Slay Countless Zombies in 'Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition'

Jeb Haught
Thu, 11 Sep 2014 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

DEVELOPER: Capcom

PUBLISHER: Capcom

SYSTEM: Windows PC
Updated: Fri Sep 12, 2014

DEVELOPER: Capcom

PUBLISHER: Capcom

SYSTEM: Windows PC

PRICE: $49.99

ESRB RATING: Mature

REVIEW RATING: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

"Dead Rising 3" was an Xbox One exclusive, and every exclusive game has a limited saturation into the gaming population. While there aren't any plans for a PlayStation 4 version, PC gamers can now slay countless zombies while playing "Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition."

This game follows the exploits of a mechanic named Nick Ramos as he tries to survive the zombie apocalypse and escape from Los Perdidos. This is accomplished by performing a variety of missions, collecting parts and helping other survivors. "Apocalypse Edition" also contains all four expansion packs that were released for the original "Dead Rising 3."

Nick is a whiz at combining items to create useful and extremely deadly weapons, which is great as players will need every advantage to stay alive. I like how he can combine items on the fly rather than needing to find a workbench because it lessens backtracking and allows for more improvisation. It's also cool that Nick can create crazy vehicles, such as the Steamhawg, which is made by combining a steamroller with a motorcycle.

Another new addition is the ability to recruit survivors and take them with you on missions. Survivors can be equipped with custom weapons, which actually makes them useful and adds a new benefit to saving survivors. It's really cool to take an armed entourage with me on missions because the number of zombies has hit an all-time high in this game!

One thing to note is that "Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition" has extremely high hardware requirements. It's not likely that many people will upgrade their computers to play this game, so the majority of players will experience technical difficulties such as frame-rate slowdown and stuttering. This will be a deal breaker for some, and a challenge to others.

'The Expendabros'

DEVELOPER: Free Lives

PUBLISHER: Devolver Digital

SYSTEM: Windows PC

PRICE: Free Download

ESRB RATING: Teen

REVIEW RATING: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Some games seem so ridiculous that they must have started out as a joke, which literally is the case for "Broforce" and its free spinoff, "The Expendabros." These retro-styled shooters are so over-the-top that I'm surprised they don't feature the main character from the movie, "Over the Top!"

"Broforce" is a side-scrolling game that's reminiscent of the 80s both in theme and the old-school, pixelated appearance. This fast-paced game tosses several characters from cheesy 80s action movies (like Rambo 2 and Commando) together in one high-octane shooter where the only object is to save fellow "bros" and destroy the enemy.

Since that's basically what "The Expendables" film does, "The Expendabros" game seems like a natural spinoff. There's no story, so players are tasked with simply shooting and blowing up everything in sight in order to complete each level and get extracted. The main difference between the games is that players get to take on the role of seven deadly characters from "The Expendables" movies.

Each character is only vaguely familiar in appearance, but they all sport a bro-themed name along with a different type of main weapon and secondary weapon. One of my favorites is Broctor Death because I love tossing his knives in all directions.

Adding lots of strategy and fun are completely destructible environments that can be whittled away with any weapon to create new paths. It's also incredibly entertaining to start crazy chain reactions that involve numerous explosions along with crumbling scenery and giant spinning blades. Add up to three other players via local coop and the result is a blast! Sure, it's easy to lose my character with so much action going on, but that's part of the fun.

"The Expendabros" is short and sweet, but I don't mind replaying it over and over. "Flexing complete."

REVIEW SCORING SYSTEM

5 stars = Must Have

4 stars = Very Good

3 stars = Above Average

2 stars = Bargain Bin

1 star = Don't Bother

RATINGS KEY

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)

E: (Everyone)

E10+: (Everyone 10 and older)

T: Teen (13 and older)

M: Mature (17 and older)

"Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition"

"The Expendabros"