Okay, maybe the title is a little over-the-top. Dead Risingis a great game, but right now I just don’t see myself playing it much anymore.
(This post may reveal some minor spoilers, for those that care.)
I earned the “D” ending the first time through Dead Rising. I had no idea what to do at the end until it was too late. “D” is the poor man’s ending, not resolving much. I approached the end a second time and instead of getting caught by the SWAT guys, I hid like a little girl on the roof for 12 hours. Then, I forgot to actually be on the helipad and the helicopter left without me. Crap! I got the “C” ending. I decided I’d try my luck with a stronger Frank the third time through and found the SWAT guys go down pretty easy when I hack their limbs with the mini chainsaw. So I managed to unlock the “Overtime Mode” and eventually I earned the “A” ending (or “ture” ending, as the misspelling in the Achievements calls it) and I unlocked the “Infinity Mode” which is basically a non-stop zombie bash. How long can you survive while your health slowly slips away? I played the inifinity mode a few times, hoping to earn the “5-day” and “7-day Survivor” achievements. What a joke that turned out to be.
I managed to survive almost 24 hours when I decided I’d save and continue at a later time. I went to the security room but couldn’t save. Fine, maybe it wasn’t “safe” there anymore, so I went down to a bathroom and tried to save there. Again, no save. WTH? So I did a quick Google which brought me to the IGN FAQ for surviving Dead Rising’s Infinity Mode, earning those elusive achievements. (You can read the FAQ here)
Turns out, there is no save in the Infinity Mode. That is insane. And disappointing. Sure, it’s not the main game, but I was looking forward to racking up some serious zombie kills over a few days of gaming. It takes about 2 hours, real-time, to survive 24 hours, game time. That means 14 hours to earn the “7-day Survivor.” No one in the right mind is going to do that! (Actually, the longest anyone on Live has survived is 16 days. That’s THIRTY-TWO FRICKEN HOURS of Dead Rising, straight, people!)
I can’t fathom what the person was thinking when he decided this was a good design idea. Let’s make them play our 14 hours with no saving! That’s a great idea! No, it’s not. That’s insanity. It’s not even hardcore. It’s just not doable for 99% of the people playing the game.
Sure, the IGN FAQ tells you this is, “one of the toughest achievements in the game.” The FAQ also gives you hints on how to keep your Xbox from over-heating while you play for FOURTEEN HOURS straight. Toughest achievement? I’d rather not catch my entertainment center on fire, thank you very much.
In the end, this doesn’t detract from Dead Rising as a whole. The game is a great game. But I thought it would have a lot of replayability, but now I just don’t see it happening. In fact, I had started the game over, trying to earn some of the other achievements I never earned but now I don’t even feel like playing that anymore, knowing that the Survivor achievements will always mock me and my limited gaming time.
So for now, Dead Rising is dead to me.
Flamingsquirrel says
I laugh at you.
Terry says
It’s still a great game nonetheless! 🙂
Tony says
Flaming – care to elaborate?
Terry – Absolutely. I loved it. I’d play it again. I just needed to get that off my chest.
Flamingsquirrel says
Elaboratoin:
You: “Z0/\/\g! d34d 1- i5i/\/g 15 73h pwn4g3!!!”
Me: “PHHHBT! it’s gonna wear off soon”
You: “Well, the initail “z0mg” factor just wore off”
Me: “I laugh at you”
GregT says
Dead Rising certainly does seem to be inspiring some love-hate relationships among gamers. It’s this weird combination of everything that’s good about gaming today, and everything that was bad about gaming in the age before save games. Still, it’ll certainly be on my list of purchases should I ever decide to get myself a 360. (Having played Lost Planet and seen some of the publicity for Assassin’s Creed, that day draws steadily closer.)
Kim Pallister says
My guess is that those people (the 16-hours-in-infinite mode people) don’t save the game, but they do pause it.
The top geowars score is (last I checked, about 120 million, which is (total guess) well over 24 hrs.
Tony says
Squirrelman – Ahh, now I see what you’re saying. Yes, the initial fun factor has worn off. That doesn’t make it a crummy game, just this one particular part doesn’t sit well with me.
