Slay bells ring

DEAD RISING 4

Xbox One £49.99

A festive flood of blood and gags, Dead Rising 4 puts a Christmassy spin on the zombie apocalypse.

Bringing back photojournalist Frank West to the open world slash/bash/shoot and mashathon, it’s silly fun, if a little rough around the edges.

It continues in the series’ fine tradition of offering up thousands of onscreen undead brain munchers – and almost as many ways to dispose of them.

From bats and guns to insane combo weapons that turn Segways into death-dealing chariots, you’ll never want for ways to tear the undead limb from limb.

There are notable improvements to storytelling and ease of play. While littered with sharp jokes, its underlying mystery plays out well, with a sidekick that plays nicely off West. Removing the countdown timer is welcome, too, letting you explore the decked halls of Willamette’s Memorial Megaplex mall at your leisure. The addition of new camera modes, allowing West to carry out detective work, mixes up dismembering duties too.

As with all Dead Rising games, number four has its own bugs and issues. Considering the number of zombies, the frame rate holds up well – but when it crawls, it crawls. It’s also not uncommon for a vehicle to get stuck on a bit of scenery.

But to paraphrase Alan Partridge, zombies by their very nature are inconsistent. So be happy this shambling series is still capable of raising a goofy smile.