If there is one flaw with Dead Rising ---and yes, this is nitpicking--- it's how with all its possibilities, there is little sign of where to begin. I must admit; I was pretty frustrated the first two times playing the game, because of so few tutorials, so little Frank West "knew" prior to boosting experience points, and therefore, so little sign of where to go, when Frank could pretty much go...anywhere.

So; if you keep getting munched on by the undead on day one, only to be shot at by the locals on day two, take the following list to heart. It just may save your game...especially lucky tip number seven!

10) Survivors Aren't Dumb; Just Practical. If I've heard it once on the message boards, I've heard it a thousand times: "The Survivors' AI in Dead Rising sux." I'm not here to disagree; just to ease the pain. You see; the problem isn't dumb survivors, as much as survivors who are vulnerable against zombies when they don't have a weapon. So give them one...with the least ammo. Seriously. Why? The game does not keep track of survivor ammo. If you have one round in your shotgun, by all means give it to a survivor, and they'll be shooting away as long as they're still standing. Sure, most survivors run with reckless abandon into a horde of zombies anyway, shotgun or not. At least with a weapon they will be more useful. They may even save you once or twice.

9) The Gun Store Is Unguarded Until Case #2. The mall has one gun store and it's stocked with everything from shotguns to sniper rifles. While you'll probably only come across this gun store once the game sends you to that area, head for the gun shop immediately. Any moment during case "one" will do, but why not right away? As soon as the first case asks you to help Brad in the food court, dash for the outdoor park, head north, and check the map for the gun store. While there are folks who invade the gun store later on, it is wide open early in the game. Think of it as a reward for thinking ahead. 

Added tip: what is the best way to defeat the psycho that guards the gun shop later on? You've heard all the "hide and shoot" tips, but here's a tip or two we'd like to add. One, we found that hiding behind the store display to the right works best, because it is angled better against his line of fire. Remember: he has six rounds, so when he reloads be sure to either kick his sorry behind with the small chainsaw (see tip #5 later on), or jump for the shotguns and head back for cover. Each time he reloads either hack or fire away and then hide again. One more thing: later in the game the gun store gets additional guests, but they're okay...sort of. Just run from them and they'll see you're too fast to be a zombie. Then you can either save them or...not. At least the gun shop is open again.

8) Safe to Die, Save When Dead. Most games ask you to either restore your game or start from the beginning. This game is slightly different. If you want to restore a game after dying, then do so. However, if you wish to start at the very beginning, be sure to "Save and Restart." Why? Because starting a new game from any save file begins the game with your "current" experience level. So start the game from the very beginning with a higher health level, a larger inventory limit, and all the skills you've learned.

7) Memory Cards Are Another Save File! I'm not kidding. If you have a memory card inserted, the game automatically asks with each save game where you want the save to go. So feel free to save half of the time  to hard drive, and another on any memory card. This is great news mostly for those of us who got a memory card free with one of those holiday "bundles," and have yet to find a use for it. For Dead Rising, it's very useful; you have one additional save file for each card you own. Cool.

6) Drink Heavily (Especially Blended "Invincibility"!). First things first: if you're frustrated how much of the food restores only one "point" of health, there's better food to be had, like a good drink. Beer, Milk, juice, and even "coffee creamer" all boost your health by six points. Keep in mind where you find these items, because as soon as you leave and come back, these items will be "restocked." The most powerful drinks, however, would have to be the drinks made by one of those blenders in the food court, using the proper mixture of ingredients. Yes, this includes an invincibility potion(!), which is created by mixing a pie with Orange juice. Both are pretty easy to find, but if you want a whole trio of pies, exit to the mall from the security room/warehouse, and go to the cafe on the second floor. There's a whole trio of pies on the counter. You could probably make a whole trio of invincibility potions! Cool.

5) Love Clowns? Kill Him Anyway. At one point in the game, Otis will tell you the mall's indoor rocket ride is out of control, and you may want to check it out. Mind you; by this point in the game, there may have been so many survivors who died, that you might think about ignoring this "scoop." Believe me; this is the one definitive scoop you want to complete in the whole game, because it leads to two of the coolest rewards. Let's cover "how" before "why." Head for the ride and try to shut it down, only to be attacked by, and I kid you not: a killer clown. Sure he's tough (I'd advise you to have at least two survivors armed with guns to assist you), though every time he inflates a killer balloon, be sure to shoot it so he's seriously hurt, then shoot like crazy while he's immobile for awhile. A few balloons later, and he'll be done. Now for the "why." For one, you get the clown's weapon, which is a small chainsaw. This makes almost every "boss battle" you use it in a breeze. It doesn't "last" for many swings, but whenever you want another one, just dash to the blue ride platform and get another small chainsaw. If you defeated the clown, it will "restock" at that location, again and again, for the rest of the game. The second prize is when you shut down the ride and meet a very knowledgeable survivor. Keep this guy alive long enough to get to the nearby ladies' room, where he'll show you a short cut that leads straight between the east and west plazas, with no need to stroll through the outdoor park (and no confrontations with those annoying escaped prison inmates). This makes many future trips with the survivors much easier. Enjoy.

