Let me start in saying that Dead Rising 2 has indeed given me the opportunity to literally (or at least in this case, cybernetically) beat down my fear of zombies. Though my first foray into zombie killing can be attributed to the first Left 4 Dead game, I’d still say that DR2’s hordes of zombies made me realize how someone can be helpless if he/she was surrounded by tons of the slow walking dead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUdA2VVNY3w
Plot
The game puts you in the shoes of a ex-motocross star-turned-professional-zombie-killer Chuck Greene. He was forced to switch careers when his daughter was bitten by a zombie during a Vegas outbreak that claimed the life of his wife. Being a “Pro” zombie killer in a game show titled Terror is Reality, he was able to constantly supply his daughter with Zombrex, a drug that stops the “turning” of the infected into becoming the undead.
Everything goes to hell when the zombies are loosed into Fortune City. He and her daughter was able to escape to safety of a bunker however, reports show that it was Chuck Greene who let loose the monstrosities. He has 72 hours to prove his innocence while saving survivors and getting the needed Zombrex medicine for his daughter.
Tons of Meat
As Chuck Greene you will be traversing zombie infested areas to find clues to who set you up. The whole plan seems easy enough, however, you are talking about a city here, FILLED with zombies. So you’ll be facing the challenge of going through the throngs of the undead to reach a clue or a survivor.
The game really puts the word HORDE into the zombie horde as almost every area is filled with the walking undead. Killing zombies in Dead Rising two is spine-tingly fun, in fact it’s so fun that sometimes you’ll forget the hours you’ve spent decapitating or dismembering the walking smelly corpses. However, if you’re off to some case you need to accomplish or save someone, it can be really dicey specially if you’re unable to defend yourself because you need to carry an item or survivor.
The fun thing about Dead Rising 2 is that the challenge is how do you get past the horde. With the game’s current setup it’d be a real constant challenges specially in the later parts of the game where something happens to zombies which raises the challenge a notch.
The game literally flings zombies at you at almost 10 a second as you get out of the safe house that you’d really enjoy a brief respite when you’re faced with just about 1-5 and no other zombies in sight.
Weapons is Chuck
The game doesn’t leave Chuck defenseless. In fact, Dead Rising 2 introduces a whole new weapon system to the franchise. Unlike the first game’s protagonist, Frank West we’re he’s resorted to only using what the mall provides him as weapons. Chuck can “combine” normal items that are found around Fortune City to create better zombie killing weapons.
Aptly called as the Combo Card system, chuck earns “blueprints” of weapons through leveling up (by earning prestige points or PP or staring at movie posters where he gets his inspiration to create more weapons of mass mayhem. The weapons vary from the really deadly (spiked bats, mma gloves with nails, boxing gloves with knives) to the totally absurd (servibot head’s with propellers, rocket launcher made out of a lead pipe and fireworks, a light saber like “laser sword” out of gems and a flashlight and of course the FREEDOM BEAR).
You have a total of 50 combinations to figure out and boy are they fun to use against the zombies.
Psychopaths
The game isn’t just about killing zombies however, as Chuck will be facing humans who have lost their wits upon the occurrence of the outbreak. The game collectively calls them psychopaths as they all act inhumanely on other survivors. So expect yourself to lose some survivors whenever you meet one.
These psychopaths provide the other challenge Dead Rising 2 will definitely give you. There were a lot of times when I had to keep on reloading a saved file just because one psychopath was consistently giving me grief. Some psychopaths are insanely strong while some are so fast that sometimes I let Chuck take the hit just so he can hit back.
Replayability
The game itself isn’t long, my first run through the game took about 26 hours. I would’ve finished that run sooner if I wasn’t forced to restart the story because I didn’t have enough time to finish one case.
The short span of time the Dead Rising 2 needs to consume before you complete the game is in fact hailing from it’s predecessor. Where you can finish the game in just a day or two. However what I liked about the game is that whenever you decide to “start” a new game or “restart” the story, the achievements, skills, pp points and level will be carried over to the new game, as long as you start the game from where you first left off.
Starting over a “New” game with a buffer Chuck provides you with new possibilities that you didn’t have with a “weaker” Chuck. This makes some runs easier the second time around and pretty much provides you with enough reason to play the game over and over again (or till you grow tired of zombies I guess).
Multiplayer
The game has two modes for multiplayer action. You have the Terror is Reality (TIR) mode or the co-op mode of play. TIR is like an America Gladiator tv show where your character (default character) is tasked to finish challenges that requires you to kill, multilate and blow zombies away. Also, you are pit against three other contestants in a race to be on top. Each ranked TIR match you finish earns you money which you can carry over to your saved file. You’ll actually need it specially if you want to use certain items found in the game that requires you thousands of dollars before you can use it.
The Co-op mode on the other hand puts you in another player’s campaign. You’ll be entering the game as the “other” Chuck Greene and similarly to a regular campaign you’ll be earning PP and money. However, you’re own campaign is held on hold while you’re in co-op mode. As a consolation though whatever you get in the co-op game you joined in can be brought over to your own game.
Conclusion
Dead Rising 2 is indeed a great game to come by. The sandbox style works well with the game’s mechanics and who can say anything bad about the combo system? (Well except that 50 combo weapons ARE NOT ENOUGH!? Hear that Keiji Inafune!?) I must say that the challenge is hard enough to make you want to think things through (I did restart a whole game just because I didn’t time managed enough).
I like the fact that the zombies in Dead Rising 2 are the Romero kind where you’re beaten because of attrition and by sheer numbers (well except for the later stages which I will not elaborate). That’s the type of zombie I’m used to and that’s how I Like them. I know this may come out as weird but it was really fun seeing chopped down by makeshift weapons. There were even moments where I had to stop giggling like a psycho– (OH SNAP!)
I was expecting for zombie killing induced madness and I was given it and more. I really have to say hat’s off to Capcom and Blue Castle Games for this one.
Now I’m off to play my second run–