History
Dead Rising
In the original Dead Rising, Frank is the main playable character. Frank hires a private helicopter piloted by Ed DeLuca to fly him over to the town of Willamette, Colorado after receiving a tip that something big was about to happen. As Ed flies the helicopter over the town, Frank initially believes that there is rioting going on in the streets. He is dropped off on the helipad of the Willamette Parkview Mall, and Ed tells Frank that he will come to pick him up in three days time.
After landing on the helipad of the Willamette Mall, he is greeted by Carlito Keyes. Frank then walks to the mall entrance, where he also sees Isabela Keyes before being told to grab something to barricade the door. He then sees Dr.Barnaby through a gate. Seconds later, Lindsay, an elderly woman, tries to open the entrance doors after she sees her dog Madonna in the zombie crowd in front of the door. She lets the zombies in and Frank hurries up to the security room after Brad shouts for everyone to meet up there. In the saferoom, he then meets Brad Garrison and Jessica McCarney, two agents of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). Though reluctant to accept Frank's help, they eventually realize that working together was in their best interest, due to their communications with the DHS headquarters being blocked, and the only known way out of the mall was via Frank's helicopter that would be coming after three days.
Between working with the duo and helping survivors out of the mall, Frank also comes across Russell Barnaby and siblings Carlito and Isabela Keyes, who know more about the outbreak then they are letting on. After rescuing Barnaby and befriending Isabela, Frank learns that the outbreak was caused by government experiments that went on in the town of Santa Cabeza (somewhere in Central America) and that this attack was retaliation against a government cover-up.
After confronting Carlito about the attack, Frank and Isabela work together and find a way to unblock the communications between them and the DHS. However, after contacting their HQ, Jessica learns that the government has initiated a clean-up operation and that everyone in the mall, including them, will be killed.
After hiding from the army for a short time, Frank and Isabela make their way to the helipad at the mall to make their escape only to quickly have their hopes dashed, as the helicopter crashes in the middle of the park. Frank and Isabela make their way back to the hideout, where Frank learns that he has been infected. Isabela asks Frank to gather ingredients so that she can make Frank a temporary vaccine.
After obtaining the supplies needed for the vaccine, Frank and Isabela make their way out of the mall via an underground tunnel. It is there that they confront the military about the outbreak, but as the zombies approach, Brock Mason (a soldier) attacks Frank to proceed with the clean-up operation. Frank manages to defeat Brock. Frank and Isabela proceed to escape the town and to tell the world about the true events at Willamette and Santa Cabeza.
Three weeks later after Willamette, Frank tried to expose the Pentagon and the U.S government for the involvement with the incident, but due to lack of sufficient evidence, he was buried - though the government was forced to admit their involvement in the livestock program.
Dead Rising: Road to Fortune
Around two years after the Willamette Incident, despite his infection with the zombie wasp larvae, Frank became something of a celebrity, starring on his own TV Show, Uncovered. However, the ratings on the show had begun to drop after a couple of seasons and it wasn't long before Frank's agent, Clay Hurlton informed him that the studio was pulling the plug.
Furious, Frank insults Clay (inevitably helping to create Terror is Reality) before hanging up the phone and beginning to dust off his camera. Prior to hearing the news of his show's cancellation, Frank had been interested in getting Rebecca Chang to appear on it. Amidst growing suspicions of government coverups of small, contained zombie outbreaks in the Midwest, Rebecca had been investigating the matter in an attempt to uncover the truth, but with little success. Even so, after hearing some of her reports and recalling the brutality of the Special Forces back in Willamette, Frank had several reasons to take Rebecca's side of things.
Feeling that it was finally time to return to field reporting and hang up the celebrity status for a while, Frank makes a call to Rebecca and asks to join in her investigation. Rebecca is skeptical of Frank at first, due to the fact that he hasn't done much field reporting since Willamette. However, she agrees after thinking it over, seeing it as a chance to become famous just as Frank did.
Rebecca and Frank have their first meeting at a diner in Hubbard Gulch, Nevada and agree to team up and work together, believing Fortune City to be their best lead. However, Rebecca insists that she is "in charge," to which Frank has no argument.
Rebecca and Frank make one final appearance at the end of the series covering the ongoing zombie outbreak in Las Vegas from the closest possible location. The military, led by Captain John Kilduff, had already blockaded the roads leading out of the city and refused to give any comments regarding the situation.
Rebecca tries to charm some of the soldiers with her beauty in order to get more information, but Captain Kilduff takes notice and coldly orders her away. Rebecca herself had a run-in with this person before and she knows that he's simply just a rock that refuses to be moved; so she gives up.
Before Frank and Rebecca continue with their report, Frank exchanges a few short words with the Captain. Kilduff claims that he had been a good friend of Brock Mason, Commander of the Special Forces whom Frank had crossed paths with in Willamette. Kilduff angrily states that he knew Frank was responsible for Mason's death, and vowed to have his revenge someday. Frank tells the Captain that he looks forward to it.
Frank and Rebecca are last seen making their report on the outskirts of Vegas near one of the military roadblocks; Kilduff still nearby. With only limited information to work with, Rebecca starts narrating the broadcast which Chuck Greene would tune in to at the beginning of Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. Meanwhile, Frank takes pictures with his camera.
