Dead Rising

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Campy, violent zombie mash for mature players.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids 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.

  • 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.
  • As a photojournalist, you don't just record mayhem, you participate in it to create it.
  • Not applicable.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • No use of "f--k," but "hell," "damn," "s--t," and "bitch" flow freely.
  • Based on the movie Dawn of the Dead.
  • Players can drink wine in this game, and will encounter an inebriated man.

What's it about?

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?

 

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.


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What families can talk about

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?


This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Kid, 10 years old
April 18, 2011
 
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

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Parent of 6, 12, and 12 year old
March 23, 2011
 
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.

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Adult
September 2, 2010
 
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.

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Teen, 17 years old
March 21, 2010
 
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

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Teen, 16 years old
April 27, 2011
 

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Teen, 15 years old
August 12, 2010
 
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

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Kid, 12 years old
August 8, 2011
 
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.

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Teen, 18 years old
June 6, 2010
 
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!

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Parent
December 1, 2009
 
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).

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Teen, 15 years old
August 21, 2011
 
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.

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This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Platforms:Xbox 360
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:Capcom
Release date: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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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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