Capcom Vancouver revealed the return of the Dead Rising series at Microsof't's E3 2013 Media Briefing to large applause, showing off an open-world game set in a Californian city ten years after the events of Dead Rising 2. Game Rant recently had a chance to take a look at Dead Rising 3 behind closed doors at E3 2013, and the game should please all Capcom and zombie fans across the board.

Automotive Mechanic Nick Ramos is the main character, and he's reportedly a man with a mysterious past. Fans who had been hoping that Frank West or Chuck Greene would return for a role as main character in Dead Rising 3 may be a little disappointed, but the studio did confirm that cameo appearances will happen throughout the game (it was strongly hinted that at least one of the two characters will make a first-time appearance in the new setting of Los Perdidos).

Dead Rising 3's city is based upon Los Angeles, and contains four key districts with distinct visual styling, including some named similarly to their real-world counterparts (like Inglewood, for example). The development team on-hand at E3 this year estimated that around 30% of all the buildings in the city feature explorable interiors, containing fully-featured hallways and rooms with relevant weapons and items. High schools will be full of students, just as gyms will have boxers and weights - things aren't just copied and pasted, they're unique and sensibly placed.

Set 72 hours after the outbreak, Los Perdidos hasn't faired well and gives the impression of an apocalyptic city where survivors are scarce, and friends are even scarcer. Flipped transport trucks seemed to groan in agony and boarded-up houses painted a vivid picture as Nick Ramos was moved around by a Capcom producer during the private demo. It' was the same playthrough gamers saw at the reveal, but was delivered along with commentary from the team and a included a few deviations here and there.

To alleviate concerns from hardcore fans, Dead Rising 3's "Nightmare Mode" will feature a classic 3 day timer and a retro-save system, whilst the game's regular mode will feature a less hardcore experience for those who want more time to run around and explore, or simply waste more time discovering new ways to eliminate zombies. As players progress through the game, some frantic sections of the story increase the zombies' difficultly level and temporarily disable saving, meaning that players may be forced to replay some of the harder sequences if they fail. For the rest of the time, saving - much like the new crafting system - can happen at any time, in any place.

Capcom also revealed that the game will feature optional integration with Kinect, which gamers will be allowed to enable or disable through the main menu. Kinect is set by default to "listen for noises" during regular Dead Rising in-game action. If Nick Ramos is creeping along past a horde of the undead and Kinect picks up that a dog is barking or that the player yelled, the zombies will hear it and react on the virtual side of things. That means players will be encouraged to keep noise levels down to a minimum when sneaking, and can even purposefully make some noise to distract zombies.

During boss fights, players will also be able to shout "key words" that will make Nick taunt his opposition, though what these words are remains a secret for the time being. Kinect also watches controller movement throughout the game, so when players get grabbed by zombies they can shake the controller to try and shake them off. It's a sensible integration and, although it wasn't shown during the demo, sounds like an addition that makes sense without overdoing the reliance on Kinect.

Gamers who watched the Microsoft Conference already know that SmartGlass is integrated within the game, allowing Nick to call down artillery strikes through a military phone he stumbles upon. During our private interview, Dead Rising 3 executive producer Josh Bridge revealed that SmartGlass will feature its own storyline, introducing another character who will communicate through the tablet. As players progress through the game's storyline, they'll unlock more military tools to use and can even find additional quests which wouldn't have become available without using a tablet. As if this wasn't enough, SmartGlass can also be used to set in-game waypoints on the nearest weapons, even narrowing them down by categories. Josh was quick to assure gamers that Dead Rising 3 is still a full and immersive experience on its own, but the tablet offers a great improvement for any playthrough.

Dead Rising 3 is an exclusive Xbox One title that will launch alongside the console in November 2013.

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