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Dead Rising (Xbox 360)

common sense media says

Campy, violent zombie mash for mature players.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game is based on the 1978 Dawn of the Dead zombie splatter flick and is not for the faint of heart. This game is ultra-violent and gory, featuring plenty of shotgun blasts, chainsaw dismemberment, and hand-to-hand combat as the player takes on legions of the undead. It's another rated-M game that is definitely for those over 17. Other possible concerns for parents include profanity (the character may utter curse words including "hell," "damn," "s--t," and "bitch"), some nude imagery on paintings and T-shirts, and the ability to carry and consume wine.

Positive messages: This is a game that rewards your creating gory and graphic violence by letting you earn points for taking photos of the most horrific scenes. You play the role of a photojournalist in a situation where a whole town has somehow turned into Zombies. Before you can film the graphic violence,  you have to help create it by attacking zombies.
Positive role models: As a photojournalist, you don't just record mayhem, you participate in it to create it.
Ease of play: Not applicable.
Violence: Right from the get-go, this action-heavy zombie-smashing game is both bloody and gory. Players use chainsaws, shotguns, and hand-to-hand combat to dispatch the undead.
Sex: Some images of nude women on various objects in the game, such as a t-shirt and paintings. You earn rewards for taking photos of partially unclothed zombies.
Language: No use of "f--k," but "hell," "damn," "s--t," and "bitch" flow freely.
Consumerism: Based on the movie Dawn of the Dead.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Players can drink wine in this game, and will encounter an inebriated man.

More on Dead Rising

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the campy appeal of old horror movies and zombies. Do you think they are good source material for a video game? If you were to remake a classic monster movie or make a favorite movie into a video game, what would it look like? Who would the heroes be?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Available exclusively for the Xbox 360, DEAD RISING is best described as an interactive version of George A. Romero's 1978 zombie horror flick Dawn of the Dead. You play as the rugged Frank West, an ambitious freelance photojournalist who arrives in the small, fictitious town of Willamette, Colo., and discovers that the Army has mysteriously quarantined the area: The town's residents have turned into the undead. West makes his way to a shopping mall, where he must survive by working with others to ward off this relentless mob and get the story before the rescue helicopter comes back for him in 72 hours. 

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Over the top? Indeed. Fun? If you're into zombies, you bet. The action can get quite violent and gory, earning its M rating. By giving you an open-ended action-adventure game, Dead Rising lets you go virtually anywhere and interact with the more than 80 survivors, and lets you use anything found in the game environment, such as a box to climb over a tall barrier, a golf club or frying pan to whack zombies, or an air duct to travel to other areas of the mall.

Think of Dead Rising as a guilty pleasure. The premise is campy, and the action is over the top, but Capcom has succeeded in creating a good-looking, fun, and addictive game for mature Xbox 360 owners.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Xbox 360
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Capcom
Released on: August 9, 2006
Price: 59.99
ESRB Rating: M for blood and gore, use of tobacco and/or use of alcohol, partial nudity, language, intense violence

This review was written by Marc Saltzman
 
 

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What parents & educators say

12

Most useful reviews by all members

Rigbyboy
kid, 10 years old
 
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant video game!!!!! I'm 9 and I use to have this. It is extremely violent and gory ,but not too much sex, language or drug`s

Lady Kataana
parent of 6 , and 12 , 12 year old
 
Adults only.
Three way tie for worst kid stuff: Gory, Sexual Content, and Language. It's extremely scary in a end of the world sort of way. Play it after the kids go to bed.

HiddenWolf
teen, 16 years old
 

stuff
teen, 15 years old
 
fun
i have a ps3 but i wach the ehole game on youtube and deadrising 2 is going to be good and id for ps3 too finily

Plague
parent
 
Bloody Fun.
I play this game with my kid all the time. We both have adapted to zombie movies and games and we just cant get enough of them. The gameplay is easy, along with the storyline (as long as you know what you are doing). I would recommend this game or kids 10 and up. I think it could possibly be too confusing for some kids (IMO).

 
I am a 20 year old and I love this game. It IS extremely violent, but you get the most points for rescuing people from the zombies and crazy people. That is something that you have to do in order to beat the game. Although you have the choice to let some unimportant people die, you are portrayed as a hero saving many of them.