GregT – Even with games you couldn’t save there was a mechanism to start again where you left off (16 character codes you had to write down come to mind). The fact that nothing like this exists is unexcusable.
Kim – I’m sure that there’s some pausing going on, but even still, that’s a lot of gaming in a relatively short period of time. Those Geometry guys are nuts, too!
Ricky Be says
whats the beef here? If you like any particular game and you know your going to play it again then keep it! if you hate it then part ex it for your next game!!! simple!
Mak says
Completely agree with the article, I did the exact same thing last night. I wanted to get the Zombie Genocider achievement and figured Infinity Mode was the best way, then I wouldn’t be distracted by the cases. After a few hours I tried to save and, like you, Googled to find that you can’t. Whilst the idea of spending a straight 14 hours of my life playing a game was *really* appealing…..I had other, less important things to do, like sleeping and going to work the next day. Don’t think they would be impressed if I called in to say I wasn’t stuck at home due to some sadistic plot by the Dead Rising dev team.
Stupid, stupid idea. What the hell were they thinking. At the very least the achievements should have been set lower.
Tony says
Ricky Be – I know what you’re saying, but I couldn’t let it pass that this save system was chosen. It just isn’t good design. But since it isn’t mine, I can’t part with it for my next game. I have to return it to its original owner.
Mak – Couldn’t agree more. A shorter “survival” achievement would be perfect and I’d still be playing.
Kris Kringle says
It is absolutely rediculous that you have to spend 14 hours playing this damn game just to unlock a laser sword and some boxers (5 day survivor, 7 day survivor). For those of you who know, there’s an achievement called ‘Zombie Genocider’ which is unlocked after you kill 53,594 zombies (yes that exact number or more). I did this by taking a car and running over zombies in the maintenance tunnels under the mall.
Had I known I’d only be getting 1000-1300 kills every time I went in (roughly 3 hours to get an achievement worth 20 points) I might have thought otherwise.
Well I can say I’ve unlocked the Real Mega Buster (after getting the achievement before, then stupidly failing the cases on purpose and then saving and quitting and starting a new game. Tip: If you unlock the Genocider achievement, dont die right after. You HAVE to get an ending to unlock it! I learned that the hard way. Otherwise you have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN.) But now that I’ve unlocked the Mega Buster, I’m bored with the game already! I’ve gotten the Real Mega Buster, beaten the game nearly 3 times already and beat Overtime mode. So naturally after I finished the game I said, “Why don’t I try to get the Real Laser Sword.” Whoa. Whoa. I thought I was a hardcore gamer, but 14 hours of non-stop Dead Rising would turn my penis inside out.
I played 22 hours of Infinity mode and was bored already. Theres nothing to do but run, kill, eat, run, kill, kill, kill, eat, run, run, kill. And you can’t even SAVE!
What major BS that is, I’ll tell you what. I think Capcom said, “You know what. Lets make an achievement worth 20 Points that requires players to spend 14 hours playing Dead Rising non stop, to unlock a radically radical Laser Sword.” They killed their game right there, in some respects.
Any SANE person would not even think about playing a game for FOURTEEN HOURS. THATS CRAZY! Anyone who does this must be beaten CONTINUALLY for that very 14 hours they spent on that game.
And another thing; the Gamer Points. How about making Genocider and 5, 7 DAy Survivor worth, umm, a little MORE points that TWENTY. I got 50 points in Elder Scrolls 4 for closing a damn Oblivion Gate!
We need to stop making achievements worth 5-30 points that require you to play for that long of a time, in ANY game.
Needless to say, Dead Rising was fun while it lasted. The first play through was awesome. Not so much the second. Or the third. And now the fourth. Yes I keep playing this game that I seem to hate about now, but what can I say.
HINT: Don’t get 30,000 kills in the Genocider achievement without saving. Because when the game freezes (and oh, it will freeze on you. Maybe not now, but soon.) you will want to pound your controller into the core of the earth.
no.1 dead rising fan says
i have got 49 achievements on dead rising my last achievement is 7 day survier. i hav done 5 day surviver but unfortunatly i got sick of it and turned off my console. i agree the survial achievement shoudl be shorter or the game time should go alot faster. what was capcom thinking when they made these achievements people are not that sad. i mean spending 14 hours on a game who would?
