Arguably one of the more successful titles in the early years of the Xbox 360, the game is now getting the sequel treatment with Dead Rising 2. At E3 2010, we not only got a brief look at Capcom’s latest zombie slaughterhouse, but the ‘demo’ episode, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. As an exclusive download for the Xbox 360, this prequel episode sets up the story for Dead Rising 2. Two years have passed since Frank West’s escapades in the Williamette incident, when we’re brought into Case Zero. We now take the role of Chuck Greene, who has pulled into a remote petrol station with his daughter, who seems to be infected with the zombie virus. In Case Zero, you have 12 hours to find medication for your daughter, while fighting off a fresh zombie outbreak.
Fire. Burning zombies since 1996.
A positive aspect of Case Zero, is that you’ll be able to carry over all of your cash, collectibles and experience into the main game. However, you will be capped at level 5 until the final game. Dead Rising 2 actually takes place five years after the Williamette incident, though you’re still playing Chuck Greene. A former Motocross champion and handyman, Chuck has been desperately earning money to pay for his daughter’s treatment, and this leads him to Fortune City (modeled on Las Vegas). So once again, you take on a ridiculously huge zombie horde and crazed survivors in a game where nothing is what it seems.
From what we’ve played in both Case Zero and Dead Rising 2, you’ll find that it plays quite similarly to the original game. Work by your watch, pick up improvised and proper weapons, wade through zombie crowds using said weapons and help other people as well. If you played the original, you’ll know the drill. And it can be a real blast just going around and playing around with the multitude of weapons that are in the game.
WHO THE HECK LET A TIGER IN HERE!?!?!
However, there have been a few noticeable changes and additions. Firstly, Chuck is a handyman and not a journalist, so you no longer will be using a camera to get your ‘Prestige Points’. Instead, there are a heap of workbenches littered through out the game, where Chuck can combine two existing weapons (or items) to make a new one. An example of this we found was combing a baseball bat and nails. Another that has been shown off in trailers is a kayak paddle with chainsaws on each end.
Where there will be some sort of guide with regards to what weapon combinations are possible or whether it’s all down to trial and error is unknown at the moment. Hopefully there will be some pointers, as the only successful combination what we made was because we were told. Among the fixes to the game, the friendly AI in Dead Rising was worse than shambolic, so it’s good to see that the ones we dealt with in our demo actually function better than the zombies they were surrounded by. Also, you now have three save slots, rather than one, which was another notorious problem with the last game.
Wait, wait. This is about zombies, right?
Dead Rising 2 will also implement multiplayer. There will be an online only co-op mode for two players, but both will be playing Chuck. Somehow. Neither player is tied to the other, so you can both go off and do whatever the heck you like. There will still be co-op elements such as being able to heal each other and call out to the other. However, the story won’t progress until you both reach the right point. There is also a competitive multiplayer mode known as the ‘Terror of Reality’. It’s a simulated TV Reality show that has players competing to see who can kill the most zombies with a huge variety of weapons and vehicles.
With Dead Rising 2 you have a game that is taking a lot of steps to fix the things that were wrong with the original, while keeping the good stuff. While it will only be available on XBLA, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is a unique venture that shows just how dedicated Capcom is to the cause of spreading Dead Rising. If you’ve had a zombie saturation in recent times, Dead Rising 2 just might be what the Doctor ordered to get all the frustrations out of your system.
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