Dead Rising/Genom's Walkthrough

From HelpMeWithMyGameProblems.com

From Shacknews' genom

I've found the easiest way to get better is to play through the beginning segments (Helicopter ride through "Backup for Brad"), then just see how long you can survive.

I have a HDD and a memory card, so I use my saves thusly:

• HDD: Save in the Security Room after rescuing the first survivors, then again in the health club after you finish "Backup for Brad"
• Memory card: Save after you die. Restart from this save to keep XP.

Every time I run through, I seem to be getting a little faster. Less than 1/2 hour from game start to saving in the health club now.

Important points in the first segment:

(Warning: I've spoilered most important plot-related stuff, but this might spoil some early-game moments for you. You've been warned.)

1. Pics from the chopper will boost your pp a bit, but don't worry too much about it. Biggest bonus I've managed is 1,000 from the exploding gas station.
2. If you can manage it, you can take some 1500+pp pics in Entrance Park right after the old bitch lets the zombies in. I've found the bottom of the stairs to be a fairly good vantage point. Just don't go too far up, or you'll trigger the next sequence.
3. The first couple you rescue will hug when reunited. Take a pic of them hugging for a 10,000pp bonus. If you can time it right, you can get this twice - once as they begin to hug, and another just before they stop. Either way, 10k is nothing to sneeze at.
4. When you're heading back out, skip the elevator, and go around to the door. You'll enter the top level of the warehouse, where you can pick up a 2x4 and sledgehammer. Both are excellent weapons.
5. Screw Otis. Don't bother answering his calls...yet.
6. Don't forget to change your camera's batteries in the shop just after you enter Paradise Plaza.
7. Grab the uzi and the katana, but don't use them. You'll want to save them for the upcoming boss. (The katana wears out *way* too quickly)
8. Grab 2 books from the bookstores. You want "Horror Novel 2" (increases pp from zombie kills) and "Camera 1" (increases pp from pictures you take). You probably don't have enough inventory space to carry more than 2 without gimping your capacity. If you can only take one, take the Horror Novel.
9. Hit up the restaurants for a 2,000pp bonus for using the frying pan with the stove in each. While you're there, make sure you grab an OJ. OJ heals 4 boxes of health. That's good stuff.
10. Once you have OJ, the uzi, the katana, both books, and (hopefully) one melee weapon left, head into Lesiure Park. If you need a melee weapon, there's 2 baseball bats in the trees just outside. Keep going past these, and a bit to the right. Eventually you'll see a break in the mall wall. Head for it.
11. Down that passage you'll find a parking lot with a motorcycle and a car. Get in the car and head down into the parking garage. There are a LOT of zombies here. We're down here to get the Maintenance key and a bunch of PP from zombie kills. Take a right at the bottom of the ramp, your first left after that, then your first right. At the dead end you'll see a door. In that room you'll find the Maintenance key (back right corner), another uzi (back left corner), and a bunch of sledgehammers. When you're done, get back in the car, and retrace your path back out to the parking lot.
12. Change cars if you'd like, and drive out into Lesiure Park again, this time following your arrow to the Food Court. Run over as many zombies on the way as you can for the killcount bonuses. The door to the food court will be mobbed, and the car's a bit unweildy to get close. There's a convenient weapon to the right of the entrance. Use it to clear the doorway, then go inside and prepare for a boss fight.
13. Carlito is a pain until you realize the pistol sucks, and you shouldn't even bother with it. Take a hint from him, and use the uzi instead. I like to run up into the food court itself, position myself behind one of the posts, and snipe him with the uzi until he runs out across the top of the stores. Then swap around to the other side of the post, and pick him off. Shouldn't take long. I've also had good success with the katana here. Climb up on the boxes, then onto the walkway. Time it so you do this when Carlito is to your right, so you can easily get close. Then...well...whack away =) Shouldn't take more than 3-4 hits. You may get pasted by his uzi for 1-2 blocks of health, but that's nothing some OJ can't take care of. I prefer the uzi, but both methods work fine.
14. Once that's done, patch yourself up and follow along to Al Fresca. Just after the doors you'll find a health club on the right, and a hardware store to your left. Go into the health club. For a rather large pp bonus, run on all the treadmills until you get 2000pp for each. The last one will give you an additional 10,000pp. Save at the restroom in the corner.
15. Now, if you're confident in your skills, head on to the next mission. If not (or you just want to level), this is a damn fine spot. Lots of zombies, and a very convenient hardware store with some fun toys (chainsaws, hedge trimmers) and an infinite supply of sickles. (You can always zone to respawn the consumables too) Have at it =)
16. When you die, save your progress and repeat until you're as powerful as you like.

I'm not sure at what point you can go back to the Warehouse and unlock the Queen Bees. If you can do this early, it'll definitely help. I know it's possible after completing "An Odd Old Man".

I'm purposefully avoiding going back to Lesiure Park after dark. The convicts are a huge pain in the ass for me. I *have* managed to get back a couple times without them even noticing me, so YMMV if you decide to try.

There are pp stickers all over the place you can boost your score with. I generally get a couple easy ones as I pass by, but to really maximize your score through this segment, you'll want a guide to their locations. There's a decent one in the GameFAQs forums (hive of scum and villainy that they are, they're sometimes useful).