If the Resident Evil franchise is Capcom's take on Night of the Living Dead, then Dead Rising, their other zombie series, is their take on Romero's sequel Dawn of the Dead. With its shopping mall setting, unlikely photojournalist hero Frank West, and constant offbeat humor, the game became an early cult classic for the Xbox 360.

After going multiplatform with Dead Rising 2, the Xbox One($200.00 at eBay) launch title Dead Rising 3($12.99 at GameStop) brings the series back to the Microsoft camp. Set 15 years after the first game, Dead Rising 3 ditches the shopping mall and reality TV settings of the first two games for an open-world, post-apocalyptic California city with a new main character. While early trailers and screenshots featured a more somber tone, news that players can mow down zombies using ridiculous weapons like motorcycle/steamroller hybrids or Mega Man's arm cannon suggest that the game still doesn't take itself too seriously.

The first game was praised for the number of zombies it packed on screen for players to mutilate. With the added power of the Xbox One though, Capcom claims that the enemy count in Dead Rising 3 has tripled. It's next-gen mayhem. Other Xbox One-powered features include using Kinect to distract zombies with sound, and using Smartglass to locate survival items or call in drone strikes.

Dead Rising 3 also separates itself from its predecessors by lifting their time constraints. Early Dead Rising games ratcheted up the tension by imposing harsh time restrictions on players. With the events of the game unfolding basically in real-time over the course of a weekend, players had to manage their days carefully to save as many survivors as possible and escape. This isn't the case in Dead Rising 3 though as players can now easily save anywhere. However, hardcore fans can bring the time limit back by choosing the optional "Nightmare Mode."

Dead Rising 3 launches Nov. 22 with the new Xbox One.

Best Game Picks

• The Best Places to Buy and Rent PC Games Online
• How to Combine and Organize Your Game Libraries With GOG Galaxy
• How to Get Better Graphics on Old PC Games
• How to See Your Frames Per Second (FPS) in Games
• More Game Reviews
• More from Capcom

Further Reading

• UK Health Workers Offered Over 85K Video Games for Free
• PC Gamers Prioritize High-End Graphics and ... Back Support
• Sega Encourages Staying at Home With Free-to-Keep Total War Game
• Can Your PC Run Gears Tactics?
• Coronavirus Pandemic Puts Video Game Privileges in Perspective