Frank West is an investigative photojournalist that got caught up in a zombie outbreak in Willimet Mall. Frank was sent in to discover why the town of Willimet had been sealed off by the military. Upon flying by Frank witnessed savage attacks on occurring all across the town. After a short while he requested to be dropped off and picked up 72 hours later on top of the Mall. His pilot took off and his investigation began. Frank encountered all kinds of terrors in the mall such as zombies, cults, psychopaths, and mad generals. In the game you can choose whether or not to assist other survivors. Assisting others and solving the cause of the outbreak can increase your rating and when the game ends you get a different ending depending on your success.

Frank also appears in Dead Rising 2 as a competitor and appears to be both infected and have gained weight. Frank requires doses of Zombrex to stay living. Frank West will also be the main protagonist in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. Which will be a retelling of the sequel from Frank's perspective with lots of changes to events and stories. He also is playable in Marvel vs Capcom 3 Ultimate Edition.