Dead Rising 2

By Keza MacDonald Published 30 August, 2010

Apocalypse new.

As well as being bold, unique and interestingly divisive, Dead Rising was one of the most baffling games of its generation. It constantly teetered on the edge of parody. Was it intentionally making fun of America and its zombie films, with its obese lesbian police officers and chainsaw-juggling clowns? Or was it an honest but strange homage, a Western horror staple viewed through a Japanese cultural filter?

Assuming the latter to be true, Dead Rising 2 (developed by Canadian studio Blue Castle Games) is a Western interpretation of a Japanese interpretation of Western zombie horror – which gives it the potential to be even stranger. Alternatively, a Western worldview might temper the bizarreness that made Dead Rising so interesting in the first place. Hmm. Conundrum.

The opening scene certainly marks a change of pace. Instead of running amok in a mall full of the undead you're a contestant on a zombie gameshow called Terror Is Reality, carving through zombie hordes in an arena on a motorcycle with chainsaws attached. We got a good look at these black-humour minigames at Dead Rising 2's unveiling back at TGS last year, but it left us with a lot of questions about the single-player – such as, how on earth do you fit a zombie gameshow into the story?

As it turns out, you only get one round into Terror is Reality before everything goes wrong. The stock of zombies are set free to infect and ingest the living population of Fortune City, the game's fictional Vegas. From then on, it's all comfortingly familiar – whilst other survivors hole up a safehouse waiting for rescue, you venture out into a mall full of shambling ex-humans and hundreds of makeshift weapons to abuse them with.

'Dead Rising 2' Screenshot 1

The clothing options at least are as weird as ever. Dress Chuck in hotpants and you'll get loving closeups of his hairy thighs in the cutscenes.

Instead of Frank West we have Chuck Greene, an ex-motocross champion whose comically fixed, stony expression greatly adds to the amusement value of dressing him up in a halter top. His wife was killed in an attack during the Willamette outbreak, but hatred of the undead isn't his only motivation – he has to venture out of the safehouse to find an anti-zombification drug called Zombex for his infected daughter. She needs a dose every 24 hours at a specific time, otherwise she'll start developing severe skin problems and a taste for brains.

A familiar 72-hour countdown dictates your every action. Spend too much time throwing vinyl records at zombies or setting them on fire for fun and you won't make it through the story. Survivors are dotted around the place and can be persuaded to accompany you back to safety. The more zombies you murder, the more people you rescue, the more PP you earn, and the less meagre your chances of survival.

Dead Rising 2 certainly hasn't made things any easier. There's still no autosave and deep down, the game still hates you and wants you to fail. But that tension was a vital part of Dead Rising, and though changing it would have silenced plenty of frustrated voices, it would also have fundamentally altered what the game was about. There are now, however, three save slots instead of one – a small concession, but a significant one when it's possible to make irreversible mistakes.

One immediately noticeable difference between Dead Rising 2 and its predecessor is that there are more zombies. A lot more zombies. Given that there were already quite a lot of zombies, this is a mixed blessing – you can barely make a dent in their numbers even with the most creative weaponry.

As well as practically every single item from the first game – bats, an Uzi, trolleys, parasols, handbags, suitcases, plates, bikes, bowling balls, coathangers – there are loads more. You can freeze them with a fire extinguisher and smash 'em with a crowbar, Bioshock style. Set off firecrackers and they'll be attracted to the pretty lights, so you can hurl a teddy bear at them and run away.

The real attraction is combo weapons, though, which you can fashion out of practically anything you find around the mall. You earn combo cards that tell you how to make them – combine nails with a bat for an entertainingly barbaric nail bat, a drill with a bucket to make a fetching death-hat for zombies, or nails and a propane tank for an improvised explosive device.

You just have to grab the two required items and head to one of the maintenance room workbenches that are always within easy reach in the mall, and Chuck will manfully saw and hammer them into a superweapon. (Incidentally, this is the only point in the entire game where something approaching a smile tickles Chuck's humourless face.)

