After several months of so-so looking footage featuring muted colors and a flagging framerate, I had begun to lose hope on Dead Rising 3

First things first: how’s the performance? Dead Rising 3 features massive packs of zombies roaming the ruined streets of an open world that’s reportedly larger than that of the first two games combined. In earlier builds, it didn’t look like the game engine could handle the stress, but the latest round of optimizing has all but completely eliminated the issue. Capcom is targeting 720P/30fps and at this point Dead Rising 3 is hitting that 90% of the time. The other 10% usually involved craziness like igniting and flattening hundreds of zombies at once with a steamroller-equipped, fire-spewing motorcycle – and in those cases I didn’t mind so much because of THE STEAMROLLER-EQUIPPED, FIRE-SPEWING MOTORCYCLE! Loading

The almost illegally fun rollerhawg is just one of around a dozen custom vehicles you can cobble together in Dead Rising 3. There’s a ton of ground to cover in Los Perdidos, so why not cover it in style and safety? Throw together a Junk Truck, fire ricocheting propane missiles into pockets of undead and watch zombie parts fill the air like fleshy confetti.

No wheels? No problem! The new super combo weapons can clear hordes of shambling brain-cravers with shocking efficiency. You build these suckers in stages by combining three or more weapons and the results do not disappoint. One of them had me swooping around with a dragon head on, spewing fire and cutting fools to ribbons with makeshift katana blade claws. If that sounds like too much fun though, you can always keep it low-key with computerized talking axes, or motorcycle engine-powered boxing gloves. Needless to say, you can put to rest any fears of Dead Rising 3 steering the franchise into darker, heavier waters.

The world and the crafting aren’t all that’ve expanded either. Our hero Nick Ramos can be leveled up and built out in far more different ways than his forebearers. In fact, there’s a few RPGs out there that have less customization than Dead RIsing 3 serves up. As you earn PP and level up you gain attribute points which can be spent on one of seven different stats or 22 different crafting categories. At certain milestones, new perks open up, further expanding your combat options. Of course, the sickest ones are locked away until level 50, but once you get there, you’ll become a nigh unstoppable zombie-slaying juggernaut. Loading

Which is the perfect time to try out the new nightmare difficulty. Since so many players took issue with the restrictive time element of Dead Rising 2, DR3 loosens it up considerably, giving players around double the time to work with as well as the ability to save anywhere through the pause menu to boot. Nightmare mode dials up the urgency with tighter time limits, tougher zombies, and a return to the limited “bathroom save” system of the first two games. It’s tough to tell how elegant of a solution this will wind up being from just a couple of hours or play time, but in theory, this could be a best of both worlds solution to one of the series’ most divisive issues.

Before, I was thinking of skipping Capcom Vancouver’s Xbox One launch title, but now I plan on making it a part of my launch on the 22nd. There’s obviously no way of knowing how it will pan out in the long run, but I saw more than enough positive in my time with it to wipe away the worries I once had.

For more on Dead Rising 3 throughout the week, be sure to stay tuned to IGN. Here’s what you missed from Day 1 and Day 2

Vincent Ingenito is IGN's third newest recruit, and third biggest MOBA fan. He also doesn't suck at fighting games. To hear him nerd out about them and other games, follow him on Twitter