After the last couple of weeks with crap games, I was really looking forward to playing Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop on the Wii. I am a big fan of the XboX360 version, and I was interested to see how they used the motion capture on the Wii with the myriad of zombie-killing weapons available in the game.

My favorite weapon is the auger. Stick a zombie on the end, and weeee it’s a whirling zombie of fortune with everyone a winner! Well, until the arms and legs come off, and then you’ll need a new zombie.

If you’re not familiar with the premise of Dead Rising, it’s the same as the Romero movie: Dawn of the Dead. You know, where mindless consumers descend upon the mall in a massive horde to pointlessly consume .wait.that’s the social criticism embedded in Dawn of the Dead. My mistake.

Dead Rising, like Dawn of the Dead, is about the last remaining surviving humans taking refuge inside a mall from the zombie army trying to eat them. You play the part of Frank, a photo journalist that sneaks into the quarantined town Raccoon City.

Wait, that’s the city in Resident Evil.

Got it, you’re Frank the photographer sneaking into the Willamette City Mall to discover the reason behind the quarantined city of Willamette. Which leads to the Dead Rising opening, which is one of the best opening sequences I’ve ever played through. Frank charters a helicopter to take him into town. As they do a low fly over of the city, you (as Frank) take pictures of what’s going on.  First it’s a group of soldiers, and then signs of civil unrest and panic. Then it’s a man fending off attackers from the top of his car with a bat.

Then a woman is pulled from her car.

You watch as another woman is cornered on a rooftop by five “men”. She shoots one in the head with the last bullet. Throws the empty gun at another only to be carried over the edge headlong by one of her attackers (you get bonus points if you take a picture as they impact).

The horror is unfolded slowly to the player, and you have to participate by capturing the images. It’s a great way to involve the player into the game from the beginning all the way to the end. The camera and Frank’s reason for being there are the beating heart of this game.

And the Wii version takes that heart, rips it out, and says, “Wii don’t need heart. Wii SMASH!”

That’s right, despite the fact that Frank is a photojournalist and he is there to take pictures, the camera remains firmly attached to his chest. No more picture taking.

Now instead of having the horror slowly unfolded for you, you show up at the mall. And then, the zombies come in. From there out, it’s the same game except the interface with Otis is better handled, and there are zombie parrots that drop grenades on your head.

That’s right, zombie parrots. And they drop grenades. Although how a zombified parrot can fly is beyond me. Or how it learns to pull the pin on a grenade and hold it until it can release said grenade on your head is even further beyond keening. But, it does sound like great resume material: “Yes, I have experience in training parrots to drop grenades on peoples heads. It’s next level stuff. Zombie Parrots, mind you.”

The controls on the Wii for Dead Rising were good with a common-sense layout. Since the Wii has less processing power, there are fewer zombies on screen at any time (reportedly the 360 can have up to 800) but they are faster and more aggressive so it’s a balance. Also, you still have the real-time limitation on the game (you have to get to the end of the game in 6 real hours).

This Wii version of Dead Rising is a serious let down. It takes out the innovative aspects added to the game through the use of photography, and replaces it with nothing. Although the controls were casual gamer friendly and the graphics were alright, it’s still really the same game- just, you know, crappier. And, frankly, on a third week of crap games I couldn’t take it anymore after the parrots. I actually returned the game, and demanded my money back.

And, what did I get to replace it?

House of the Dead: Overkill.

If zombie games are food, then the House of the Dead series is fast food. It’s what is known as a Rail Shooter- meaning you don’t determine the movement but are moved by the game room by room and can only look straight ahead.

Which works out, since the zombies only run straight at you.

Overkill understands what it is- cheesy, Saturday afternoon point-n-shoot- beer-drinking fun. And, it owns that and runs with it. Player 1 is a cynical, tough-talking government agent. Player 2 is a wise cracking, foul-mouthed cop, and there is the big-tittied stripper that follows you around.

Oh, and there’s the voice-over guy too.

The game is setup as if it were a 70’s exploitation flick, grainy film, cheesy lines, and a big-tittied stripper. There’s the deranged crime lord out to destroy the US and has a taste for Chinese food. Oh, and there’s the prison where the warden is conducting illegal experiments on the prisoners to prolong his mothers life. It’s all kinds of fun.

Did I mention the stripper? She’s got a heart of gold, you know.

This is a game that exploits its nature to the full effect. It demands nothing and gives you a lot for pointing the Wiimote and blowing zombies heads off with a simple press of the trigger. It’s like , but you get to shoot the zombie AND drink beer with your buddies at the same time. This is not a game you play alone. Or with anyone who is sensitive to the use of swears. This game is up for the Guinness Book of World Records for most swearing in a video game.

The game dialog uses swears like other people use punctuation.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The graphics are mediocre, and the story is laughable- but that’s okay. The story wants you to laugh. Especially when the Warden tries to crawl back into his 50 foot tall mother’s womb.

I’m not joking.

It’s all shades of messed up funny.

So, in my Un-Humble Opinion©- if you own a Wii and you want to play a zombie game with friends that is a lot of cheesy fun, I suggest House of the Dead: Overkill. However, if you own a Wii and want to play a zombie game by yourself that is not as fun as the 360 version, I suggest you buy Dead Rising but then return it after a day so you can exchange it House of the Dead: Overkill and have fun anyway.