Aside from the combo weapons, though, Dead Rising remains structurally unchanged, sometimes down to the finest details. Skateboards still take three hits before they break. The shops in the mall have the same names (admittedly, this being America, they're probably enormous national chains).

'Dead Rising 2' Screenshot 2

Chuck's expression never changes. Ever. We're not sure whether this comedy is intentional.

It's a little worrying that this game even copies the irritating things about the original – the unskippable and entirely unnecessary animation sequences for putting on and admiring new clothes, for instance, and the need to constantly shout after your fellow survivors in order to get them to follow you.

It's clear from the first few hours that in terms of actual zombie-killing, Dead Rising 2 could well have the edge over its predecessor. There are brilliant combo weapons and a truckload of new items that just beg to be played with. Dead Rising 2's killer feature, though, could well be the drop-in online co-op, something that we couldn't try out in our preview build.

Our initial question remains unanswered, too – are Dead Rising 2's story and psychopathic characters as wholly, gruesomely bizarre as the original game's, or has the new developer toned the weird factor down a little whilst throwing in a ton of new and better ways to mess with the undead? It's hard to tell from the first few hours. But we look forward to finding out.

Dead Rising 2 is due out for PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 24th, 2010, with the PC version following shortly after on September 28th. Prequel title Case Zero is available to download exclusively on Xbox 360 from September 3rd, priced at 400 Microsoft Points.

Picture of Keza.

About Keza MacDonald

Read more articles from Keza by visiting the Keza MacDonald archive page.

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Comments (61) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • drumbaby #1 1 year ago

    Why no prequel for PS3 users, Capcom? Are you actively trying to alienate a potential customer base, or what?

  • AbracadaverAK #2 1 year ago

    It's called an exclusivity agreement, drumbaby. They're quite common.

    I was a little concerned when reading about the save system, it was easily the most infuriating thing about the first game. But then, Dead Rising was a great game despite it's flaws- if they've kept it they same and added a few extra features, hopefully that won't change.

  • Genji #3 1 year ago

    The only thing that really irritated me about the first one was the Otis calls.

    And the single save slot, but they've addressed that with this one.

  • Skandalle #4 1 year ago

    More of the same will get it a 7 score from EG, its the co-op addition, the amount of fun that brings to the table that will grab it an 8.

  • TheJuriel #5 1 year ago

    If there's no photos being taken, I'm not interested.

    I mean, getting my best erotica shot from a zombified survivor lunging at me with her cleavage, that's special.

  • atomised #6 1 year ago

    hmmm,
    if the save system is as annoying as the first it looks like i'll be spending my money on something else...oh well.

  • memeroot #7 1 year ago

    ok - loved the first - lost interest in the second as it sounded like it was going to be to different.... back interested :-)

  • Mox #8 1 year ago

    The thing about Otis was that it was kind of funny the first time, but because you play Dead Rising multiple times, it begins to grate a bit. The best thing to do is to treat each play as being just for fun, because it is, and just ignore Otis' calls if you know you're going to restart by day three.

    I'm shocked and dismayed that there's no photography though. That was a key combination! Added a surreal layer over the whole proceedings.

    "Frank ... FRAAAANK!"

  • Paulie_P #9 1 year ago

    I dunno about the save system, it is so irritating but at the same time it adds to the tension and makes you feel the death when it comes. In too many games, losing a life has lost all meaning.

  • Duckula #10 1 year ago

    Hopefully infinity mode won't be completely broken this time.

  • brseg #11 1 year ago

    I thought the first was fun but offered little variety. I fear another passable but disappointing sequel (after Mafia and Crackdown). Maybe its the publishers fault for playing it safe and not letting devs innovate. You also cant ignore Left4Dead, games have moved on a long way. I'll try the demo though, of course.

  • Frybird #12 1 year ago

    Whew, three save slots make a world of difference in this game.

    That way, you can always keep a save in wich you are at a decent level/have all areas unlocked and just have your freeform-fun until it get's boring without having to watch the time limits AND progress with you character and the story/missions if you feel like it.

