Frank West is back – and in Dead Rising 4, he’s getting more creative than ever. As is customary from the OTT zomb-offing series, deaths in DR4 are as bloody as they are outrageous – and while there’s a festive slant to some of the weapons on offer (the game is set at Chrimbo, with the tagline ‘let the slay ride begin’) – other influences extend as far as Game Of Thrones. Here are all the weapons we’ve seen (or otherwise had confirmed) in Dead Rising 4 so far…
1 Zombie slugger
Frank’s trademark barbed-wire baseball bat is the first weapon shown off in the trailer, and likely to be your main fallback option when all else fails.
2 Electrified axe
No, not the ‘rock guitar’ type – an actual, AC/DC-unleashing hand axe. It can be used to cut through zombies with a crackling blue glow – and the electric current is automatically chained to nearby enemies, enabling you to take out entire waves with a single swing. You can also raise it high then slam it into the ground to create a quick, inFamous-style puddle of electricity which eliminates any undeads in proximity.
3 Electrified ATV
Appears, from the trailer, to have all the same powers as the axe – only you get to drive it round instead of carry it, and give enemies a bit of a shock along the way.
4 Ice sword
Surely influenced by the white walkers' blades in Game Of Thrones, this causes enemies to crumble into tiny shards of ice when struck. And hilariously, any zombs not hit but in the immediate vicinity are immediately frozen into ice statues.
5 EXO suit
Super-powerful combat skin that enables you to smash shufflers into mist – or lift them into the air and tear them in half with all the grace of a Dancing On Ice finalist. Cool!
6 Cars
While wearing the EXO suit, you can kick and toss these around the screen, splattering any zombies dumb enough to be in their path. If the special edition contains a real-life version we can wear on the M25, take all our money now.
7 Parking meter
Another weapon that become ‘available’ when wearing the Exoskeleton suit – you can rip parking meters out of the ground, then use them to club shufflers upside the head. And chest. And backside. All of the above at once, if you like. And you will like.
8 Giant pipe
Another weapon you can use when wearing the EXO suit, according to Bryce Cochrane – executive producer at dev Capcom Vancouver.
9 Food cart
“Cans to the left of me, popcorn to the right, here I am driving a food cart through you…” It’s the attention to detail that makes this fiery road weapon so funny – rotating pink elephants, a tacky-looking pair of wooden speakers, a deep frier wedged at the rear just above its wheels. And while you mightn’t use that, it’s still pretty much guaranteed to deep fry.
10 Minigun
Double-handed weapon that fires off fast, relentless rounds of ammunition. Especially effective at close quarters: we managed one super-killy hit streak of more than 450.
11 Modified minigun
It’s hard to know exactly what the ammo being unleashed is by this one, but the trailer suggests some form of mini-bombs – with an oddly satisfying ‘pop’ each time one of them connects.
12 Knee to the groin
As effective against individual zombies as you remember it being in the playground. Just, well, a touch bloodier.
13 Plunger lure
A what? Exactly as described, astonishingly enough: a toilet plunger rigged with explosives, which you throw and then make go bang when zombies gather round to investigate what it is. You'll never be able to trust your local plumber again.
14 Rocket launcher
Blink and you’ll miss it, but the reveal trailer shows Frank introducing a selection of zombs to an explosive end via the means of rocket-propelled projectile.
15 Zombie catapult jeep
Not necessarily its official title, but definitely the best way to describe it. One laugh-out-loud trailer scene sees Frank motoring around in a four-wheeler that kicks flames out of its side exhausts and has been pimped with two zombie torsos – oh, and a catapult which can sling shufflers high into the air. Equal parts preposterous and hilarious.
16 Motorbike
It mightn’t lack the immediate hilarity of the food cart or catapult jeep, but the trailer shows that Frank’s motorbike is still an effective way of both getting around the Willamette mall and effortlessly taking out zombies en route – he manages to bump off four of the blighters in a single wheelie.
17 Multi-barrelled firework gun
At least, that’s what it looks like to us; it’s another blink-and-you’ll-miss it job from the trailer, with Frank picking off zombs (and sending them up in flames) one-by-one, from the relative safety of a school bus roof.
18 Dynamite-firing crossbow
IGN report discovering this in their hands-on at E3. No wonder Frank ended the E3 trailer by sharing a social media post made up of a single word: 'boom'.
19 Candy-cane crossbow
This one we’ve seen for ourselves, via the trailer. Simple, effective, decorated in such as way that even Santa Claus himself might want one. Don't think on that for too long.
20 Grenade
21 Machete
22 Flamethrower
23 Assault rifle
24 Machine gun
25 Propane tank
All of the above have been seen in passing, or viewed as menu options, but we’ve not had a chance to test them ourselves yet. Each is absolutely positively definitely in the game, though.
26 Fire-breathing triceratops head
No additional words required for this one, other than we seriously need to play this ASAP.
Dead Rising 4 is released exclusively for Xbox One and PC on 23 November.
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