Andrei says
You guys are entirely right.
As much as I love games that have tons of hidden goodies for only the 1337est of players to unlock (I liked the Halo 2 Legendary shit for example, which was, just as in this game, not giving you enough credit in the end, and had some things virtually impossible to get. Like that god damn scarab gun…), this is bs.
First off there’s the 20 points you get for each of the main achievements, then there’s the non save function.
It hurts to think about having to go through so many hours to at least get that laser sword.
But I have to, I already planned it.
My 360 is now elevated from the floor onto a little pedestal, for maximum heat exchange. Plus, it’s right by the door, and it’s freezing outside, so I’m ready to leave that door open for quite some time tomorrow, when I will attempt to get that achievement.
I actually tried to get it tonight, but I have school tomorrow, and after checking with google, I don’t even have enough time to get the 5 day achievement.
It’s bs.
Hopefully when they make dead rising 2, or any other games that involve hardcore shit like this, they will take note of what people like us are rambling about.
hiro says
you only think infinity mode is stupid without saving cause your a douche who cant take it…sissy
Name says
you could always pause the game, rite?
Carl says
you suck #!$
Nombal says
I’m sure that the people at capcom said “hey let’s butt#!@% the dead rising players and make a mode where you have to play for 14 hour straight without saving.” And now they are laughing at all the people that are complainig about it because they were stupid enough to buy it without reading a single review or preview. I’m laughing at you and crying at myself because I made the same mistake.
Tony says
@Name – Pausing is definitely an option, but that’s how I over heated my 360 the first time! Leaving it on for long stretches of time is an easy way of doing some bad things to the box.
@Nombal – I think I would have still picked up the game even if I knew the issues of the Infinity Mode. The game was a total blast, the no-save issue is minor in the grand scheme of things.
dead rising fan#1 says
lol i bot dead rising for yes i no im sad for doing it but the 7th time and i luve it i have all the achevments for it and btw surving for 7 days aint that hard tbh get wine the 3 health books and the real mega buster and ure setlled 1 full invo of wine will prob last u abt 3 days if ure camping in a place wher u cant get hit after ure wines gone just go kill psychopaths for more food and done just if u like the game do it if u dont dont do it obviously duhhh =p
Big Douche says
I think the whole Idea that you should have to pause and leave your 360 on all night is bad.
I’m also enjoying picturing people trying to choose between taking a dump, and killing zombies. Personally I choose both, with a cultured mix of clenching and button mashing.
really, as soon as I saw “Capcom” I could tell what the game would be like. Good fighting, good action, bad plot, bad saving system, bad shooting.
All in all, great game just for the zombie killing alone. Next time, Capcom should leave out time limits and implement some sort of supernatural ability to move and shoot at the same time.
Tony says
@BD – I definitely agree that Dead Rising is a great game for zombie killing. With a better save system and actually being able to save during the survivor mode would have made DR an almost perfect game.
Online coop would make it a 10/10.
Dead Rising Fan says
So i am currently going through survivor mode, i am at the 4th day, so far so good, pretty fucking boring though. i was just wondering, how long dose the laser sword last? The mega buster has 300 shots, and i was wondering how long dose the sword last? I am sure as hell not going for the 7 day survivor achievment cuz i cant take this shit anymore, i want my sword and thats it. DEAD RISING BITCH!
alex says
douche
dude says
im fed up a game that i pay 40 quid for to just complete the damn thing in a day, dead rising amongst a few other 360 was a saving grace to actually bring around challenging achievements anyone else who says otherwise is a gimp and should revert back to atari for some easy games
Vishal says
Hey,
For about 3 months I was under an impression that Infinite Mode had no option to save.
There is 1 more thing that makes me think once again.
Right in the beginning of the game, in the security room, next to the stairs, you get the introduction….. The bottom line says (in RED FONT) Game saved in this mode, overwrites all other saved games.