Ertrov
teen, 18 years old
 
Great game for all ages
I just have to say, whoever wrote the official review for this game on this site is a moron, and should be shot. I'll be happy to do so if I ever meet him/her. Anyway, I want to point out that Dawn of the Dead (original) is not a 'zombie splatter flick', whatever the hell that means, but an intellectual insight into the human mind, the human condition, society, and survival. Anyway, screw you, play Dead Rising, and chop till you drop!

by by
parent of 18 year old
 
good
bloody and mild obsense such as h#ll dam# & s#it barly anny cuss ing though

a Kool Kid
teen, 16 years old
 
I'd say for teens
I love the game. although its repetative. If you can handle blood and gore itll be fine. Its a hilarious game since u can kill zombies with pretty much anything

 
Not only is this game very bloody and irrevrent, but it is really hard to!
This game supports every concern on commonsense media! Dead rising has horrid and gory violence, you have to take pictures of! you see nude paintings, get extra points for taking pictures of partially dressed zombies and even can wear a dress and other irrevrent outfits. You are can use anything in the mall you are trapped in (the game is based on dawn of the dead and has fictional in-game brands) like TV's, umbrellas, buckets, push brooms, hammers, chain saws, chairs, cleavers and even teddy bears will draw blood! There are several boss fights, many are the traditional capcom style of boss fighting. Many of these fights include gruesome cut scenes showing thier death. And one boss fight aginst a clown shows two dead children cover in blood brefiley, this boss also falls on his chainsaws at the end showing gross amounts of blood. The violence, messages and images are vile. but this game is a challenging, fun, and addictive game that can be purchased for a good price at most retail stores!

BabyEagleFoot
teen, 15 years old
 
Crticism? I think just a little
OK, now this is a game that i believe is getting a little more hypocritical hype then it deserves. First let me make this clear that on the first of the game case, in tiny little white words that you probably would have skimmed over, says this game was not in any way developed, licensed, or approved by the owners of george a. romaroes "Dawn of the Dead". It was not intended to copy or replace the movie Dawn of the Dead. Now back to what i was saying beforehand, this game is about you playing the protagonist who is locked in a mall flooded with zombies. Yeah zombies, and right away that means that your probably not gonna want to turn this on infront of your little kids or any kids for that matter. However this game is bloody and gore filled to the top, but it is also this way to be enjoyed by players who can handle this. I believe thus meaning that by the time you are 15 you should be fine to run throughout a mall and hack a zombie to pieces. But i am not a parent because im only 14, so i cannot tell you what to let your children play or what you should be able to play. Yes there are also some "bad" words in the game such as b*tch, or sh*t, but they are very mildly used in the whole game. Things such as hell and damnit though are more moderatly used throught the play experience, but im pretty sure even the most uptight of parents or people can let those slide. You should be warned though, as the game is humorous in some areas, it is also violent and could scare younger players. I am willing to strongly say that this game no content at all that has sexual content in it (at least not the first one) and that anyone of the age 15 and up should be allowed to play this.

2funny4u
teen, 15 years old
 
its awesome sure there is a lil gore but it has a good message... kill or be killed :D
IT IS AWESOME!!!!! Im a girl 14 and i loved it, the sexual themes just appear in the corner of ur eye and u barly notice it, i ignored it. but yeah i can handle gore so it was like a walk in a zombie filled park with a chainsaw :D if i can handle this game i think any kid that has encountered gore will be fine

StarWarsKid2794
teen, 17 years old
 
Good game but you guys have something wrong!!!
OK, good game, but very violent. BTW, get this straight! This game is not based on Dawn of the Dead!!! It even says so on the game case cover!!! CS, you need to change this now, because it is a lie! I promise!!!

 
Awesome Game
i don't believe there is anything wrong with this game except the occasional use of hell and d*nm. Really gory but if the kdi has ever played halo or mortal kombat this game's gore should be no problem.

Crazycolin
kid, 12 years old
 
Good games for tweens and up
Sure you can drink wine but that has nothing to with the story. This game is a cool end of the world game mixing zombies with the army. I heard the word D*mn, s*it a few times, and B**ch a few times. Nothing your average 11 year old cant handle. I would OFF for anyone under the age of 9 though.

fangningsheng
teen, 14 years old
 
One of the best zombie games around
This game is absolutely awesome. Any and all zombie fans ten and up should pick this one up. Expect Extreme, graphic gory violence including disembowelments, shootings, stabbings, slashings, limbs being lopped and blown off, and even zombies being impaled and spinned around on a large drill.

welljauy
parent of 12 year old
 
ok perfect for 11 year olds its ok bloody but not to ban no sex just a really fun game i would 11 and up play it

vextsoul
teen, 15 years old
 
perfect for kids 13+
dead rising is one of the best games i ever played its very bloody, awsome weapon combinationsand, and lots of zombies!!! for the most part this game is awsome

ZekeBender
teen, 15 years old
 
fine for kids
whoever wrote this review obviously didn't play it. it clearly says on the front "NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY TO GEORGE ROMERO'S 1978 FILM DAWN OF THE DEAD" the only similarity is that it takes place i a shopping mall. Also, a major point of the game is rescuing people who are trapped in the mall, and you are rewarded greatly for it. so next time you review a game, make sure to play it first

mr.mike
adult
 
this game is the worst.so many cut scenes the gameplay is good but this game sucks

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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