Dead Rising Comments by Tom Bramwell

I cannot emphasise enough how strongly I think you should play the game before you comment on the save system.

I was initially concerned about the save system, but knowing that it only really effects the main storyline am actually very supportive of this approach. It makes sense to me, and means that the game can and will be played in a variety of different ways. The movie analogy and additional tension seem like good arguments for this.

Likewise, I was also a little concerned about the sandbox mode and the fact that your health is constantly draining, but again this means it is more about survival, increased tension, and a race against time.

Obviously, I have only played the demo thus far, so my opinion may change with the release of the full version, but at the moment I personally applaud Capcom for trying something new and different, for using the save system to add to the game as a whole, and for not following the cookie cutter game design that has become so prevalent in recent years. Naturally, this won't appeal to everyone, but, for me at least, the concept fits perfectly.

- Yea, I used hyperbole to illustrate my point :P (obviously I'm not completely against choice either). My experience with unlimited saves in FPS, however, is that it leads to overly rationed ammo supply (they expect everyone to min-max encounters in a dull way), as well as a non-immersive experience with constant reloads.

I know what you're saying, BUT, isn't that a bit like a self fulfilling prophecy? If you assume that players are going to fall back on quick saves, then you'll make ammo and health less copious, which ends up forcing people to save-crawl?

I find that if a game's world is forgiving enough, I might breeze through long sections never feeling any need to save, which is a delight, because it means I can engage with the game qua game, rather than the meta-game of quick loading.

But stuff like max payne and F.E.A.R. really forced save crawling upon me because they weren't up front about game world, and death came too suddenly to be able to run away.

I mean, I think we've veered away from the issue of "should gamers be allowed to save anywhere", and moved into the realms of "games should not use quick saves as a crutch for poor/unforgiving gameplay".

Why does everyone have to post massive amounts of text? Some of us only have a short attention span you know.