Heroes of Might and Magic III came out in 1999 and reinvigorated the turn-based strategy genre, already losing ground to real-time games like StarCraft and Age of Empires. It’s almost Hitman -esque in its simulation of a place – a world that goes on with or without you – giving it near-endless replayability. You can’t see everything there is to see in a single playthrough. That’s the thing the series forgot as it went on, that time restriction, which is a shame because that’s what made it special. Capture certain behavior, specific groups, as well as horror and comedy shots for a higher score, but don’t hang around too long – the action here plays out in real-time. West being a journalist is also a key mechanic, and you’re encouraged to take increasingly absurd photographs.
Combat is nothing special, but the fact every single object in the game can be used as a weapon elevates the action.
It’s as if someone took Dawn of the Dead and kicked it through an anime convention. In it, you play as journalist Frank West, who’s investigating a zombie outbreak at a local mall. Often remembered for its use of, at the time, next-gen technology – hundreds of zombies on-screen at once! – Dead Rising actually has a lot more going for it.
