Zombies! Run!

It seems logical, doesn't it? If something wants to eat your brain, you haul tuckus in the other direction as quickly as you can. I guess you could say it's a … no-brainer. Hehe. Unless, that is, you're playing Dead Rising™, the new action-survival game from Capcom.

You could run, yes, but you wouldn't get very far, and you'd be leaving behind other survivors who will die if you don't do something to help them. When running is no longer an option, perhaps you'll find the following tips conducive to your survival.

The survivors keep fighting zombies. The zombies
keep eating survivors. The clock keeps ticking. You're
just one small roach in the great kitchen of life.

Know Your Limitations
The game's developers built in a number of limiting factors that force you to establish priorities and manage your resources. This is the crux of the gameplay. Your weapons crack apart after a certain amount of use. Time ticks on, with or without you, and you can run out of time.

Zombies close in with single-minded dedication, gradually, yes, but if you don't manage their numbers, they overwhelm you. Even your own body lets you down over time. You fatigue. Running and fighting takes it out of you. You're only human, after all. So, you have to walk sometimes, rest, and even make sure you have enough carbohydrates to stay fueled.

Butcher them in the meat department.

Stick to Your Priorities
Capcom has set up the situation to resemble real life, and, just like in real life, things keep happening in the world whether you're there or not. Just because you stop to rest, or go in search of that nifty antique axe you saw in a shop, doesn't mean that the world waits for you. It doesn't in Dead Rising.

The survivors keep fighting zombies. The zombies keep eating survivors. The clock keeps ticking. You're just one small roach in the great kitchen of life.

Zombies have risen in a small town in Colorado. Perhaps that part doesn't resemble real life, but that's the most fantastic element of the game. People are people in the game. Some have succumbed to the zombie's hunger. Others have survived and continue to fight off the waves of undead that attack with gnashing teeth and halitosis.

Each survivor has his or her own unique personality, needs, and talents. These survivors don't all make it. If left too long to their own devices, they get eaten. That's where you come in.

Snap necks and photos for posterity.

What are your priorities? You have some choices, of course, and how you balance your priorities makes all the difference in how the game plays out. For example, is your own survival your highest priority and to hell with everyone else?

Or perhaps you see the bigger picture and feel it's your moral duty to record the event for posterity and solve the mystery of why it's happening. You are, after all, a journalist. Perhaps you see it of greater importance to rescue survivors. Some of them have information that helps you. Besides, it's us against them now, right? We breathers have to stick together.

Think about this in advance, because the game doesn't make the decision for you. If you leave another survivor to his own devices, that survivor might eventually die on the other side of the mall.

Your impact on the world can change events, but you can also affect events by not inserting yourself into situations that are unrolling behind the scenes.

When you've got a zombie gnawing on your
earlobe, the last thing you want to be is tired.

Manage Your Resources
In Dead Rising, your resources include your weapons, your health, and your energy. You can carry more than a handful of items with you. You pick them up along the way. These items may include weapons or food sources which return health and energy to you.

Weapons abound in this world. If you can't find a pipe, axe, sign, or cash register to pick up and wield, try attacking an undead cop and taking his gun from him. Weapons break up once you've used them to exhaustion, so you have to continually refresh your weapon supply. Keep an eye on this.

If you suddenly find yourself using up your last weapon, you can always revert to bare-handed punches and kicks, but they're not as effective. Consider always keeping at least one spare weapon (preferably two or three), in your arsenal.

Food resources play an important role in the game. You pick them up along the way: bags of chips, cartons of milk, or pieces of fruit. They heal you and give you back your energy.

It's a good idea to keep a couple of these in your pockets for an emergency. Beware, though. While you're eating or drinking, you're vulnerable to attack, so find a place to chow down where you're not in imminent danger.

Stop an undead cop.

Food also replenishes your ability to sprint. As you run, you use up critical energy. Walking does not wear on you in the same way. Food and rest gives your body the chance to rebuild its energy supply.

If you don't pay attention to this, fatigue catches up with you. When you've got a zombie gnawing on your earlobe, the last thing you want to be is tired.

If you know the way ahead is packed with undead, take the time to build yourself back up before diving in. You'll be glad you did.

What this all boils down to is that Dead Rising doesn't hold your hand. The world is what it is, and, to be honest, it has gone to the dogs. What are you going to do about that? What can you do? In some cases, you may not be able to do anything.

That's how it would be if zombies really rose from their graves and hit the streets with a vengeance. So, get your weapons and your head together. If you lose one, then you lose the other. Break a leg, amigo. Or two. Or ten. Or a thousand. Humanity is counting on you.

Article by Angel Leigh McCoy