If Capcom go on to do more Dead Rising like they have done with this? I'll 100% be there for it.

I consider myself a pretty big fan of Dead Rising so when Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster was first shown off, I laughed, got excited and concerned all at the same time. Entirely rebuilt on the RE Engine? Sweet! No TJ Rotolo? (Frank's original VA) I don't like the sound of that. But as time went on and Capcom showed some more footage, excitement took over and I pre-ordered and now after a few playthroughs and close to 100%'ing the game I can safely say I don't regret it one bit and would do it again for Dead Rising 2.

DRDR is a weird one to me because it's the only game that comes to mind where I actually can't place where I'd put it in terms of 'Remaster' and 'Remake'. Because it IS essentially the 2006 version converted to a modern engine. All the bells and whistles of the RE Engine while still maintaining the same old story, characters, animations, cutscenes etc.

However, that is not the say there hasn't been some changes which seem to have taken a spotlight on the overall talk of the game. A huge spotlight has been cast on the 'negative' changes which I think is a shame because personally I think the positive changes greatly overshadow these.

The biggest I've seen is the removal of the 'erotica' photo category that would grant you extra points if you snapped a photo containing things like cleavage or upskirt of Jessie or Cheryl's sexy poses during her side quest. While I always saw the erotica category as something that added to the comical side of the game, I also don't REALLY care all that much that it's now not present. As far as I can tell, the extra points you would have earned are still covered as I think it still accounts for that and these changes didn't alter Jessie's appearance or remove Cheryl's sexy photoshooting quest meaning really all that I can tell that's changed is there are no more pink circles to mark the areas? The other two of note are the changes to Cheryl's dress and the shirt with the nude woman that Frank can wear have now been changed which have already started to see mods restore.

Now, in terms of positive changes there are tones of them. Some DR1 purists might not enjoy all of them but I personally am happy with them. Some of the big changes I have noticed are the game now including an optional modernised control scheme (no more accidental dodge rolling!), all dialogue is now completely voice acted, new camera features, PP sticker tracker which I believe wasn't in the first game?, better survivor AI that can assist Frank in finding collectibles and useful items (a lot like the pawns in Dragon's Dogma 2), some small map changes like stairs added to the vent on the rooftop to prevent survivors from getting stuck and an overhaul to the overall theme of Paradise Plaza, some changes to Infinity Mode to make surviving longer a bit easier, the ability to advance time to keep the player in the action rather than stood around waiting needlessly and a better day/night cycle making the mall feel almost welcoming in the day compared to the dark and scary silence at night. There is also an autosave feature which may make the consequences of the players riskier actions less severe but I do appreciate the idea of not having to play catch up every now and then because of the death of either myself or a survivor.

And for arguably the biggest change. The voice acting. I think this one is entirely down to the individual. I think TJ Rotolo's performance in the original was one of the biggest factors in what made Frank West such an iconic character. But that isn't to say the new voice actor (Jas Patrick) is bad. Initially I found it quite strange not hearing TJ's voice coming from Frank but it quickly grew on me and I found that it was a refreshing new rendition that also managed to kept Frank feeling like Frank. An example for me was the infamous "I've covered wars, you know." line. I was eager to see how the new voice held up and I was pleasantly surprised to hear it delivered better than I had hoped. As for everyone else, I think they sound great. They still sound how I remember them and fit great.

My one and only issue with the game so far is the performance. Although I imagine these will get ironed out soon, I feel it is only right to mention on a 4070 Super and 5800X3D, fps is great but there are in some cases micro-stutters that I believe might be due to the amount of zombies in one given location. They haven't stopped me from playing the game but have in some cases threw me off a little. Stability-wise, the game also needs a patch or two. I have lost 2 attempts at the 7-Day Survivor challenge due to a crash after alt-tabbing a few times and the other was moving between locations under the effect of Quickstep/Fleetfoot. Normally I would be okay with a rare hiccup like that due to it now having an autosave feature but as that challenge doesn't, I think it's very important that is fixed immediately.

To bring my yapping to a conclusion. Overall, I think this is an easy one for Dead Rising fans to decide on when it comes to whether or not it is worth it. If you're not a huge fan, have already played it or didn't like some of the clunky/arcade-y feel, be aware that although I feel this version is a lot more accessible, it is same game at it's core.

I think it's great that Dead Rising is getting some attention again and I only hope that continues. I would have never thought that we would see Dead Rising on the RE Engine and I pray that one day we see Dead Rising 2 and all of it's additional content get the same treatment.