|
Characters and Story of Dead Rising
|
|
The Characters and Story of Dead Rising for the 2006 action adventure XBOX 360 video game. Plot and storyline Note: as Frank, the player has the opportunity to complete or fail certain cases or scoops that will result in the player receiving one of six different endings. The following storyline details Ending A, the "true ending", accomplished by completing all "key" cases during the course of gameplay, and omits non-vital plot points and any optional events the player is not required to participate in. The game focuses on the exploits of Frank West, a photojournalist investigating why the fictional town of Willamette, Colorado has been sealed off by the National Guard. Frank is dropped on top of the city's mall by helicopter. Frank tells the pilot, Ed Deluca, to return in exactly 72 hours. Upon entering the mall, Frank finds zombies storming in through the front entrance. A Homeland Security officer named Brad urges everyone to retreat to the security room. Upon entering, the janitor, Otis Washington, welds the door shut. Brad then leaves the security room via the air ducts. Jessie, also of Homeland Security, recognizes an old man she identifies as Dr. Barnaby in one of Frank's photos, but neither Brad nor Jessie are willing to share what they know. After receiving a transceiver and map from Otis in order to be kept informed of the mall's events, Frank returns to the mall through the air ducts. He encounters survivors who need his assistance to the security room, as well as other people driven to madness by the zombie infestation, known as Psychopaths. As the story unfolds, Frank and Brad have a series of violent encounters with Carlito, a mysterious Hispanic man, while Frank continues to come across a beautiful Mexican woman named Isabela. Frank and Brad are eventually able to bring Dr. Barnaby and later, Isabela to the security room. Isabela reveals she is Carlito's sister and that Dr. Barnaby was the head of a research laboratory in the fictional Central American city of Santa Cabeza, the hometown of Carlito and Isabela. The research facility was attempting to find methods of mass-producing cattle, but instead, Barnaby and his team discovered an insect called a "queen" that would turn the cattle into zombies with a single sting. After one of the "queens" escaped and infected the town of Santa Cabeza, the US government sent a Special Forces team in to wipe out the entire city. The massacre was covered up under the pretenses that it was a raid on drug-trade operations. Outraged over the slaughter of his people and home, Carlito released "queens" in Willamette in revenge. Once the importance of Dr. Barnaby is revealed, he suddenly turns into a zombie and attacks Jessie, but is shot in the head by Brad before he can harm Frank. The zombie outbreak in Willamette is only the tip of the iceberg, however, as Isabela later explains Carlito has much bigger plans. Hidden beneath the mall are five bombs that when detonated will release queen larva into the atmosphere, making a worldwide zombie outbreak a possibility. Frank is able to disarm the bombs in time to stop the explosion, but Brad is mortally wounded by zombies when pursuing Carlito. Frank and the remaining survivors turn their attention towards escaping to safety. Isabela reveals that Carlito has a hideout in the mall containing a laptop full of information, as well as a jamming device preventing Jessie from calling for outside help. Jessie tracks Carlito to an underground meat processing plant via the security cameras and Frank rescues him from an insane butcher, but is unable to acquire the laptop password from Carlito before he dies from his wounds. However, Carlito's dying request to give Isabela his locket helps her figure out the laptop password and deactivate the jamming device. Jessie places a call for help, only to be told that another cleanup mission has been authorized instead; Special Forces soldiers arrive in the mall shortly thereafter, killing anything that moves. Frank makes his way back to the security room, only to find it empty save for two dead soldiers killed by Jessie, now zombified from Barnaby's earlier attack. A note reveals that Otis has commandeered a Special Forces helicopter and flown himself and the other survivors to safety. After avoiding capture by the Special Forces soldiers until they complete their cleanup mission, Frank makes his way back to Carlito's hideout and asks Isabela to come with him to the Helipad; she refuses. Frank makes his way back to the helipad to meet Ed. Unfortunately, a zombie finds its way onto the helicopter