So, I started my hunt. This is the first website I am searching, if I find something, would share with all.
alexander says
After 54 hours of gameplay, I finally acheived my goal..?? I BEAT INFINITY MODE!!!!! YAY…………….Im done with this game now FUCK IT!!!
Tony says
@DR Fan – Ihave no idea how long the swaord lasts. Did you last all 7 days?
@Vishal – There’s absolutely no saving in Infinity mode. Trust me 🙂
@alexander – Congrats! I’msure that feels like quite the achievement!
trashberd says
Here’s my issue, I’ve beaten the game 3 times in two days (I play, ALOT), the first time I went through and got all the cases, I was making my way back to the helipad (I had about 6 hours in game time left), but a couple SF agents ganged up on me and they captured me, they smacked me up twice, and then I escaped, but it was too late, I got ending C, and I was pissed off. I played it again and I just went for the zombie genocider achievement, I got it, I made it back to the helipad, and I got D I think it was, I started a third time intent to get ending A, I ended up geting C again even though I was at the helipad, I’m on my fourth run and I’m wondering, what did I do wrong? I want to get the damn laser sword but even though I got all the cases done and I was at the helipad, I got C, so before I run through again and get another C, does anyone know what I did wrong?
Tony says
@trashberd – I seem to remember that happening to me the first time I played, as well. Unfortunately, it’s been so long since I last played, I don’t remember what you have to do. I’d check the FAQs:
http://cheats.ign.com/ob2/068/748/748396.html
Anonamous says
I think that there is a secret save point, but i’m too lazy to find it. So, ask yourself, where could it be?
Caleb says
wow…how can you say this isnt a good game??its a perfet set up ..and its a true test…if ur not a real gamer ..dont even put this in ur 360.
i have all the gamer points and they are the hardest and funnest points to go after in any game.
alex says
I had finally bought my 360. and of course the first game i got was DR. does someone know where the katana is. if so please help!!!
tom maher says
dead rising is a good game and tricky achievements good plot and ending a was shit though got all achievements except 7 day survivor tooooo longggg 5 day survivor was good though plus the laser sword lasts 300 hits like the megabuster theres quite a few survivors and pychopaths in infinity 1 thing i learned the hard way if your going for both 5 day and 7 day survivor as soon as u start get the survival books all 3 and get the megabuster aswell dont eat food that u find on the floors just from the survivors and pychos and then when u really need 2 get some food check every part in the mall and collect it also u should be on about day 4 thats when u should go collectin food off the floors if its a good health item save it until your health is about gone just about to go eat the grub it will give u full health its good to find a faq or guide showing wich foods are where and where certain survivors will be and what time they will be there i just thought id share my info cant beleive ive got 49 acheivements just 1 left but im not gonna do that its only took me 2 months 2 do the acheivements but its nothing 2 be proud of i like acheivements or so some people say accomplishments thanks for checking out this ad i hope it helps alot and 2 all you gamers keep gaming and let dead rising live cause its a good game probly abit weird to new gamers but to the ones that have done most acheivements let the game live cause sooner or later it may be banned its already been banned in germany so get a copy look after it and live on also any one need help with any of the dead rising acheivements my gamertag i dead rising pro
tom maher says
to alex the katana is in paradise plaza go in columbian roastmasters up on the second floor go near the orange juice and jump over the ledge and there u go nice fresh katana also if u run out go out to leisure park and come back in go the same place and theres another fresh katana it respawns any more questions let me know glad 2 help
tom maher says
to trashberd i no what u mean about the thing popping up on the screen but thats just aload of shit because ive checked every last inch of the mall and not found any save points the gym the security room all restrooms carlitos hideout every single one but no luck so all i can say is get some kind off guide or faq it will help alot any 1 thats going for 7 day survivor good luck and be aware at all times a few safe spots in al fresca plasa theres the gym and a fridge that u can climb on the security room until day 4 or 5 when zombies are in there theres a lego house in wonderland plaza its safe but remember no matter what dont go sleep or u will starve thats the thing i done wrong lol jokes on me fell asleep about 4 days 23 hours some how still got 5 day survivor
tom maher says
also i remember getting laser burns on the disc so keep ur box well ventalated leave it on your window with ur window open or get a intercooler but be aware of the rrod aka red ring of death it completely fucks up your console
tom maher says
any questions reply
tom maher says
getting to day 5 frustrating get to day 7 must be a crackhead playing that long lol
no affence 2 the people who have the achievement but god i got 2 like day 3 and felt like blasting my brains in
the-MON-mon says
I cant kill the prisoners
Tony says
@tom – thanks for your replies, hopefully they were helpful to people looking for hints. I couldn’t do the 5 or 7 day achievement, either.