  • dfunked #13 1 year ago

    @ memeroot

    I'm actually the opposite, didn't like the first one much but held out some hope for this one being a departure from the original... Guess I'll still give it a rent, but this has kind of dashed my hopes :(

  • bdaggers #14 1 year ago

    Did this review have lots of strange spaces in the text and then start a sentence with no punctuation ? or is it just me ? sub ??

  • drumbaby #15 1 year ago

    "It's called an exclusivity agreement, drumbaby. They're quite common. "

    Yes, I know...but it doesn't always leave a nice taste in the mouth of everyone concerned.

    Bad enough that PS3 only gamers didn't get the first one...Shame they couldn't start the launch of the sequel on a more positive note for all gamers on all platforms. Basically I missed out on the first one, was slightly peeved, but didn't want to play it badly enough to buy a new console. Having survived without DR1 I'm sure I can make do without playing DR2 based on being prevented from enjoying a prequel. Petty? Probably. But it's the way I think about it, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

    I didn't buy the last TR game based on this...DLC for 360, not PS3. It's just not really good enough. As a PS3 gamer I'd like parity, even at a later stage. Unfortunately it doesn't always pan out that way. But I can register my displeasure, albeit very passively, by not giving them my money.

  • ParanoidZombie #16 1 year ago

    Bought DR1 on release day, I'm still playing through it from time to time. It's the more intense survival horror I ever played, the best paced sandbox game ever done, and it still manages to make me laugh after 12 playthroughs.The only real flaw IMO is that, like soemeone else said, infinity mode was a missed opportunity.

    BTW, the one-save only thing is no longer an issue if you have a memory card / USB key + a hard drive.
    Edited by 1 at 30/08/10 @ 10:58

  • Genji #17 1 year ago

    Woah, the -1 next to my first comment (gone now though) seems to indicate that there is someone who wasn't annoyed by Otis.

    O_o
    Edited by 1 at 30/08/10 @ 12:21

  • Cappy #18 1 year ago

    Bad enough that PS3 only gamers didn't get the first one...Shame they couldn't start the launch of the sequel on a more positive note for all gamers on all platforms.

    Capcom know this, I can't think of a single release which ended up delayed by the standard year or missing the original release entirely and debuting with the sequel which actually sold well on the PS3 aside from the GTA IV DLC content on disc.

    They ended up bombing on the PS3 terribly, but as I said they know this. If they're willing to cut a few corners on the PS3 port like most publishers and do it on a shoestring, even poor sales will still be profitable.

  • Vice.Destroyer #19 1 year ago

    I loved the first game. Definitely one of my gaming highlights this generation. It took a little while for me to understand how it wanted me to play the game, but once I understood about using the books (and their inherent properties in regards to prolonging weapon life and other things) the strange save spots didn't matter. It's a shame that the game put so many people off it, because it really was a work of genius. But nevermind. I loved the first and that is all I care about. Glad there is a sequel and I am buying it on day one.

  • BillyBrush #20 1 year ago

    saw an ign vid preview for this the other day...they suggested it's like the first one but with screen tearing and quite a lot of slowdown.

    it looks like a crackdown 2 type situation. I liked the first so will get it, but if you've never played Nr 1 save yourself 20 notes and go for that.

  • mikew1985 #21 1 year ago

    Read as far as 72 hour countdown!!! Yesssss! Here's hoping it has the same great system of time specific events as the first one.

  • A-Trak #22 1 year ago

    DR1 was the game that pushed me to get a 360, glad it's keeping a lot of the originals gameplay mechanic.

    Also what's with the crazy negging in these comments?

    "I like the game." - Neg him!
    "I don't like the game." - Neg him!

    Neg them all! Lets downrate this comment to the depths!

  • Genji #23 1 year ago

    A test:

    I thought Otis was awesome. It was good of the developers to get him to call you again if you got interrupted. That way, you're sure to get the information about the missions!

    I honestly don't know why people said he was annoying.

