Dead Rising 4 Release: 7 Things to Know First

Frank Is Back

Having missed the antics of Dead Rising 2 and 3, Frank West has returned to bring his sarcastic wit and charm to the zombie-killing proceedings. Though voiced by a different actor this time around, players will get to assume the role of the photographer as he returns once more to Willamette to uncover the mystery of how all of these undead have made a return, and of course, to put a stop to it all.

Players will be pleased to know that despite it being set 16 years after the events of the first game, Frank hasn’t lost any of his sarcastic and wise-ass charm that players grew to love. Even if his voice actor didn’t make a return, it’s still good to have Frank back for the adventure.

A Huge Mall and Its Surroundings to Explore

Though players may be returning to Willamette in Dead Rising 4, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be limited to the mall that Frank found himself trapped in during the events of the first game. This time around, you’ve got whole surrounding neighborhoods and rural areas for you to head out and explore. Just make sure you bring a weapon or seven in case you walk straight into a bunch of zombies.

Exploring the world on your way to your next objective has its perks, with collectibles, weapon blueprints, side mysteries and hidden graffiti art to photograph with Frank’s phone. While there’s a Shelter fast-travel system that you can use, you’ll want to make the most of this new-found freedom and see what Willamette has to offer other than its giant Memorial Megaplex.

No Campaign Co-Op

Unfortunately, there is sad news to be had among all of the crazy chaos that fans can expect from Dead Rising 4. Unlike in previous games in the series, Dead Rising 4 will not feature campaign co-op. When you’re playing through Frank’s story, you’ll only be able to play this by yourself, however, there is still a way you can play online together with your friends.

The co-op mode for Dead Rising 4 puts each player in the role of a survivor from the game’s story, and throws you all into the mall. You’ll then have to arm yourselves with whatever weapons you can think up, kill a ton of zombies, and complete some pretty off-the-wall missions, according to Capcom Vancouver Producer, David McAnernin. It may be disappointing that you won’t be able to play through the campaign with friends, but at least there’s something to tide your multiplayer zombie-killing urges over.

Your Camera Is Crucial

During Dead Rising 4’s E3 reveal trailer, we caught a quick glimpse of Frank West making good use of his photography skills by snapping a quick selfie with a zombie. While it was a fun little nod to just how crazy Frank really is, it wasn’t just in there for a gag.

Your camera will actually have a range of modes for you to make use of. For example, it has a couple of high-tech filters that allow Frank to detect hidden clues to solve some of the side mysteries. There’s also a night vision mode so you can find items hidden deep in the dark, and then just the standard camera mode so you can take high-scoring funny pictures and unlock the rewards that are tied to them.

No Time Limit

One of the series’ main mechanics was its time limit that saw players restricted to a 72-hour in-game time period to complete the game. While there was certainly plenty of replayability to be had in completing different missions in different ways and adopting new strategies altogether, some players found that it limited their ability to explore and just enjoy the hordes of zombies awaiting them.

That’s why for Dead Rising 4, Capcom Vancouver has opted to do away with the time limit from the previous games and instead allow players to roam free and explore Willamette at their own leisure. With a ton of side missions and interesting things to find, it’s unlikely that you’re going to miss it after too long.

Season Pass

Just like many other triple-A titles nowadays, Dead Rising 4 will be receiving a Season Pass. If you can’t get enough of Dead Rising 4, or just want to get the full experience, you’ll more than likely be interested in picking it up, mainly down to a piece of story content.

Following Frank West searching for a cure after recently being infected, players will have to battle against even smarter zombies, and deceiving groups of humans that make Frank’s mission all that bit harder. Alongside this story content, Dead Rising 4’s season pass also gets you access to a mini golf multiplayer mode and a festive holiday pack. This pack will include a ton of neat festive weapons, vehicles, unique zombie models, costumes, and more.

The season pass will be available for $24.99 on its own, or you can pick up the Deluxe Edition which will include this with your copy of the game.

Pre-Order Incentives and Release Date

It’s no secret that the Dead Rising series has always been pretty eccentric, especially when it comes to the weapons players can use as tools of destruction against the zombie horde. Therefore, to reward those who pre-order their copy of Dead Rising 4, the game has a number of different weapons that are available as bonuses. Unfortunately, these bonus weapons are split between four different retailers.

If you want the X-Fists which are giant green fist weapons you can use with the in-game exo suit, you’ll want to pre-order from the Xbox Store. For a Snowman Head that freezes enemies with snowballs, you’ll want to head to GameStop. Best Buy has the stylish Candy Cane Crossbow pictured above, and finally, Amazon has the Slicecycle – a dirt bike with chainsaws attached to its sides.

Dead Rising 4 releases on Xbox One and PC on Dec. 6.