Dead Rising 4 Preview - E3 2016

If there's one current trend that has firmly engraved itself in the popular culture, it's zombies (or undead, infected, what have you). From TV shows to movies and of course video games, they seem to be everywhere. And while most experiences that involve these shambling horrors take a serious approach, one franchise has always looked at things a little differently. Since 2006, Dead Rising has been both haunting and entertaining players on Microsoft's platforms, and Capcom looks to continue this momentum with the upcoming release of Dead Rising 4. Announced at E3 this year, we had a chance to play a short segment of the game.

This fourth entry marks the return of protagonist Frank West. The game takes place in Willamette, Colorado 16 years after the events of the original Dead Rising. Yet another mysterious outbreak has overrun the town, and it is up to Frank to discover who or what is responsible for the streets being filled with zombies. The staple of the franchise – vehicle and weapon customization – will be back in full force, of course, to help you mow down legions of infected while having a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Multiplayer will offer four player missions in cooperative play, and the ability to quickmatch.

In our particular demo, Frank has been tasked with finding a group of soldiers that has gone missing. As we leave the police station and enter the street, a very familiar sight unfolds. Shambling corpses, as far as the eye can see, and all ripe for being exploded. At his disposal Frank has a ranged weapon that looks like a makeshift crossbow that shoots fireworks, an electrically charged sword melee weapon, and some throwables. Running out into the street, we start swinging, and the zombies begin to crumble and lose limbs left and right. Slicing and dicing our way through the horde, Frank earns enough energy to start unleashing his combo attacks for stylish, cinematic takedowns. The electrical sword's combo attack is a Thor-like chain of lightning that eviscerates anything within a short radius. This is unmistakably Dead Rising, and anyone who has played the third entry on Xbox One will be instantly comfortable with the scenario.

Wanting to get a bit more firepower, we switch to the ranged weapon. It should be noted that the controls have been updated this year, and you can now swap between weapon classes without using the weapon wheel. In the past, players would have to manually assign their weapons to the wheel and then select them again during combat. In Dead Rising 4, simply pressing RB (aim) will automatically make Frank pull out his first available ranged weapon with ammo and take aim. Similarly, hitting the melee button will make Frank switch to a melee weapon and start swinging; all of this without ever touching the weapon wheel. It's a good way to streamline the mechanics.

Using the custom crossbow-like weapon, we begin dispatching groups of enemies with colorful fireworks explosions as we approach the target building, last known location of the squad. Heading inside, we find them dead, as well as some clues. Frank must use his classic camera to take a photo and send it to the commander. Suddenly, a helicopter can be heard flying overhead, and Frank is told to follow. Before leaving the building, we grab a machine gun, a new ice-sword melee weapon, and the Exo suit.

Back on the street, the infected are all over the place, but the new suit is meant to allow Frank to get up close and personal. The reduced damage helps you stay alive longer even in the thickest crowds, and pull off powerful fist attacks. After steamrolling through a few of the infected, we pull off some gross body and head-tearing combo finishers. Then it's minigun time, mowing down rows upon rows of enemies with ease. Finally, the ice sword comes out, as we slice through and also freeze nearby foes. Nearby, Frank hears screams for help – it is a civilian stuck in a sea of zombies. Much like Dead Rising 3, we must clear out all nearby enemies to let him come down safely. In classic DR fashion, this open world side mission is on a timer that, if left ignored, would remove it from the game.

These thoughts of time bring a sudden realization that our whole demo is also on a timer, at just under 10 minutes long. There are just two minutes to spare, and Frank hasn't even began to track down the helicopter that flew over, because he was too busy simply mowing down everything around him (almost 400 zombies were slain during the demo, to be exact). With haste, the Exo suit allows us to sprint past the undead easier, and get closer to our destination. But before we're able to get there, we are faced with some new enemies. The Fresh are newly zombified victims that are faster and more aggressive, while the Evo are zombies with more strength and mobility. We take down a few of these tougher enemies but unfortunately the game timer runs out, and we are unable to find out where the helicopter was heading.

Our experience with Dead Rising 4 demo is telling. Capcom have found a formula that works, and offers something entertaining, unique, and challenging in a trope that has been growing stale in other entertainment mediums over the years. We had such unadulterated fun slicing through waves of enemies, that we lost track of time. And there wasn't even time to experiment with weapon or vehicle customization. If it's a funny and action-packed open world zombie game you're looking for, Dead Rising 4 should be at the top of your list. Look for the game to release on Xbox One and Windows 10, exact date yet to be confirmed.