Dead Rising 4

Dead Rising 4 has the best core gameplay the series has ever seen. Its inventive and humorous ways to put down the dead are something I still haven’t tired of, and its surprisingly interesting plot is more than just a zombie-killing delivery system. Despite the technical blemishes that come with the series, its lack of co-op story mode play, and the fun-yet-unreliable multiplayer, Frank West’s return brings the series some fresh ideas, a ton of bloody mayhem, and a whole lot of cracking wise. Here’s hoping he sticks around for a while.

Dead Rising's core combat remains simplistic, but the expanded open world, compelling central mystery, and added combo weapons refresh the formula enough for some light, bloody fun.

A brainless, buggy open-world game that's forgotten the second you put down the pad.

Though much too easy, Dead Rising 4 is sandboxy zombie-killing adventure that recaptures the series' fun.

Dead Rising 4 isn't always smart, but it's rarely boring

Not always thrilling, but Dead Rising 4 feels like the series getting its sense of fun back. And that's a great thing.

This is the Dead Rising game that fans of freeform exploration and mayhem wanted from the original. Clock-watchers need not apply

You’ll have a good time with Dead Rising 4. But you won’t feel as though you earned it.

For those of you who have been scared off by Dead Rising in the past, maybe this is your time. No, I'm not happy about a lot of the design changes, but the fact of the matter is Capcom Vancouver has created an amazing world to slice and dice in, even on par with my favorite setting so far -- Fortune City. If you absolutely abhor the idea of changing Dead Rising, I would stay away from 4, but coming in with an open mind will serve you well.

It's fitting, somehow, that a game series so lovingly modeled after a famous B-movie would itself result in a B-tier game. Dead Rising 4 is uneven and less polished than many other games this fall. It's the kind of light, airy game I would have expected earlier in the year, when it wouldn't risk being swallowed up by the holiday season. At its core it's a pulp adventure, with winking witticisms and bloody messes strewn throughout. That makes it, if not entirely memorable, at least a bloody good time that understands the ephemeral nature of camp.