STACK December 2016 Issue No. 146

Of course, what good are

ridiculous weapons without

something to fire them at? In this

Dead Rising, the Horde has been

revamped.“We’ve always had the

regular zombies – I just like to call

them a herd of cows. They’re not too

terrifying, they’re slow, and you can

mow them down like bowling pins.,"

says Nickolls, who wanted to amp

it up a bit this time around.“We’ve

now introduced the ‘freshly infected’

– it’s very 28 Days Later. If they bite

you, it’s game over. Don’t think you

can climb onto cars or anything to

get away; they’ll just climb on after

you. They’re a lot more athletic and

agile. It’s gonna be crazy. They can

then go one of two ways – they can

become a part of the general horde,

and just wander off meaninglessly,

or they can become a lot smarter

and more perceptive. Kind of like

the raptors from Jurassic Park. They

wear you down and finish you off. It’s

awesome.”

In case you hadn't already

guessed, the recipe for a Dead

Rising game is simple – zombies and

outlandish weapons. To those still

struggling with the concept, Nickolls

likens it to a nice meal.

“The analogy I give to a lot of

people is if you look at a serious

survival game or a serious zombie

game, I equate that to a steak dinner.

It’s like a nice steak dinner. You make

an appointment to have this dinner,

and it’s an important commitment.

We, on the other hand, are a greasy

cheeseburger. You bite into that

cheeseburger and it goes all over

your shirt, and it’s super satisfying,

dirty and messy – and it’s amazing.

A couple of days later you go ‘yeah

man, I want to do that again,’and

that’s what Dead Rising is. We’re this

guilty pleasure that you just love to

keep going back to, again and again. I

think that’s because we know exactly

who we are, and what we are – we

don’t try to pretend to

be something else.

That’s what keeps

us fresh.”

•

Dead

Rising 4

is out

Dec 6

Frank West and the Dead Rising franchise have been around for 10 years.

This month sees the release of the fourth game in the series, and you

can expect the guys at Capcom still have a few surprises up their sleeves.

Words Alesha Kolbe

ead Rising was first released

back in 2006, with Frank West

quickly cementing himself as

the lovable protagonist of the series.

Not unlike Evil Dead's Ash Williams,

West's light-hearted take on the

looming end of the world, combined

with the simple beauty of completely

dismembering bodies, has made him

something of a cult hero.

But now, in a market saturated

by zombie/survival games, movies

and television series, some might

wonder how the Dead Rising series

has managed to remain both relevant

and revered. If you ask Joe Nickolls,

studio head for Dead Rising 4, it’s

thanks to players’relationships with

the game.

“The series has evolved so much,

and everyone that’s been on that

journey has felt as though they were

a part of Frank’s world. We felt we

really had to invest in the Dead Rising

brand, because we hoped it would be

around for a very long time. Everyone

has a different relationship with the

games, and it’s important that we

embrace that in order to grow the

series.”

The Dead Rising franchise has long

been known for its ludicrousness.

Sending the living dead flying with

whatever long, rigid item you can

find lying about has always drawn the

masses, and with DR4 introducing

the exo suit, you can be sure the

insanity will continue.

“One of the hallmarks of the

game has always been putting

things together with duct tape that

otherwise shouldn’t be near each

other,”offers Nickolls.“You’re always

thinking, ‘what’s the next stupid

thing I can do?’So we came up with

the idea that maybe you could just

combo yourself,”he laughs.“We

designed this suit that you could build

upon; it lets you punch cars, and rip

up parking meters – all it really does

is make you more powerful. But of

course, you can then combo that

again. You can walk up to a slushie

machine that makes frozen drinks,

and combo that with your suit, which

gives you this ridiculous weapon that

shoots ice tornadoes and ice pellets

and icicle bombs. It was the dumb,

logical progression.”

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stack.net.au

jbhifi.com.au

DECEMBER 2016

GAMES FEATURE

You're always

thinking, 'What's the

next stupid thing I

can do?'

Terence J. Rotolo

(TJRotolo),thevoice

of Frank West in the

originalDeadRising,

is also a prolific

stuntmanappearing

in the likes of The

Scorpion King and

Power Rangers

Jesse Metcalfe

(JohnTucker,HeWho

Must Die) played

the lead role in the

Watchtower film

based on the games

JoeNickolls(studio

director) thinks a

DeadRisingsetDown

Under would only

workiftheprotagonist

was voiced by Hugh

Jackman

The original Dead

Risingwasconsidered

toographicallyviolent

in Germany andwas

unrated, therefore

deeminginunsellable

in the country due

to Microsoft

guidelines