How to Survive Dead Rising

While it may have the outward appearance of yet another zombie-basher game, Dead Rising actually has a good deal of mystery to it, as well as a very human factor. Not only must you kill zombies to survive, you must help other survivors, collect evidence to learn how things went wrong and attempt to set things straight. Grab your bowling ball, and let's get cracking!

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Use anything you can find. Just about anything in Dead Rising can be used as a weapon: Garden implements, lawnmowers, shopping carts, bowling balls, purses, chairs, benches, potted plants, gems, CDs...and the list goes on. Everything has a durability rating, and when the item begins to flash in your inventory, it is about to break.

2. Try not to rely on firearms. Guns are rare and ammunition is precious! Unless you’re a good enough shot to hit zombies in the head every time, you’re better off saving the guns for boss fights, although you are usually provided with an adequate weapon before you go.

3. Save the survivors! There are a whole host of people who have survived the zombie outbreak and are trying to stay alive by hiding in the mall. Some are bloodthirsty. Some are crazy. But most are just plain scared. Saving them will provide insights into what has happened, and arming them will greatly increase your chances.

4. Be aware that any weapon you give to an NPC (no player character, i.e., survivor) will never break or run out of ammo! Also be aware that the NPCs will accidentally hit you with their weapons from time to time, although it doesn’t seem to do much damage.

5. Take pictures. Your character, Frank, can gain experience levels, learn new skills and acquire new abilities. This is done through Prestige Points, or PP. You earn PP by killing zombies and taking photos. You can only take 30 pictures before your camera battery dies and must be recharged, so make the pictures count. The more faces (zombie or otherwise) that you can pack into a photo, and the more action (drama, violence) it contains, the more PP you get for it.

6. Run between the crowds. Attempting to fight a whole crowd of zombies is a sure way to reduce your health in a hurry. Try to pick your way between the mobs. Zombies are slow and cannot run, so running past them is relatively simple. This will also extend the life of your weapons.

7. Bring some books. Check out the bookstores for various books. Lots of them have helpful game effects, such as increasing the life of any garden tools you are carrying. This means that, if you are carrying the appropriate book, that shovel or sickle you’ve got will last a good deal longer. In this game, weapon durability is critical!

8. Be kind to the survivors! Just as NPCs do not hurt you that much, attacking NPCs is next to useless. They invariably get very angry, and many of them are armed with guns. They will shoot you down much faster than you can hack them down, so don’t bother. Yes, I know lots of them are really annoying. If you want to get rid of them that badly, lead them into a zombie-infested area and take their weapons away.

9. Watch your health! You only begin the game with four health bars. That means four bites, and you’re down for the count! Find a restaurant or cafe with food lying around. There is a cafe on the top level of Paradise Plaza that has a case full of pies. Memorize restaurant locations. Food restores health!

[mattdarksyde]

on 4/13/2007 the best way to survive a massive hord is to .....be invincible. Yes... i typed i-n-v-i-n-c-i-b-l-e. To get an invincibility potion, go to the resterant that you see kent at. The one up the stairs in paradise plaza. Go up and get a pie, lob it in the blender. Then, get some orange juice and mix them away. Then, you will get a bottle of 60 second invincibility