    EDIT: O_o WHO ARE YOU
    Edited by 2 at 30/08/10 @ 12:13

  • kendoji #24 1 year ago

    I really couldn't get on with the first one. The time limit ruined it for me completely. Even though I'm a big zombie movie enthusiast, and LOVE the idea of an open world full of zombies, it sounds like I won't enjoy this one either - the time limit makes everything too restricted for me.

    I was really hoping they'd make this one more open and free.

  • tachometer #25 1 year ago

    The first one really annoyed me until I found out about the books and leveled up enough to carry more stuff/take more damage.

  • septimus #26 1 year ago

    Shame. Save system killed it for me. Don't have the time for it. Shame they didn't even provide the option for a more flexible save system.

  • Genji #27 1 year ago

    I understand that people didn't like the save system in the first one, but what's the problem here? You have three slots to play around with now, so it'll be harder to put yourself in a bad state, as long as you save regularly.

    Why is it that much worse to go to a save room? If they are intelligently placed, it should be fine!

  • Stomp224 #28 1 year ago

    Wow. So many comments complaining about the games unique features..... not generic enough for you? I suppose you'd also like it to be set in some modern warzone with zombies replaced by generic soldiers? What's that? STILL not generic enough???? O_O

    Dead Rising had some unusual quirks, sure, but they added up to a great game. (along with A-Trak, it convinced me to buy a 360) with free-for-all saves and no time limit the game would have been far less interesting.

  • The_Amazing_Potato #29 1 year ago

    Hello, I'm new! Be gentle with me! Does anyone know if DR2 has got decent-sized text? I had to get brand new eyes after straining so hard to read the tiny words in the first one (and I'm too poor to get a nice big HD telly).

  • kendoji #30 1 year ago

    Good point! I'm sure (well, I hope) they won't make the same mistake again i.e. forgetting to test on standard def tellies.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #31 1 year ago

    I loved the first game, I hope this has the same feel the improvements seem minimal but I think thats a good thing. The thought of messing about in co-op is a real plus. Looking forward to case-zero tomorrow to get a taste of that Chuck Greene goodness.

  • lucky_jim #32 1 year ago

    Generally I agree with you drumbaby, not giving a company our money is pretty much the only way we can register our displeasure nowadays (hence why I don't buy Activision games). If everyone followed your lead though, I don't think Capcom would conclude that it's because they didn't offer the mini-prequel, they're more likely to think "hm our PS3 titles don't sell too well in the west, lets not bother anymore".

    Doesn't bother me, I don't have a PS3 (yet) and I have a horrible feeling that if the prequel thing takes off, paid-for playable demos (which is effectively what this is) will be the norm quicker than you can say "where'd all my Microsoft points go?". Don't see it as missing out, see it as avoiding being stung!

  • whoyouknow #33 1 year ago

    I'll try the demo but I was well disappointed with the first. It was one of the reasons I bought a 360 and I really didn't think it played very well.

  • AdamAsunder #34 1 year ago

    I still think Dead Rising is one of the most unique games on the Xbox. It was the first game to convince me of the merits on the Next Gen.

    Having said that I just can't get enthused about the sequel. I think it's partly because the first game was so original that making it a franchise would ruin some of it's appeal. I felt the same way about Bioshock 2 and after playing that my fears were realised. The fact that it's a western developer at the reigns when Dark Void and Bionic Commando did so badly does not fill me with anticipation.

    I'll try the demo and watch out for the reviews but I am expecting disappointment.

    Ah well I can always go back and play the first one again.

  • bigmickhart #35 1 year ago

    The respawning prisoners in the jeep really pissed me off in the first.

  • Keza #36 1 year ago

    @BillyBrush: This is a preview build we we've all been playing. It's highly, highly likely that screen tearing and slowdown (and LONG LONG LOADING TIMES) won't be a problem in the final release.

    @The_Amazing_Potato: Huh! I could read it fine, but I don't know if it's any bigger! *conducts comparison*

  • chrisola #37 1 year ago

    The shooting controls were god awful in the first one, i hope they are better this time around.

  • AdamAsunder #38 1 year ago

    @chrisola

    The controls are fine considering it isn't a shooter. Go play L4D or Nazi Zombies for that fix.

