Character Chronicle: Tom Pickton

Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.

My feelings towards Dead Rising 4 are well known. It takes most of the series’ defining qualities and dilutes or omits them. Narratively, the game’s greatest accomplishment is its decompensating of Frank West, Dead Rising’s beloved original protagonist. On its own terms, meanwhile, 4 is a slapdash imbroglio rife with glitches, awkward controls, and a barren, boring map. Altogether, there are very few genuinely positive things I can say about this entry. But, however fleeting they may be, Dead Rising 4 does have a few flickers of life. Let’s unearth one of them.

Tom Pickton, seen in 2016’s Dead Rising 4 (Image: Capcom)

Vick Chu is Frank’s favorite student and impetus for investigating the latest zombie outbreak. Before Frank arrives at Willamette, Vick’s already there, acquainting herself with a ragtag group of survivors whose leader becomes 4’s tertiary antagonist. Nurturing “delusions of grandeur,” this man… ultimately doesn’t amount to much, yet nevertheless left an impression on me.

Tom Pickton’s History

Somewhere during the events of the original Dead Rising, Tom peacefully lived with his family. Sadly, the Picktons were attacked by the undead, with its patriarch emerging as the only survivor. Shaken, the guy began preparing for a second outbreak. One eventually arises sixteen years later.

In case anyone missed the memo, this guy isn’t sane or to be trusted. (Image: Capcom)

By the time Frank arrives, Tom’s compound is well-established — and, unlike the safe houses dotting Willamette, secure. While exploring the town, Frank is tranquilized and taken there. After the photographer awakens, Tom explains that Vick sold out his camp to Obscuris, the military unit threatening Willamette. Other topics of discussion include Frank noting he needs to break through the dam, Tom begrudgingly suggesting he asks the city engineer, Kylie Hammond, for help, and Tom ominously calling Frank “one of his own.” Things happen and Tom’s instability grows, leading him to banish people, imprison others, and leave his former second in command partially blind. Additionally, documents reveal Tom is secretly funding the looters swarming Willamette, using them to further his agenda. Understandably, the still-injured Kylie enacts a coup to oust the madman. It fails, and Tom tries executing her. Thankfully, Frank shows up, saves her, and she kills Tom, ending his reign.

So, what’re my thoughts on Tom?

One of Dead Rising 4‘s most glaring issues is its bosses. In the first Rising, all of its psychopaths are memorable, sporting elaborate backstories, fighting styles, and designs. Dead Rising 2 and its offshoots upheld this, and while 3’s psychopaths are tonally off, at least it still hosts a bevy of them. As a consequence of developmental woes, proper psychopaths were abandoned for 4 (one was conceptualized, but scrapped). However, a compromise was made by introducing maniacs, a handful of uninspired bosses who share three tactics: lunge at you, swing their weapon, and summon goons. DR4’s mandatory bosses aren’t any better, though a few of them at least have personalities.

Some speculate that Tom’s inspired by Robert Pickton, a real world serial killer. (Image: Capcom)

That brings us to Tom, whose boss fight is the game’s most robust, on-point one. In a welcome break from his peers, Tom employs an actual (albeit still very basic) strategy: he hides behind wooden barriers. Occasionally, the boastful coward emerges briefly to take a potshot or toss an explosive, all the while his armada swarms Frank. Narratively, a unique backstory also undergirds Tom, elevating him further. When accounting for the looters, Tom’s shadow looms over the whole town, even after his death. Altogether, the guy certainly carries a weightier presence than, say, Sadistic Claus, who unceremoniously appears and dies.

Unfortunately, this is still Dead Rising 4. Neither Willamtte’s faux savior nor his stooges pose any meaningful threat, rendering Tom just a smidge less pitiable than his contemporaries. Plus, he lacks nuance. With three or so exceptions, 4’s cast is already a parade of goofy, unrelatable caricatures, forcing Capcom Vancouver to exaggerate Tom’s instability to a comical extent. While a lack of subtly isn’t inherently a flaw, it does betray the complex character we could’ve gotten. Is Tom still mourning the loss of his family, informing his lust for power and desire to “protect” people? A few stray lines suggest those under Tom’s charge don’t particularly like him, friction I would’ve liked to see in a greater capacity. For a game that supposedly wants to portray its characters as wounded, multilayered people, Tom is just a one-dimensional nutjob. Sadly, that was probably unavoidable; Dead Rising’s head writer left during 4’s production, and there wasn’t enough time to polish its script.

Christopher Bay voices Tom, his first role in a video game since portraying Kip Waterman in 2002’s Dead to Rights. (Image: Capcom)

Strangely, this hoopla has little bearing on anything. In terms of the game’s core conflicts, all stopping Tom accomplishes is giving Frank a proverbial key to open Calder’s lair. Admittedly, there is something poetic about the wannabe hero lacking narrative import, but it still problematically leaves his subplot feeling like a waste of time. Which is a shame, since it didn’t have to. Now, Vick loathes Frank and had spoken ill of him to Kylie. When Vick reenters the picture near the climax, Tom’s former underling could’ve intervened, explaining how Frank risked his life to save hers. This would’ve directly linked the resolution of Tom’s plot to Vick’s, organically helping catalyze her reconciliation with Frank. Unfortunately, it remains mostly compartmentalized, only getting a small payoff during the Frank Rising DLC by resolving Frank’s dumb fist bump running gag.

Boss fights are historically one of Dead Rising’s strongest qualities. None of Dead Rising 4‘s generic, lifeless thugs honor that. Honestly, Tom is barely the best of these jokers, but his showdown at least vaguely resembles those of yore. DR4 also lacks likable, fleshed out characters, and Tom certainly isn’t one. But I left the game remembering him, wishing we saw a better version of the disgraced dairy farmer. That is something positive I can say about Dead Rising 4, and I hope a future Rising answers his potential through a new, more realized grief stricken survivor.

Congratulations, Tom! Walk the path of hellfire.

It isn’t even satisfying or cathartic watching Tom go down. Oh well, at least I’m almost done with Dead Rising 4 — all I have left to cover is a large, mutated zombie… (Image: Capcom)

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Cart Boy

Cart Boy wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. When the stars align properly, he also writes articles, edits his peers' work, and helps run Source Gaming's social media.

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