansions set before and after 'Dead Rising 2' (called 'Case Zero' and 'Case West,' respectively) are completely missing. These standalone titles were exclusive to Xbox 360 when they released, and it would've been great to allow more gamers to play these smaller 'Dead Rising' experiences. Instead, this collection feels slightly thrown together and not the love letter that it deserves on its 10th anniversary.