@the-MON-mon – I’ve found that the 2×4 is very effective against the prisoners. Get them to crash into something (a wall, a tree) and then go to town on the gunner with the 2×4. The other guys will go down as well.
Thegunslinger77 says
If you complete all the cases, but don’t talk to Isabella between 10 and 12 on the 22nd you will get “C” ending, so talk to her (It’s easy because at 10 there are no zombies or special forces) Now on the topic of Infinity Mode, hopefully capcom will see that the gamer community is miffed about not being able to save while at the same time being expected to play the game for 14 hours straight. You see in response to all of the people who are calling us n00bs for not being able to put in that time fail to realize that some of us have LIVES and cannot do a repetitve task for fourteen FRIGGIN hours, think about it this way if you started at 8 in the morning you would finish at 10pm, and thats if you didn’t stop to i don’t know eat, use the bathroom, talk to actual people, go to work, go to school, acknowledge your family. Maybe if we all sent an angry email to Capcom they might send out a patch for us who are “Less Skilled” and cannot “Get the Awesome Achievements Fairly” because Dead Rising as a start has a difficulty curve like hitting a brick wall, and then what does Capcom give you as a reward for beating their hard game? A game mode that is akin to shaving your head with a cheese grater so please, if you have a problem, because surviving for seven days searching for food and avoiding zombies would be difficult even with a save function, send a email or at least make many many boards similar to this, so that someone at Capcom can see that they made a mistake, thanks.
ICEpop says
So 5 days is laser sword and 7 days is the boxers?
My strategy is get megabuster as only weapon then get all food books (btw I got 2 but I checked all book stores but cant find third somebody hlp?) and stock inventory up with food go to food court and build barricade with the wooden and sofa chairs barrels if you want then get all food in the fod court and pile in Chris’s fine foods place then wait and eat only when you on last health square.
I checked all book stores but only found 2 books weres the third one?
BOOGIEBOOGIE says
dude deadrising is an amazing game the story line is incrdible the replaability I say is high amog other games and so you cant save i heard awhile back theres a button that like stops time n the game…oh yea the sart button
Gamechamp says
But isn’t the whole point of achievements to ACHIEVE something? They’re meant to be bragging rights, so they should be something to brag about. Playing a game for 14 hours straight is pretty brag-worthy.
Also: if Infinity Mode had a save system, there would be no point in leaderboards at all. Everybody could save a ton and collect every single food item without getting hit once. Get hit? Back to the last save. The leaderboards would be a contest of who can get the closest to 0 HP to use the full heals… and even then, they could just save until they get every food at the last possible instant.
tom maher says
i got 980 gamerscore off this game but its not much 2 brag about that took me about a month 2 do i got some gd guides and stuff 7 day survivor is a bitch never in my goddamn life am i gonna do that its too long stressfull and well time absorbing but my advice is go for 5 day its not that hard before i leave whats ur gamertag tony if u see this message message me the tag and we can chat and play if u got gears of war i can help with campaign on insane
Scheme Boy says
hi guys,
as much as the 7day achievement is annoying to get, you cant really bitch at the game because of it. the game is fantastic. up to and including overtime mode you get a very full and varied game for your money.
I see infinity mode just as a little bonus tagged on the end. for me, infinity mode is more about what it would be like if you really were in that scenario. you wouldnt be running around doing brads job, you’d just be trying survive…and you dont get any saves in real life!
let that one achievement (and the 20 points it worth) go and just admire an awesome game.
Tony says
@Scheme Boy – I totally agree — the one achievement doesn’t make it any less good, I posted this when I was frustrated.
In the end, Dead Rising is one of my favorite games of all time.