Joystiq impressions: Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
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Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop thins components from the 360 original into a Wii port. And that's not always a bad thing. As much as we liked the original, we were frustrated by losing track of side missions and the unforgiving save system. The Wii remake addresses both issues, running players through a condensed, linear story with more frequent save- and restore-points. And Wii controls often feel good, especially for pointing and shooting, although we're still uncertain about some of the motion additions, such as shaking off zombies.
But after playing at the Nintendo Media Summit, we're apprehensive about what's being lost. There's no photojournalism, many weapons have been cut, and we're just not sure if the Wii can push enough zombies-per-second to create the ambling masses of the first. The Wii version seems suited to gamers who never tried the original; it'll hold up better without any direct comparison to the 360 game.
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In the Wii game, Capcom follows parts of the Resident Evil 4 style on WIi, and a similar point-and-shoot mechanic felt good. We popped off zombies with a few guns by swinging the IR cross-hair through the mall.
We were told that many game weapons have been consolidated, plus Capcom is including more frequent guns because of the Wii controls. While our demo was limited and the full game could give a different aesthetic, we were disappointed to keep coming across the same weapon items in the mall. Most often, we stuck with a bat, which we swung by waving the Remote. Our motion didn't matter, but we had more fun than tapping an attack button.
We're also apprehensive about the graphics and zombie counts. Visuals looked sufficient by Wii standards, with blocky edges and textures. And we're hopeful that the enemy density will increase; our demo area was well short of the 360's zombie jamboree.
As mentioned, gamers who skipped the 360 original should have a better time with Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop than those playing again. The new version overlaps with the Wii audience, with the motion-controlled weapons, for example. Capcom plans to ship Dead Rising sometime this Winter.
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