Dead Rising is dead to me.

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.