Dead Rising 3

Dead Rising 3
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Publisher: Capcom
Reviewed On: Xbox One
Cert: 18
Available On: Xbox One

Dragging yourself on top of an abandoned car, you survey the hundreds of shuffling, decomposing figures that are heading your way. You're armed with a cinderblock and a flashlight, and things are looking a little bleak. Welcome to Dead Rising 3; you're going to like it here.

Los Perdidos is ground zero for the zombie outbreak, and the authorities have decided the only way to deal with it is to burn everything to the ground. As mechanic Nick Ramos, you have only a few days to get out, along with any survivors you pick up along the way, and since the entire place is quarantined, it’s not going to be an easy task.

There are thousands of zombies to deal with, some more aggressive than others. They’re all relentless and with so many different types you can get distracted watching them before you realise that one is trying to chew on your arm and you probably should kill it.

It’s not just the zombies you have to worry about. There are survivors who have either lost the plot or are taking advantage of the chaos to wreak a bit of destruction of their own. Known as Psychos, these are harder to deal with; they’re faster and a lot smarter then your average undead zombie.

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But Nick has skills, specifically in building weapons and creating hybrid vehicles from what you can find around the place. As you find new blueprints, you can create combo weapons such as the sledgesaw that will help you zip through those enemies a little quicker. They can be stored in weapons lockers, which are located in safe houses dotted through the game’s world.

Dead Rising 3 isn't perfect, though, with some weird graphic quirks and frame rate stutters that are annoying. It's so much fun to play, though, with plenty of side missions to distract you from your main objective of getting the hell out of town and a dose of humour that has made the series so popular.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist