* Health bars. Because it's fashionable these days.
* Missions don't seem to have time limits anymore.
* Lack of interactivity with the environment (THIS CHAIR... cannot be picked up or used in any way. Same with all the others.)
* Can't pick up items from shelves in a lot of areas.
* No little details like gore from dead bodies.
* Chainsaw no longer needs to be revved.
* Chainsaw blade doesn't make blood upon hitting enemies.
* Less gore overall than in the first game. Thanks, Mom.
* QTEs that don't involve getting grabbed.
* Funky Baseball Bat hitboxes.
* Weapons like swords are a bit too OP because there's no cooldown/recovery time. Sure, maybe Frank knows how to use a sword properly without leaving himself open for attack, but on the player's end that's just "mindlessly mash X."
* It's REALLY easy to push away zombies. In the first game, upon running into a zombie head-on, Frank actually bumps into it and stops running.
* Zombies no longer grab you?
* Zombies ignore hunks of meat, unlike the first game.
* Zombies look kind of like they ran out of Left 4 Dead. Emphasis on "Ran" because they do that now.
* Zombies no longer have the damage output they once did, and even a completely pacifistic Frank has nothing to fear from a crowd or horde.
* No zombie face/mouth animations.
* Jumping does not have a cooldown/recovery time, allowing you to bunnyhop your way through hordes.
* The Judo Throw no longer rips off the zombie's fucking hand even though the zombies appear to be weaker than we've ever seen them.
* Frank's voice actor does not sound like the one from the first game. In fact, I don't really like his new voice at all.
* Frank's kicks now have the power to pulp zombie bodies.
* Food is... Instantly consumed upon pickup? Or it has a separate inventory? Either A) You can't store food for later use [Such as a Psychopath battle] or B) You no longer have to decide between weapons or healing, making the game easier. Also removes the possibility of pie-in-the-face moments.
* Fire extinguishers are much stronger than in the first game. Or real life. Sure, it explains why the freeze cannon (water gun + fire extinguisher) works, but did we even need that explanation in the first place?
* You now see the amount of time you have to use continuous weapons instead of a percentage.
* Particles like ping pong balls disappear upon contact with walls?
* Cash registers don't have the relevant particles. Same goes for plant pots.
* Whole mannequins cannot be picked up. You must break them and then pick up the parts. I'm sorry, I mean PART. Singular. Because videogames.
* Trash cans only contain this game. That is, trash. Sure, in the first game, there's no reason why there should be handguns and knives and bats in the trash, but it gave them a purpose. In 2 this was further improved by having the trash cans contain food and the like. In this game, however, there is no more purpose to using them at all aside from an extreme emergency.
* Objects that appeared in previous games no longer appear as anything other than eye candy. Eye candy that is not the purpose of a video game.
* Ovens and stoves cannot be used at all. No more golden brown pizzas or burning zombies with frying pans. That's just fine since you won't need to eat the pizzas since the zombies aren't worth burning with frying pans.
* Blenders can no longer be used. That's fine, since mixed drinks are intended to aid in your fight against the horde, and the horde is no longer worth fighting.
* Objects no longer respond to the player's strikes.
* Doors cannot be closed once opened.
* Blood effects appear when you're not in combat, like when you're pushing against a door.
* Doors do not affect zombies. They don't knock them down, for instance.
* A spray bottle of Windex is the perfect tool for breaking glass. Vandals rejoice!
* Throwing is made much easier, as Frank is able to predict the path of his throws and where they will land. * Little details like plates and CDs (which do not appear in DR4) running out do not appear.
* The hockey stick no longer shoots pucks. While this finally makes sense, it takes away the character it has. Additionally, you no longer have a weapon that shoots around corners. Not that you'll need one since zombies are no longer dangerous anyway.
* Items like cooking oil are now in tougher plastic containers than before, and are no longer destroyed when thrown. They do make sloshing sounds when they're moved about, which is a nice detail. However, you can no longer slip zombies by spilling cooking oil.
* Mirrors are shoddy at best. You won't be able to see zombies coming when you're styling your hair. You also won't be able to style your hair since you can't see it, either.
* Your mirror twin is apparently attempting to rebel against you, as your reflection does not necessarily reflect Frank's current positioning and aiming. They do, however, perfectly reflect the fate of the series if games like these continue to be put out; very dark at best.
* While the mirrors are low quality, they are, at least, indestructible. Maybe you should rip one off its wall and use it as a weapon! Wait, you can't do that. You never could in earlier games and you certainly can't now that interactivity with the environment is no longer a thing.
* Items like the Servbot head also do not properly act as mirrors, as their reflection looks like a single sprite glued to the item's model.
* We no longer have magnet hands, instead we just have magic hands. Instead of remaining in your hand when you do something like rolling, your current active object disappears.
* Everything is secretly made of the same material, and makes the same bullet impact sound when shot.
* Frank became a disciple of stealth in between games, and has now learned to muffle the noises his clothing makes. He still needs to work on his footstep sounds, though.
* Everyone's mouth is slightly open. They should make sure flies (or wasps) don't fly in there.
* Character models occasionally flicker back and forth.
* Friendly fire is off, removing all challenge from the survivor escort missions that were a pain in the ass in previous games. Completely reversing the issue does not improve the quality of the game overall.
* Survivors are aware that friendly fire is off, and will not react to the player's attempts to liberate them from the torture of being a character in a poorly made videogame. They will not react at all, in fact. Contrast this to the first game; while survivors are stupid, they at least know when a gun's pointed at them, and will eventually attack you if you aim at them for too long.
* Escort missions do not exist. Instead, everyone has teleporters.
* Clocks do not move.
* The fourth game is not like the first.
TL;DR
The game needs to be improved.
The "dev" "team" needs to play the first two games to understand what the basic premise and gameplay of Dead Rising is.
The game engine needs to be improved.
P.S. In Japanese, the word for "Four" sounds exactly the same as the word for "Death".
Perhaps the devs are doing this on purpose? Just an insane crackpot theory from someone too young and stupid to have insane crackpot theories, but do we really know what the "devs" are planning?