Dead Rising 4 aims to put the series back on track after the more serious (and brown/gray) Dead Rising 3. Original protagonist Frank West is back, and Capcom is making sure he has plenty of weird and wacky weaponry at his disposal. Or, as Capcom Vancouver studio head Joe Nickolls told Polygon, "It's gotta be stupid."
So how is the dev team realizing that lofty goal? Here are three ways that visitors to Gamescom can try out right now:
The Exo-Suit makes you a superhero
Dead Rising has featured some pretty strange weaponry before - including a gumball machine and a leaf blower that shoots spears - but Dead Rising 4 turns you into a weapon with the Exo-Suit. There's all kinds of things you can do once you've donned this piece of power armor, including create slushie tornadoes and rip zombies in half like a grilled cheese sandwich.
Pop culture references
Capcom owns some of the most recognizable brands in gaming, including Street Fighter and Mega Man. So naturally, Frank will be able to find items like a Blanka costume that lets him generate electricity just like the green, hairy monster from Street Fighter. Dead Rising 4 isn't just relying on in-house references though, as evidenced by the Gandalf staff that shoots an army of garden gnomes when slammed in the iconic "You shall not pass!" motion.
#SELFIEs
With so many games now featuring photo modes, it makes sense that Capcom would want to do the same for Dead Rising 4 - and it fits, considering Frank's status as a photojournalist. But rather than play it straight, Dead Rising 4 takes the concept and meshes it with another popular gameplay mechanic: the stealth kill. Sneak up on an unaware zombie and you can pose with them for a selfie before taking them out. It's what Nickolls calls a "stealthie."
It's okay for video games to be stupid, and it sounds like Dead Rising 4 is whole-heartedly embracing the concept. I say bring on the undead.
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