Dead Rising 3

Dead Rising 3 brought the zombie apocalypse series to Xbox One and immediately threw out a number of old rules along the way. The city of Los Perdidos is open, without walls or loading screens, and swarms with hundreds of undead at once — that very crowd was the main argument for why the game launched as a new-console exclusive. You play as mechanic Nick Ramos, who has a few days to get out of quarantine before the army clears the area. The time limit remains, but it's far more forgiving than before, and in an alternative mode it can be turned off entirely, making the game welcoming even to players whom earlier entries put off with their stressful clocks.

The core is still just as gloriously silly: anything lying around is a weapon, and combining items produces absurd tools of destruction. New this time are combined vehicles, so a cross between a steamroller and a motorcycle now rolls through the streets. Alongside the main storyline run side missions rescuing survivors and boss fights against psychopaths who embody individual human vices. The character improves through experience, collects blueprints, and unlocks further madness, keeping the loop of exploring and slaughtering fresh even after many hours. The game also offers two-player co-op across the entire open city, so the campaign can be played start to finish together.

Technically the game chose a compromise: a sharper, grittier, less colorful palette than its predecessors, along with variable frame rate during the biggest hordes. Reviews of the time praised the scale and freedom, while reservations targeted the story and the fact that a more serious tone doesn't entirely suit the series. Even so, it remains one of the Xbox One's most distinctive launch titles and, to this day, an entertaining toy for anyone who wants to try how many zombies can be mowed down at once with a homemade contraption. An interesting extra was the use of the console's companion features of the time, letting you call in an airstrike via a mobile app or follow the map on a second screen.