and attacks Ed, causing him to crash the helicopter into the middle of the mall's park. The game seemingly ends as Frank slumps to his knees, doing nothing to avoid the small group of zombies approaching him. Overtime mode Overtime mode is unlocked by completing all key cases in the game and achieving the "true ending", and picks up where the normal game ends. Still on the helipad, Frank is narrowly saved by Isabela, who shoots a zombie just as it is about to bite him. Frank passes out; he comes to in Carlito's hideout, where Isabela tells him that he has been infected, giving Frank just 24 hours before he becomes a zombie. However, Isabela believes she may be able to manufacture a cure from various items found in the mall, prompting Frank to scavenge for them. With the items Frank finds, Isabela is unable to manufacture a cure, but instead comes up with a symptomatic treatment which temporarily suppresses the zombification caused by the infection. Accessing Carlito's laptop, they also uncover his plot to scatter 50 orphans infected with the virus across the country. Turning towards efforts to escape, Frank discovers a tunnel underneath the park, uncovered by Ed's helicopter crash. The tunnel is packed with zombies, but with some more items gathered by Frank, Isabela is able to create a pheromone which repels them. Frank overpowers two Special Forces soldiers guarding the end of the tunnel and commandeers their vehicle to escape. Their efforts are interrupted by a tank, which they are able to disable. The special forces leader, Brock, emerges and reveals he was behind the original cleanup leader in Santa Cabeza. Frank attacks him and knocks him into the mob of zombies surrounding the tank. The game ends as Frank drops to his knees and screams into the sky. A text epilogue reveals that Frank was able to leave Willamette with credible information about the story, forcing the U.S. Government to accept at least partial credibility for the Santa Cabeza incident. Carlito's additional plan involving the orphans was not reported but it was uncertain whether or not the plan is going to happen. While the Willamette incident was widely reported, the American public eventually let it fade from their minds. Frank West is the fictional "overly zealous" freelance photographer/photojournalist in Dead Rising. In the game he goes to Willamette for the "scoop of a lifetime", thinking it was just a riot. Throughout the game, Frank seeks the truth behind the zombie outbreak by investigating recent events and questioning characters trapped in the mall. Frank also tries to rescue many human characters trapped within various sections of the mall. Character Design Keiji Inafune, designer of Mega Man and Dead Rising, wanted Frank West to be different than the usual Japanese main character. Instead of having a young and beautiful main character like most other games, he wanted an everyman that looked average rather than beautiful or ugly. Frank default attire includes a black jacket with a white button-up shirt, green khaki pants, and brown loafers. Frank's appearance can be altered throughout the game by visiting the various stores of the mall. These range from changing into business suits and dresses to donning different glasses and masks. Many of Dead Rising's costumes are references to other Capcom games such as Frank's unlockable Arthur's boxers from Ghosts 'n Goblins. One type of clothing that the player can unlock, Frank is dressed exactly in the same suit as Megaman X. It is a little added bonus as the fact the director of the game is the same person who made Megaman. The player can even unlock Megaman's signature Arm Cannon, otherwise known as the 'Mega Buster'. All of the cameras in Dead Rising, including Frank's, appear to be Nikon's (The back of the camera appears ) fitted with standard zoom lenses. Impact and reception IGN's Charles Onyett reviewed Dead Rising and, in reference to Frank, stated "If the profession of photojournalism ever needed a poster boy, Dead Rising's Frank West is it." . Alexander Sliwinski, of In Newsweekly, commented in an article entitled 'Dead Rising not the Occasion' that "Frank West makes a great hero, although sometimes he does have horribly cheesy Capcom survival-horror dialogue, but that's too be expected." A small blurb said by Frank has become part of popular culture in the gaming community, "I've covered wars ya know". Frank says the statement to Jessie after she is hesitant about allowing a "civilian" to becoming involved, but she gives him her handgun after he assures her that he has experience with one by saying, "I've covered