4) Elevator Too Full? Try Exit Two. This tip is weak for those who know it, and yet it's imperative to know, for those who don't. Without this tip, you'll be wasting way too much time on an elevator-full of zombies, every single time you return to the mall from the security room. The tip is this: use the door. Forget the elevator. Follow this roof area all the way down the left wall and voila, there's a door into the warehouse. It's a second floor door and you'll have to fall to the first floor for a short tumble (and around a half point of health), but you can easily avoid around two dozen zombies by doing so, since this door is unguarded. You can even guide your fall far from any zombie, and jump kick your way past the remaining zombies on your way into the mall.

3) Hate Cults? Kill Their Leader. You may be more than a little bit annoyed at all those raincoat-wearing cultists that appear near day 2 or so. Well, here's the thing: you can get rid of them once and for all by day three (which, spoilers intact, is a good idea, because by day three you'll have even bigger problems to deal with!). As soon as Otis informs you of some of the raincoat cultists in the movie theater, head for there at your earliest opportunity (like, say, when all case files are with a "blue" timer and you have time to kill). Head into the theater and deal with a gaggle of cultists (shotgun at a safe distance works best here). Then go down the hall they were guarding and enter the very first door to your right. There's their leader, and he's really tough...sort of. The best idea I can offer is to shoot and run and repeat, or, better still: Get one of those cool small chainsaws we told you about in tip #5, and this cult leader's reign of terror is over in around three swings of the saw...so to speak. Your rewards are aplenty. For one you get to take his weapon, which is the best sword of the game. Two, you get around four survivors to save (don't forget the poor girl trapped in the nearby broom closet), with experience points galore just for untying them...more, if you get them to safety. Three: there's a book that when held boosts the courage of all survivors who follow you, making them more powerful allies. Best of all: the only remaining cultists are the jerks who swarm in once you defeat their leader (if you got a "fresh" small chainsaw before battling their leader, this swarm is no problem). After they're gone, there are no cultists left for the rest of the entire game. Wonderful!

2) If you need to ask: You don't want the maintenance key. If you've been dashing through the mall looking for escape routes, you may be looking at a couple of so-called "exit" doors, wondering where the maintenance key is. First of all; the maintenance tunnels are swarmed with zombies, so no, the maintenance tunnels are not a "shortcut". However, you may want to know how to get the maintenance key anyway, if just because. First; go outside to the park. Northwest of here is a path straight to the parking lot (follow the map to the car icon). From there you can use the parked car...and the fun begins. Drive underground to the maintenance tunnels (ignore Otis' phone call; he's only about to tell you that, DUH, these are the maintenance tunnels), and when you must choose which direction to go, steer right, then left, then right. You should now be at a dead end with a single door. This door leads to the warehouse. Close the door so you can explore in peace (and by all means; take Otis' call so he shuts up). This warehouse room has the maintenance key at the far right end of the room, plus some cool boxes of freebies. Added tip: this is where Brad goes at the part of the game where he fights Carlito in the maintenance tunnels. Spoilers intact: the game makes Brad's fate pretty much of a mystery, unless you go looking for him...so feel free to go to this location, just after the cutscene plays, and before starting the next case file. Oh, and be sure to take a photo of what you find there, for a cool cache of achievement points.

1) Shop. Till. You. DROP. This sounds like a cheap "number one tip," but it's really the best tip of all. Simply put: if you find it hard getting weapons, you aren't exploring the mall enough. There is one good weapon store in every section of the mall. An antique store near the front of the mall has unlimited katana swords and battle axes. You can literally fill your entire inventory with katana after katana. Another hardware store is filled with chainsaws. Then there's the gun store. Did you see the invincibility potion tip? That's cool to know in the food court. Did you defeat the clown? Get small chainsaws every time you enter that area. Defeat the cult leader? Get new swords every time you go to the theater. All I'm saying is: keep exploring, and if things get boring, it's because you stopped your exploring. Just have fun with it...!

One more tip? Why Not! Here You Go: