Dead Rising Case 0 Review

Dead Rising is back.  After a long time, we finally get our sequel.  This time around Capcom is trying something a little different.  Instead of a demo like most other games have, Capcom released a XBLA prequel that cost 400 MSP. 

Dead Rising Case 0 is very good.  It is being develpoed by Blue Castle Games out of Canada, formerly of The Bigs 1 & 2 fame.  Case 0 follows the protagonist, Chuck Greene and his daughter Katey, as they drive through the small town of Still Creek.  The game starts with Chuck stopping for gas but encounters a small bump in the road that causes him to spend a little time in a zombie infested town.  The game is quite short and can be finished in one sitting easily.  It does a good job of introducing us to the characters and their objective. 

Case 0 has a similar structure to the original Dead Rising.  Instead of 72 hours to solve the game, you get only 12 hours.  The case structure is still here and it still works.  The main thing gone is the photography.  Since Chuck Greene is not a photographer and hasn’t covered wars, he doesn’t travel with a camera.  Instead, Chuck has the know how to fix anything, mainly using Duct Tape.  Throughout the town there are maintenance sheds where you can combine two weapons to create a new super weapon.  Just happen to have a shotgun and a pitchfork, combine them and make a boomstick.  The system works really well but the sheds can be a bit apart from each other.  The only downside I have with this, is that it is so short, but for 400 MSP I’m not really complaining.

This, I believe, will be a formula we will start seeing more often from developers.  Not only do you get a taste of the game that has different narrative than the retail game, but there are 200 achievement points to be had.  For fans of Dead Rising, Case 0 is a great buy and a must have if you want a little more story and 200 achievement points.

-Ryan

Final Rating – 9 / 10