Dead Rising 2: Case West
In Dead Rising 2: Case West, Frank arrives in Fortune City and finds Chuck Greene being attacked by a zombified Tyrone King. Frank saves Chuck, then identifies him as the one behind the outbreak. Chuck tells him that Phenotrans set him up and asks for Frank's help to clear his name. Frank and Chuck head to the Phenotrans facility to contact Frank's source.
Frank and Chuck learn Frank's source is Isabela Keyes, who was forced to work for Phenotrans. Marian Mallon then shows up and tells them that she managed to cure herself of the zombie infection and keep it away from the public. Marian activates the factory's self-destruct mechanism, taking Isabela with her. Chuck tries to stay behind and frantically search for the cure, but Frank convinces him to get out just in time.
Outside of the facility, Chuck ponders on the difference a cure could make to the world, but Frank says it could have been a lie, and they at least have the proof to clear Chuck's name. Frank then notices he lost his Zombrex in the facility, but Chuck gives him a box he found earlier, claiming that the world still needs Frank West.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
NOTE: Frank's character in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is considered non-canon, though it may reflect his desires to be famous again.
In this "what-if" scenario of the Fortune City incident, Frank West returns as the main protagonist and carries a role very similar to his role in Dead Rising. Frank narrates through the opening, telling of his rise to fame to his downfall and his hope to "get back in the game."
After competing in Terror is Reality, Frank comes across his next big story as he witnesses shady dealings happening between T.K. and Brandon Whittaker, a member of the zombie protest group CURE.
As the zombie outbreak in Fortune City unravels, Frank discovers the Fortune City Emergency Shelter and takes shelter from the chaos in the city. Unable to find Zombrex in the shelter, he sets out to the Royal Flush Plaza in order to find his daily dose. He enlists the help of Stacey Forsythe and will later team up with her (and later Rebecca Chang) to find the truth behind the Fortune City outbreak.
Dead Rising: Watchtower
In the film, Dead Rising: Watchtower, West was called in to be interviewed on a news network when the East Mission outbreak was beginning. When the outbreak became full-scale, Frank remained on a live feed for its entirety.
In the film, Frank appears to be much more calm and relaxed than he had been in his previous appearances. It's also possible that he once again gained some fame after partially exposing Phenotrans during the events of Case West with Chuck Greene. This could potentially explain his attitude being more light-hearted.
At the end of the film, when the government officially announces its plan to insert Zombrex chips into infected citizens, Frank responds relatively relaxed but warns of the potential dangers of the situation. It is unknown whether or not Frank allowed himself to be chipped.
Dead Rising 3
Although he doesn't make an appearance, Frank is mentioned multiple times throughout the game. A cardboard cutout of him (as well as Chuck Greene and Carlito Keyes) can be found in the museum, as well as a short biography stating that he is currently a zombie consultant and public speaker. He was also mentioned by Chuck Greene while he and Nick were pursuing Hemlock. Isabela Keyes mentions him while discussing the cure with Marian Mallon and accuses him and Chuck of leaving her to die after the incident at the Phenotrans Facility. He doesn't make an appearance due to cutting all ties to the other characters. If he had appeared in the game, Frank would be 51 years old.
Frank Statues are also one of the main collectibles in the game, an obvious homage to Frank being absent from the game.
Frank is one of four playable characters in a DLC for the Xbox One version of Dead Rising 3 called Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition. He appears along with other characters of Dead Rising games including Chuck Greene, Nick Ramos, and Annie. He appears as he looked during the original Dead Rising.
Dead Rising 4
Frank returns as the main protagonist in Dead Rising 4. He's a college teacher majoring in investigative journalism now and has a pupil named Vick. Due to his experience with zombie outbreaks, he's become more pragmatic, cynical, highly sarcastic and also somewhat less sympathetic to people, which sometimes makes him at odds with Vick. Throughout the course of the game, it's a race against the clock to not only get the scoop on the new Willamette outbreak, but also to best his pupil.
Near the end of the game, he falls from the helicopter after Vick and Brad successfully board it. The horde of zombies chasing the trio stop Frank from boarding it and he sacrifices himself to let Brad and Vick escape. Frank's last words to Vick were "Keep your eye on the prize," before letting go. Frank was subsequently turned into a zombie and wandered Willamette eating people before being discovered by Hammond and Dr. Blackburne. Frank is given a treatment by Blackburne to restore control over his body. With limited time before Willamette is firebombed by the Pentagon, Frank works with Blackburne to gather supplies and reach Barnaby's lab to cure himself and escape with the remaining survivors.
After getting his body restored, Frank escapes Willamette with Blackburne. If Frank fails to collect all of the Princess wasps, Hammond and her team will die with only Frank and Blackburne escaping alive. It is revealed in a message that after this, Frank quit his job as a journalist and disappeared from the public eye. No one never learned about Frank's time as a zombie and that towards his dying day, he was plagued with nightmares of death, blood, and insatiable hunger. If Frank collects all of the Princess wasps, then Hammond and her team escape with Frank and Blackburne. Soon after escaping, Frank becomes famous again, writing a book about his experience as a zombie that becomes a bestseller, and exposes the government's involvement with Obscuris with Vick's help.
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