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L4D mod 'Dead Before Dawn' recreates Dawn of the Dead remake
The Left 4 Dead modding community is really kicking decomposing zombie butt lately. We've seen Raccoon City, some of our favorite Super Mario 64 spots, and even Shaun of the Dead's Winchester pub all realized in the game's zombie apocalypse framework. Now we bring you another mod that pays homage to a zombie film: 'Dead Before Dawn,' a mod based on the 2004 remake of George A. Romero's classic, Dawn of the Dead. The new mod opened to public beta this Halloween and features a variety of locales stripped from the movie, along with its own snazzy campaign poster. The folks behind the mod even went so far as to create their own title sequence (though their version features far less Johnny Cash than the movie's). You can shamble on past the break to check it out. [Thanks, Gutfree!] %Gallery-77130%
Judge shoots Dead Rising lawsuit in the head
US Magistrate Judge Richard Seeborg has dismissed MKR Group's lawsuit claiming that Capcom's Dead Rising infringed on the copyrights of its horror film, Dawn of the Dead. The judge agreed with Capcom's argument that the few similarities that MKR Group could cite were overridden by "the wholly unprotectable concept of humans battling zombies in a mall during a zombie outbreak."The best part is that the judge sided on one issue with Capcom in the most back-handed way possible. MKR alleged as one of its complaints that the two works were parodies of rampant consumerism. Seeborg wrote in his decision that the theme of Dead Rising is "confined to the killing of zombies" in an attempt to discover the cause of a zombie infestation, and "the social commentary MKR draws from Dawn of the Dead, in other words, appears totally absent from the combat focus found in Dead Rising." We see the judge's point that the "theme" of consumerism isn't throughout the game, but it certainly is the catalyst for the events. You want spoilers, check the Wiki page.
Dead Rising vs Dawn of the Dead lawsuit dismissed
That's it folks. Show's over. Move along. US Magistrate Judge Richard Seeborg has dismissed the case of MKR Group -- the company that owns George Romero's Dawn of the Dead film -- versus Capcom -- the publisher behind Dead Rising. MKR Group tried to make the case that Dead Rising is too similar to the film Dawn of the Dead, but Seeborg chose to grant Capcom's motion for dismissal, which stated that the MKR had "not identified any similarity between Dead Rising and any protected element of Dawn of the Dead." The motion elaborated that the noted similarities were "driven by the wholly unprotectable concept of humans battling zombies in a mall during a zombie outbreak."Several claims were made by MKR noting similarities between the game and the film, including the use of photojournalists as main characters and the fact that "Many of the zombies wear plaid shirts" (no, seriously). One interesting note in Capcom's favor, the judge completely dismissed MKR's claim that both works are a "parody of rampant consumerism." He stated, "To the extent that Dead Rising may be deemed to posses a theme, it is confined to the killing of zombies" and discovering the cause of the outbreak. He concluded that the "social commentary" drawn by MKR from he film "appears totally absent from the combat focus found in Dead Rising."That's all well and good for Capcom, apart from the fact that Dead Rising totally is about consumerism. So, we're guessing that either Seeborg didn't actually finish Dead Rising or, perhaps, he wasn't paying attention. Judges these days. Sheesh.
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop coming to Wii this winter
Famitsu sort of already spilled the beans on a Dead Rising-based Wii game, but Capcom got to fill us in this morning on the game's new title: Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, which we'd like to make fun of, but we find surprisingly precious. Capcom also related that you could expect the game on shelves this winter.1UP has some details on the pseudo-port from Famitsu, largely centered on the efforts to make the game more casually appealing. For starters, there's no more timer, you just complete missions and move on. There have also been tweaks to the camera and controls based on Resident Evil 4. And yes, you can expect some motion controls -- in exactly the ways you'd expect -- which you can read about here.%Gallery-28230%
Dead Rising v. Dawn of the Dead - Round 2
Just before our extensive coverage of GDC08 began, we heard that Capcom had filed an injunction against a possible lawsuit from MKR Group, the folks that own the rights to George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead in response to a threat of action for the similarities in story to Capcom's Dead Rising. Low and behold, early yesterday Reuters reported that MKR Group had filed suit against Capcom for the use of "zombies attacking a mall" storyline in Dead Rising which was the central theme in George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. While the Capcom injunction claimed, "humans battling zombies in a shopping mall" is a "wholly unprotectible [sic] idea," the filing from MKR Group disputed the claim and called the scenario and execution too similar saying, "In both, the recreational activities of the zombies and absurdly grotesque 'kill scenes' provide unexpected comedic relief." You might think that MKR Group is a little late to the party on filing this suit nearly two years after the release of Dead Rising but we still remember when the Red Cross grew wise to the game industry's health pack system. This whole situation, while not unexpected, seems a little silly to us.[via Joystiq]
Dead Rising v. Dawn of the Dead
According to a PDF file acquired by The Hollywood Reporter Esq., Capcom is looking to protect itself against the similarities found between the 2006 best seller Dead Rising and the film classic, George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. In the claim Capcom states that based on current copyright law "humans battling zombies in a shopping mall" is a "wholly unprotectible idea."The filing, from February 12, comes as a response to a complaint issued to Capcom, Microsoft and Best Buy from The MKR Group, who owns the rights to both versions of the Dawn of the Dead films. In the Capcom filing the publisher lists they made unsuccessful attempts to contact the MKR Group and that the game also features a disclaimer that reads, "This game was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead."File this one under the "that took longer than we thought" section of the "it was bound to happen" cabinet and as the second zombie related post of the week.[Via Joystiq]
Dead Rising, Dawn of the Dead similarities spark legal filings
Capcom is looking to protect its right to kill hordes of zombies in a shopping center. In a legal complaint filed this week (PDF file via The Hollywood Reporter Esq.), the game publisher asserts that "humans battling zombies in a shopping mall" is a "wholly unprotectible idea" under today's copyright laws.The reason for Capcom's fair use claim reportedly comes from a draft complaint sent to the company (as well as Microsoft and Best Buy) by The MKR Group, who claim intellectual ownership of both Dawn of the Dead films. Capcom's filing notes that the company unsuccessfully tried to discuss the matter and that the game features a disclaimer that reads, "This game was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead."It's time to conduct a very (ahem) scientific poll.%Poll-9478%
Deal of the Day: Anime UMDs for $5 each at Gamestop
Your UMD collection can grow like a cancerous universe-creating monster at the prices that Gamestop is selling them at. Akira, Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll UMDs are all available at the low price of $5. (For the non-anime fans out there, Dawn of the Dead should fit the bill quite nicely.) Don't forget to use coupon code SAVER for free shipping.[Via CAG][Update 1: All products are sold out! You see what happens when you price UMDs the right way?]
