Zombies are a staple of the Dead Rising video game franchise. Similar to Romero zombies, this breed of undead constantly hunger for the flesh of the living. Unlike Romero zombies, however, the ghouls of Dead Rising have a definite source. Each is infected with a parasitic mutant wasp that is capable of reanimating deceased human beings.
Characteristics[]
For the most part, the Dead Rising zombies are just like any other type of movie zombie, staggering around mindlessly as they seek out living people to devour. They can be killed with enough bodily trauma, and throughout the games there's no shortage of objects that can be used as weapons, many of which can be combined to form more outlandish zombie-slaying devices.
At night time, zombies become more aggressive. Their eyes will turn red and they will become more resilient to certain attacks.
Zombie types[]
- Male zombies - The most common type of zombie; stronger than females.
- Female zombies - Common and weak. Bizarrely enough, a female will attack by biting at its victim's crotch.
- Knife zombies - Zombies in Hawaiian shirts that carry Bowie knives.
- Fat zombies - Fat zombies have more health than other zombies.
- Cop zombies - Police officers that have been zombified. They carry nightsticks and will swing them feebly at prey. They also carry handguns but cannot use them. At best, they can fire guns sporadically but cannot aim them properly.
- Trolley zombies - Zombies that slowly push around shopping trolleys or dollys holding propane tanks. They will usually ignore the player.
- Construction zombies - Zombified construction workers. Their hard hats protect their heads from gunshots and they all carry a power tool or construction object of some kind, such as lead pipes, 2x4's, sledgehammers and power drills.
- Carriers - Zombies that carry wasp queens. They can be easily recognised since they are always found standing in one spot, clutching their heads as though they are lamenting. Getting in front of a carrier will result in the carrier spewing blood on the player, disorienting them and giving other zombies the chance to pounce. Killing a carrier will release the wasp controlling it which the player can then grab.
- Rushers - Zombies that can run.
- Gas zombies - Zombies that have been mutated by a chemical gas created by Phenotrans. They are stronger, faster and much more aggressive, attacking victims with their claws and spewing blood on them.
- Military zombies - Soldiers turned into zombies. Their body armour makes them stronger and they carry assault rifles and handguns. In Dead Rising 3, military zombies are capable of firing their weapons but lack the coordination to aim.
- Scare zombies - Zombies that appear to be dead, lying motionless on the floor until approached by a potential victim.
- Convict zombies - Large, muscular zombies in orange prison jumpsuits. These zombies are much tougher than standard zombies.
- Fire zombies - Zombified firefighters. Their suits, helmets and extinguishers make them harder to kill and they attack by clumsily swinging fire axes.
- Football zombies - Zombies wearing American football uniforms. These zombies seem to possess greater mobility than other zombies and will run and tackle victims. Their helmets and padding provide them extra protection from all attacks.
- King zombies - A mutant zombie variant seen during the Los Perdidos Outbreak. These zombies are host to multiple wasps and have developed growths around their heads and necks that resemble beehives. They attack by releasing swarms of wasps which rapidly infect victims. When killed, the Kings violently explode, releasing a viscous green substance.
Zombrex[]
Zombrex is a form of medication developed and sold by the pharmaceutical company Phenotrans. It is capable of delaying an infected person's transformation into a zombie and needs to be administered to an infectee on a strict 24-hour regular basis. A patient who doesn't take their Zombrex dose on time will be doomed to zombification. If a dose is taken too early, it will kill the patient.
Following the Fortune City Outbreak and the fall of Phenotrans, the U.S. government established a program to outfit infected individuals with subdermal microchips that would administer a dose of Zombrex every 24 hours, thus preventing zombification. However, the chips also allowed the government to track whoever had them and the chips could even be remotely disabled, thereby allowing individuals to be infected unknowingly.