wars ya know", though He admits later that he's never actually fired a gun "at a person". Mega64, a series of video game inspired comedy skits, did a prank in which one of the cast members dressed as Frank West and went to a public mall. Appearances * Dead Rising, he is the main protagonist of the game. * Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, he makes a cameo appearance as a playable character in the PC version. Supporting Characters *: The younger sister of Carlito. Very little is known about her, but she worked at Dr. Barnaby's laboratories in Santa Cabeza as a medical technician. She starts off as an enemy, but after Carlito attacks her, she realizes the mayhem Carlito is causing and becomes an ally. In the "true ending," she helps temporarily subdue Frank's infection, and escapes with him out of Willamette. *: The older brother of Isabela. The mysterious Carlito tries to kill Frank at every turn. He is the cause of the zombie outbreak at Willamette, wanting revenge for the slaughter of his hometown, Santa Cabeza. Most of the game is spent trying to uncover the motivation and story behind Carlito and his connection to the zombies. *: A DHS agent who reluctantly fights alongside Frank throughout the story. He assumes the responsibility of re-stocking the Security Room with healing items and trying to locate Dr. Barnaby early in the game. At first, he is uneasy to be around a member of the press, and even goes so far as to stereotype Frank as a crooked paparazzi. However, he soon grows to trust Frank. At the end of the "Bomb Collector" case, he is forced into the zombie-infested maintenance tunnels by Carlito and is attacked. Frank returns to look for Brad, but Brad, close to zombification and disemboweled, realizes that there is nothing that Frank can do, except leave him and not tell Jessie. *: Brad's rookie partner. She is charged with watching the monitors for information on the person/people responsible for the outbreak. Like Brad, she is distrustful of Frank, and patronizes him for being a civilian. However, she grows to trust Frank after he manages to retrieve the medicine from the food mart manager. Jessie would later be bitten by an infected Dr. Barnaby and becomes a zombie by the final hours of the game. She kills two Special Forces soldiers in her zombie form, and is found by Frank wandering the security room. *: A mall janitor. Otis tries in vain to stop Frank from chasing Brad back into the mall, and winds up handing over a map and spare transceiver. He periodically sends the player information and scoops over Frank's transceiver. If Frank is unable to reach the stairs of the Entrance Plaza when the zombies are first let in, and instead is knocked out, it is Otis that drags him from the chaos. When the Special Forces arrive, Otis sneaks out and attempts to steal a helicopter, and is able to do so and he flies himself and the suvivors that Frank rescued, to safety. Notably, Otis's voice is never heard during the game. *: A genetic researcher, whose work led to the events chronicled throughout Dead Rising. He became infected and attacked Jessie. Brad shot him after he attempted to attack Frank. Survivors The citizens of Willamette who were not initially killed by the zombie outbreak are referred to as "survivors." There are about 54 survivors (counting Frank himself) scattered across the mall, and their fate is dependent on Frank. Otis gives Frank a transmitter and a map of the mall, contacting him about events happening in the mall. Otis acts as the source of information for finding survivors. However, Otis will not notice all of the survivors and thus, some must be stumbled upon. Many survivors can be escorted safely to the security room, while others may be injured or too scared, requiring Frank to carry them to the exit point, rendering him unable to use his weapons. Successful rescues will earn PP for Frank. Psychopaths In addition to battling thousands of zombies, Frank West must also deal with psychopaths, humans who have gone mad due to the invasion (or otherwise corrupt, evil or immoral humans who serve as the game's bosses). Examples include a clown who became insane after seeing his audience eaten, a manager of a food mart obsessed with keeping it clean and free of vandalism, a cop who beats women that are prettier than her, a deranged butcher, a Vietnam War veteran who suffers war flashbacks after seeing his granddaughter eaten by zombies, and a cult leader. See Also
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Main Menu
| Home |
| Articles |
| Search |
| Submit Article |
| Contact Us |
| Donate to Wikibin |