  • waddlemagic #39 1 year ago

    Loved the first game, but is there a means of earning pp in the vein of the original game's photography (other than the usual slaughter/saving)?

    Preferably another method in which I'm rewarded for looking at zombie cleavage.



  • Xardan #40 1 year ago

    So basically this is just a hack and slash zombie game with a quirky warped sense of humour? Looks fun but im looking for in depth involved storyline and everywhere i look i cant find anything. Is it me or do games get more shallow each year.

  • Vice.Destroyer #41 1 year ago

    I think Alan Wake's sales showed developers that it is not worth the investment to produce a game with a unique story. Punters won't purchase in numbers big enough to make it worthwhile. And reviewers will seal the deal by gibmving games like that undeserving scores.

  • Freek #42 1 year ago

    Tell that to Heavy Rain or Bioshock.

  • Miths #43 1 year ago

    I remember buying the first game back when I had a 360, because of all the positive reviews, but I also remember getting utterly bored with it within not much more than an hour.
    I'm usually all for "open world" fun, but having nothing to do besides trying to find creative ways to whack an endless supply of zombies didn't really strike a chord with me.

    Dead Rising 2 also looks like a rather graphically outdated game, if the trailer and screenshots I saw on Steam yesterday (and an IGN video preview I just looked up now on YouTube) are anything to go by. I can't really remember how the first one looked, but it certainly seems like not much has happened with that game engine over the last four years - aside from a larger amount of zombies on the screen (but I guess that limits what can be done elsewhere, at least on the console versions).

  • drumbaby #44 1 year ago

    "they're more likely to think "hm our PS3 titles don't sell too well in the west, lets not bother anymore". "

    Surely they'd only think that if all their titles (including DMC 4 and other titles released simultaneously, and with total parity, on the 2 HD systems) struggled on PS3? I'd like to think that they're able to deduce trends that show the higher sale of a game with certain brand-specific advantages over its slightly hobbled counterpart.

  • Death-Jester #45 1 year ago

    Still got the stupid timer, which makes the game feel like a rush (or even worse, a demo!) and the back-to-square one save system. I'll save my money.

  • chaywa #46 1 year ago

    So basically its just Mad World with a more colourful palette...

  • Slipstream #47 1 year ago

    If this game has a good co-op feature I'd be sold.

  • mikew1985 #48 1 year ago

    Urggh, just read about online co-op but had decided on the PC version, now i'm thinking maybe 360.

  • kangarootoo #49 1 year ago

    "But that tension was a vital part of Dead Rising, and though changing it would have silenced plenty of frustrated voices, it would also have fundamentally altered what the game was about"

    What?!? If what the game was "fundamentally about" was great core mechanics held back by terrible meta-design, there is surely no value in preserving it?

    The above essentially translates to "It would have made the game better, but then it would have also made it less bad".


    Some designers need to learn that there is more than one kind of tension. Some kinds are good, and some are bad. "Creating tension" is not in itself a worthwhile thing to do, unless you are sure which kind of tension you are creating. This is a bugbear subject for me, hence the rant. "Tension" is too frequently used as an apologist defence for bad design.

  • kangarootoo #50 1 year ago

    Co-op for me will probably transform this game. A lot of the annoying aspects of the first one (which I loved btw) wouldn't matter if I was just dropping in to bash zombies with friends. Extra save slots are good, but game wide time limits stopped being a good thing in the 90s.

  • Notallowedhere #51 1 year ago

    Isn't the point of Dead Rising that it's about multiple playthroughs and consiquence of your actions?

    I did nothing on my first play through except mess around and level up. You're not ment to finish the game in one playthrough, it's ment to be played over and over again. As for the save system it was perfect you choose not to go back and save and you die, yet the game system is the thing thats broken, rather than your rubbish decisions?

  • kangarootoo #52 1 year ago

    "Isn't the point of Dead Rising that it's about multiple playthroughs and consiquence of your actions?"

