Platforms: Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 PC
Developers: Capcom/Blue Castle
Players: Offline – Single Player / Online – 2 Player Co-Op / Max 4 Player Competitive Mode
If you thought we were obsessed with Zombies it’s pretty clear that Capcom, one of the most well known gaming companies in the world, are just as obsessed with the walking dead as we are! Who can blame them! The prospect of a Zombie invasion/apocalypse/shopping mall raid is always hanging over the head of a potential survivor and the gaming industry itself has relied on these creatures for plots, bosses and cannon fodder for years.
The Dead Rising games are a little different to any of the other Zombie games we’ve played though and that difference has managed to set it apart from the rest and garnish a huge following of gaming and Zombie enthusiasts. Dead Rising was released four years ago and exclusively to the Xbox 360 with a Wii remake following it in 2009.
The game allowed you to take on the role of Frank West, photo journalist, trying to survive a Zombie horde and expose the cause of the outbreak all while rescuing other survivors and beating down the undead monsters.
Dead Rising 2 is bigger, better and bloodier and here’s why…
Plot
Following on from the events of the first game, Dead Rising 2 is based five years after the events of the first game. You are Chuck Green, a former motor cross champion now struggling to get by in a new world. Desperately seeking money, Chuck takes part in a brand new reality TV game show where contestants must maim and kill as many Zombies as they can for cash, fame and the top prize. ‘Terror is Reality’.
After the show ends, Chuck heads backstage to find his daughter Katie but there is an explosion and suddenly the infected are free and terror is roaming the streets of Fortune City. Taking his daughter, who herself was bitten several years ago, to a nearby bunker. Chuck desperately seeks ‘Zombrex’ a medicine that keeps the virus at bay. However it soon becomes clear that the explosion was no accident and someone is trying to frame Chuck for the attack, with only three days to clear his name Chuck must keep his daughter alive, rescue survivors and clear his name before the military rescue roll in and he is convicted.
Gameplay
The system is very similar to the original game but a few things have changed with the sequel. Firstly Chuck is not a photographer and so the photo element of the original game has been dropped (no more snap shooting Zombies in sexy poses). Everything around you is still considered a potential weapon from plates to jewellery, park benches to foam fingers and now we have the added option of combining weapons to make a super weapon – baseball bat + nails = pointier and deadlier baseball bat.
The game still works on a levelling system, earning PP from killing zombies, rescuing survivors, defeating psychopaths and doing other quirky things.
We now have an online mode of play, either co-op with a friend to take down the hordes of Fortune City faster or enter into the reality TV show ‘Terror is Reality’ to earn big bucks to spend on upgrading Chuck’s arsenal.
Playing Dead Rising 2 is simple there is nothing awkward about the controls or the levelling system if we have any gripe with the gameplay it’s that Chuck moves too slowly and controlling him feels a little sluggish at the start but that improves as you level.
Case Zero and Case West
Ever wondered what happened to Frank West after Dead Rising? Well wonder no more as downloadable content is being released very shortly that will show the former hero taking up his camera once more to help his replacement clear his name in ‘Case West’. Co-producer Shinsaku Ohara has also mentioned that Frank will be able shoot some photos as well, “It’s part of Frank. So when Frank comes back, so does the photography.”
Case Zero has already been released and gives an insight into the lives of Chuck Green and his daughter Katie in the events that led to Katie’s infection and how the family coped with the loss of his wife and Katie’s mother. The game sold over 300,000 copies in it’s first week and became the fast selling game on Xbox Live Arcade.
Overall
If you are a fan of the survival action genre and you enjoy your horror then you should go out of your way to pick yourself up a copy of Dead Rising 2. If you are a little cagey after playing the first one and aren’t sure whether you are willing to put up with the same rigmarole as the last game, don’t worry! Things have changed and serious improvements have been made to the game.
There are one or two bits and pieces that still drive us mad, we are not big on the 72hour time limit but we weren’t fans of that in the first game either, trying to complete several tasks while being texted about four new cases does drives a bit mad but only because we are such sticklers for punctuality and timekeeping.
The AI for both survivors and Zombies have also improved, survivors are no longer hapless morons willing to charge into a hungry crowd of flesh eaters but they will still swing wildly and fire randomly (usually at the expense of our health bar). There is longevity in Dead Rising 2, with the new online multiplayer and the forthcoming downloadable content.
Now if you will excuse us we are busy duct-taping our chainsaws to the motorcycle we just found and we feel like going for a drive….
Good Points
Bloody and gory smashing fun
Plenty of tasks to keep you occupied
Customisable weapons
Bad Points
Graphics/cut scenes aren’t anything to write home about
Time keeping is frustrating
Rating
8/10
