It's somewhat appropriate that on the front of the box of Dead Rising is a disclaimer to the effect that the game isn't based on the George A Romero zombie movie, Dawn Of The Dead. Slow moving zombies? Stuck in a shopping arcade? Severely outnumbered protagonist? It's, erm, amazing that they even feel the need to point it out...

Dead Rising, though, has plenty fighting for it in its own right, not only showcasing the quality that the second wave of titles for the Xbox 360 is likely to bring, but also demonstrating that Capcom, on form and in home territory, is a force to be reckoned with.

The usual array of cut-scenes sets things up. You play a freelance photographer heading for a small town in America on the feeling that something's going to happen. It's a rather good hunch, too, as the town - particularly the shopping mall - is being overrun with zombies. Ever the good freelance, off you pop to try to get some photos, only for you to end up stuck on top of the aforementioned mall with no hope of rescue for precisely 72 hours.

From there, the game is open to play as you wish. The 'proper' route would have you uncovering the mystery of what's behind all these zombies in the first place, while helping out the assorted characters who are trapped in there with you (and, naturally, snapping a few lucrative pictures along the way).

Or you can abandon the main plot and simply hide if you want, or spend your time cutting down the masses of zombies using anything vaguely interesting at hand. Dead Rising lets you use pretty much everything you can find as a weapon, and while some are more effective than others (we found the lawnmower and chainsaw far more useful than the stack of CDs from the record shop), the game is very flexible in what you can employ by means of offensive weapon. There's a lot of fun to be had.

This is not a small shopping mall we're talking about, either, and when you factor in the outside areas as well, there's plenty to explore. This opens up some surprising variety: different shops to 'retrieve' potential weapons from, under-construction zones, horribly thin corridors packed with zombies, etc. All of which means that you could happily return to Dead Rising long after you finish it (it'll take around ten hours to get through the first time) and still enjoy it as much.

It's simply remorselessly good fun, especially so when you have to cut through huge swarms of oncoming zombies in a way reminiscent of Gauntlet all those years ago. Add on the intriguing plot and the result is a rounded, extremely enjoyable way to spend time with a 360.

With just a couple of complaints. There's a handful of occasions where the camera does you no favours (although, to be fair, these are few and far between) and it can be really tricky to read the text on screen for those with standard sets.

Throw in a few moments where you seem to be traipsing round the map for longer than you'd like - not helped by the hardly generous array of save game points - and that's the sum total of the small flies in the otherwise savoury ointment. Because, bottom line, Dead Rising is great fun and a worthy reason to lighten your bank account by a few notes. Even Mr Romero might be tempted.

A quality, genuinely next generation video game - as you'll see when there are umpteen zombies on screen - that's funny, action-packed and a little bit tense too.