    This is what I was talking about in myfirst post though. All this talk of what the game "is about", and what you are "meant to do". Other games manage to be fun without me having to read an instruction book called "how to not get annoyed by game XYZ".

    "Its designed that way" is not an excuse. If I'm not having fun, "its desighn that way" is a euphemism for "its designed badly". DR was a mixed bag as EarlBasset says, some of it was brilliant but some of it was terrible. I don't understand why people keep defending or ignoring the bad bits, like its speaking ill of the dead to point them out.

    For me it is simple, regardless of how you feel about what was actually released, would DR have been better if some of the issues frequently critisised had been changed? I know what my answer is.

  • asphaltcowboy #53 1 year ago

    Glad they didn't change the save system! Made it tougher, more tense and encouraged you to just play it through more often, trying out different things!

  • kangarootoo #54 1 year ago

    What I found with DR 1 is that it became 2 games in one (I don't mean that in a good way). I could either go in gung ho, bashing zombies, trying out different ways of attacking them and getting around the environment... OR I could try and follow the story mode.

    If I chose the latter, experiementation and mindless fun went out of the window to some extent. I had to focus on clock watching, saving my best weapons, getting from one place to another in the shortest time. I honestly didn't find that to be as much fun, AND it was contrary to what the core gameplay was all about. I was crying out for a game in which I could have all the zombie bashing fun that was available to me, but also follow the story line if I wanted to.

    To use a school analogy, bashing zombies felt like playtime, and following the story felt like homework.

  • Jel #55 1 year ago

    EarlBassett absolutely hit the nail on the head, imo.

    I love zombie movies, DotD DX is one of my all time favourites so was really excited when the 1st game was announced. The demo was fun and a must buy, but boy what a disappointment the game turned out to be. Frustrating was an understatement, believe me I tried, again and again, until it gathered dust and went the way of fleabay.

    Not tried L4D as I prefer the ambling undead as opposed to the 28 Days Later turbocharged variety, but will have a look when I've exhausted my current shelf. If DR2 is fundamentally the same as 1 then it's a sad no sale :(

    A GTA/Crackdown style sprawling wasteland with slow, moaning, flesh eaters would be a dream (or is that nightmare?) come true for me!

  • kangarootoo #56 1 year ago

    @Milky1985

    The boss battles were one of the worst aspects of the whole game imo. As you say, they focussed on barely functional mechanics that were just not what the game was about. I also found them excessively difficult, unless you got the gun from the back of the convict's jeep (which re-spawned every night of course), in which case they became trivial "one-hit to win" exercises.

  • darleysam #57 1 year ago

    Case Zero is already up on xbox.com, so I guess it came out early?

  • bigbadbeasty #58 1 year ago

    I have to agree with the comments about people's disappontment over the original. I loved the demo, I played it again and again, when the game came out I picked it up straight away. Boy was it frustrating!

    I really wanted to like the game, I tried and tried, but in the end I gave up. Reading this thread has reminded me of all the things that drove me crazy about it:
    - The silly save system
    - Weapons that lasted only a few attacks (unless you used the book buffs)
    - That stupid bastard on the phone/radio
    - The time limit (I just wanted to be able to kill bloody zombies!)
    - The boss battles
    - No free-roaming option
    - The respawning, you could kill everything in the mall, go outside, then straight back in, and they had respawned... grrrr

    Luckily Left 4 Dead came out, and gave me my zombie killing fix, but I just wished DR let me play differently. DR2 doesn't look different enough to me :(

  • chrisola #59 1 year ago

    i hope the prize for finishing the story is that you can play it in 'free roam no respawn' mode where you can just wander around killing zombies in a creative way.

    I still reckon Flesh Feast should get re-made :p

  • Gosammy #60 1 year ago

    Looks like this will be jst a good game to be honest - more zombies, more combos of weapons but still has the issues that the first game had in terms of saves etc.. will wait to see and hope this game is better.

  • Harmonica #61 1 year ago

    All games are designed to be played in a certain way, if you go into them knowing that and still moan about it then you are a numpty. (not aimed at anyone in particular, buh...)