3. Dead Rising 2
Capcom's Dead Rising had two things going for it that no other zombie game had: the ability to use anything you could get your hands on as a weapon to cut through countless swaths of the undead, and Frank f*king West. While its follow-up sadly lacked the badassery of the world's most beloved zombie-killing photo-journalist, Dead Rising 2 was a huge leap forward in every (other) possible way. Taking control of the less-interesting extreme motocross champ Chuck Green, players have to survive a zombie breakout in Las Vegas doppelganger Fortune City, while also saving survivors, keeping Chuck's daughter safe and unravelling the mystery of the outbreak. Fans of the original Dead Rising will enjoy Dead Rising 2's drastic improvements of in-game mechanics and A.I., but what really sets Dead Rising 2 apart from its predecessor is the ability to manufacture custom weapons by combining objects together. So instead of just smashing in zombie heads with a bat, why not take them out with a canoe paddle adorned with chainsaws on either end? Stuck with a flashlight and some gems? Well, you can combine them to create a god damn lightsaber! And yes, kids, you can even make Wolverine claws out of boxing gloves and knives! With dozens of weapon-combinations ranging from explosive chunks of meat to a giant machine gun wielding teddy bear, and the ability to take on up to 7,000 zombies on screen at once, Dead Rising 2 has more over-the-top, cartoonish zombie killing mayhem than any other zombie game in existence. And while its simplistic hack and slash approach may lack the depth of something like the Resident Evil games, it is no less satisfying and is actually a lot more fun. And just in case the lack of Frank West turns you off, Capcom released a re-imagined version of Dead Rising 2 called Dead Rising: Off the Record - a sort of "What If?: scenario that places Frank West in Chuck Green's shoes as the man to unravel the mystery behind the Fortune City outbreak. In other words: it's Heaven.