I just played the demo for Dead Rising and it is great!
It’s basically “Dawn of the Dead, the game”. As a matter of fact there is a big disclaimer at the beginning that says “This game has nothing to do with George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.” Anyway, there’s hundreds of zombies, and you’re in a mall.
The fun part is that you can pick up just about anything and use it as a weapon. There’s lots of actual weapons lying around for you to find but tons of “improvised” weaponry as well in all the stores. You can throw CDs like shuriken, break open a jewelry case and throw the gems. Pick up a cash register and hurl it. Swing an acoustic (el-kabong!) or electric (spaaang) guitar. You can ride a skateboard or push a shopping cart. I’m sure I only scratched the surface in my time with the demo, but each weapon has a distinct animation and feel to it.
You can also try stuff on in the clothing stores which is pretty funny.
It looks like this game will be a great “sandbox” to just run around killing zombies in, but there is also a story, and the demo indicates that as the game progresses you will be unravelling the mystery behind the zombies.
Definitely getting this when it comes out next week. Braaaaains.