I've got a PS4 so as I understand Dead Rising 3 and 4 are not available and it doesn't look like 4 will be coming to the system. Are the remakes of 1 and 2 decent, does the gameplay hold up, and if so, which one should is the better Dead Rising experience?

I prefer 2. I think it's the best one.

Dead Rising 1 needs to be seen and experienced, but maybe not finished. Dead Rising 3 is a very different, but ultimately more playable game.

Dead Rising 2 off the Record is the best one. 3 & 4 are very different and I think more generic games. 1 & 2 are what Dead Rising is for me. They are weird and awkward but they are going for something.

I would reccomend DR2. It retains all the DR weirdness you want, but is more playable than the first one. I think Off Record is best ecperienced after playing 2.

2

Dead Rising 1 is the only one that matters. Combo weapon system ruins 2 for me, changes the game from scavenging for whatever you can find into a doofy power fantasy and makes regular objects totally worthless. (Not to say Dead Rising 1 didn't have its goofy elements)

I would recommend starting with DR1 just to experience how unique it is. Off the record probably has the best balance of keeping the wacky stuff but improving on some of the poor systems so.

The first, obviously.

DR4 is my favourite, but if you can't play that or DR3, I guess DR2 would be next. The new ones are very different games than DR1. I don't like DR1 very much because I don't like the time limits and brain-dead AI on survivors. I don't know how that game would hold up mechanically for someone who doesn't have fond memories of it. The newer games are crazy over-the-top power fantasy, and that's what I'm looking for in a dumb zombie game.

2 for sure. Like others have said, its still goofy and weird like the first, but they fixed enough of the weird and shitty from 1 to make it more playable. Better psychopath fights (in my opinion- no assholes in a jeep!) too. Not really sure I get the complaints about the combo weapons, I thought it was fun and stupid, and even then I pretty much just made nails+bat and knife+mma gloves the whole way through. Not sure how using a bat alone is a whole lot better/ more fun?

I may be the odd one out but Dead Rising 1 is the only one I would bother with. It's such an unusual game with unusual mechanics. I would call it uncompromising in that it sets hard rules and doesn't really care if you don't like them. That being said, beating that game with the "real ending" and getting the Saint achievement were two of my proudest gaming moments.

I was so mad/disappointed when I was able to beat DR2 on my first playthrough without breaking a sweat. Feature creep / Westernization has ruined the series in my opinion.

I like 1 way more but 2 is probably a friendlier experience while still retaining what makes Dead Rising Dead Rising

If I have an Xbox One and played the original at release with minimal interest in replaying it, should I just go straight to 3? I wanna play one of these and 3 seemed like a pretty sound game.

The mall setting of 1 really makes it stand out more than 2's casino setting in my opinion. Just something about the amount of variety in shops, that is still very natural due to the environment, that makes the toybox aspect of it very fun. However, from a playability standpoint 2 is far and away the better game for one soul reason, the survivors. That is to say, the survivors in 2 are actually capable of following directions, getting places, and not getting lost behind area transitions. In 1, they are the dumbest motherfuckers why won't you just keep walking stop shooting give me that gun what are you even doing you piece of shit.

i didn't dislike 3 as much as most people did, maybe cause i haven't been crazy about the series in general, but with that in mind i can still say that if you're playing 3 you're not playing Dead Rising as much as a weird spin-off of it. i guess it can be compared to when Ninja Theory made DmC except even that was more similar to its source than 3 is.

i still had a lot of fun with 3 but there was an overabundance of items and things to do in the game and the map was too convoluted to the point of not being fun to drive around. i still recommend playing it if you can get it on the cheap in a sale but id say the fun lasts about halfway into the game and then starts getting kinda stale.

When I think of the most memorable moments from the series, they almost all come from 2. I don't know if that makes it a better game though. 3 and 4 kind of suck as Dead Rising games.

@csl316: I think 4 is a lot better than 3 if you want a modern Dead Rising.

The first is unique, weird, and interesting despite all its flaws

You can't go wrong with any of the first two. But on a personal preference i'd go with Dead Rising 1 because Frank's the best and i really don't like Casino stuff, which two has quite a lot of.

There are cases to be made for 1 but 2 is a good bit less infuriating and is every bit as mechanically deep as 1.

3 and 4 are different games entirely and, regardless of quality, have nothing that made Dead Rising unique and interesting. Also I just think they don't stand very well on their own merits either. They aren't Modern Dead Rising so much as Modern Open World Games, sub-par Modern Open World Games at that.

Every successive game in the series has been a little less Dead Rising, so go with the first. It's an extremely divisive game and you very well might hate it. I won't judge you if you do, I swear. I'm lying, I'll totally judge you for it.

Hijacking this thread to ask: How is the PC port of the first Dead Rising? I bought it on PS4 but I can't get used to the antiquated controls, especially the shooting. Is it any better with mouse and keyboard?