It's tough to say. Dead Rising 2 featured a LOT of improvements in controls and AI which made a big difference. However, the weapons crafting system changed the game a lot. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it made the experience different. Instead of desperately searching for weapons to protect yourself, it was about creating a few powerful weapons near your safehouse. Less survival horror, more action. So, I think I prefer the first.

My favorite is the original Dead Rising. It had the biggest impact on me. Love DR2 as well though. Soon Ill be able to finally play DR3 and Im getting DR4 this year as well. I have OTR, but haven't played it.

Damn... Some reason I was thinking Red Dead Redemption... I always was semi interested in Dead Rising game though. Might eventually pick it up during a winter or summer sale. Right now I'm busy with XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Borderlands 2 GOTY on Steam.

The first and the second were amazing.
The third one, the Xbox One Dead Rising, was like a 70´s horror movie and it was the first "next gen" game I have played. It was a very cool game also.

A Dead Rising thread. Nice!

This is one of my favorite action game series

I'd personally rank them:

1. Dead Rising
2. Dead Rising 2
3. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
4. Dead Rising 3

Though DR and DR2 are practically tied for me. I enjoyed DR immensely back on Xbox 360 but DR2 came close with its cheesy (read: awesome) plot lines, custom weapons and boss battles. Naturally, I love the time limits as well.