Dead Rising

Gameplay takes place over a set seventy-two-hour period where one hour of real time equals twelve hours in game. Frank can freely move about the entire mall, though some areas are not accessible in the beginning. Most of it is infested with zombies, but he has a safe base in a security room. Players can follow the main plot or do side missions, wander around killing zombies and dressing up in clothes from the mall stores, or just stay on the roof and wait for the helicopter to come back to pick him up. The helicopter comes at the end of the three days and the game is over regardless of whether Frank is on the roof to get rescued.

Frank gains experience by taking pictures, rescuing survivors and killing zombies. As he gains experience, he levels up, which gives him new moves, a larger inventory and more health. The quality of his photos is scored based on factors like proximity to the camera and emotional content.

Survivors are located throughout the mall and Frank must show up at the right time to rescue them. If you show up too early, they may not be at their location yet and if you show up too late, they will be dead. Frank can lead survivors back to the safety of the security room so they can be rescued.

Rescuing survivors is complicated by the huge crowds of zombies roaming around the mall. There can be up to one thousand on screen at a time. Frank must avoid getting bitten and make sure the survivor continues to survive as he leads them. In addition to the zombies, Frank must face off against psychopaths, who are human who snapped when they saw the zombies and have become crazed killers.

Almost anything in the mall can be picked up and used. Food items restore health. Everything else can be used as a weapon, although it's often more effective to use heavier or more durable options. You can pick up books from bookstores that give you bonuses, like increased durability for a class of weapons.

In keeping with the real-time theme, you are only allowed one save slot. Frank can save in bathrooms and in the security room, but this will overwrite previous saves. If you make a mistake, you have to either restart the game or live with it and move on. This means your decisions do have consequences.

Once you complete the main plotline, you go into overtime mode, where Frank gets another twenty-four hours to resolve the plot. If you beat overtime mode, you get infinite mode, where the helicopter isn't coming back and Frank loses health over time and all the survivors are trying to kill him. The object here is to stay alive as long as possible.