Review - Dead Rising 2

I CAN still recall buying the original Dead Rising, playing it for about two days, hating it, and taking it back to where I bought it to get The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion instead. I was so annoyed at how broken that game was because of how much promise it had. Looking back, I can now see that Dead Rising wasn’t broken, it was just … different. I was trying to do it all – save all the survivors of the zombie outbreak, kill all the psychopaths and solve all the mysteries before the time quickly ran out. But what I should have done was embrace the game’s difficulty, spent more time levelling up my character and enjoying what is now regarded as something of a cult classic. That’s not to say it was entirely my fault – Dead Rising had a lot of faults, and I still won’t stick up for it’s awful save system even if I do respect it. But it was a good game that I will go back to one day.

Years later we have Dead Rising 2, which takes most of what made the original so well loved and fixes most of the flaws (including the save system) to create an excellent sequel that fans of the original, new-comers and possibly even haters of the first game will enjoy. Set years after the first zombie outbreak struck America, the game takes place in Fortune City, a replacement for Las Vegas which was destroyed during the undead epidemic. To quell America’s thirst for revenge a new game show that combines killing zombies with motocross called Terror is Reality has been created within the city.

Enter Chuck Greene, a former motocross star who must now participate in this show so he can afford a new 24-hour zombification suppressant drug called Zombrex for his daughter Katey. But things take a turn for the worst when a massive zombie outbreak kills nearly everyone in the city and is pinned on our hero Chuck. Barely making it to the city’s safehouse with his daughter Chuck must now prove his innocence by finding out the truth of the outbreak and locate more Zombrex for his daughter while dealing with the hordes of zombies and the various maniacs in Fortune City – all before the military arrives in 72-hours.

From the moment you gain control of Chuck you know that Dead Rising 2 is a different beast than its predecessor. The game throws you straight into the action on motorcycle with chainsaws strapped to the sides and has you mowing down mountains of zombies on the aforementioned Terror is Reality gameshow. Soon after this little diversion is over the outbreak occurs and you gain control of the regular on-foot Chuck. From here the game waste no time showing you what kind of horror you’ll be dealing with as names of those dying around you appear in the middle of the screen. Shaun is dead. Helen is dead. Drake is dead. Before you even get the hang of the controls the game makes it very clear – you can’t save everyone. That’s important to remember because as you progress through the story (especially on your first play through) you’ll have to leave a lot of people behind if you’re ever going to survive. It’s an odd feeling having to accept failure, but the sooner you do the more fun you’ll have because there’s nothing worse than over-extending yourself by rescuing too many people, only to die and have to start at the last save point or not have enough resources to look after your followers. That said, the risk/reward structure of Dead Rising 2 means that if you’re willing to go the extra mile and get more survivors back to the safe zone you can gain more Prestige Points (or PP) which make you level up earn more health, better attacks and other abilities.

This brings me to the main appeal of Dead Rising 2 – homemade weapons. At some point in your life you’ve probably looked around your house and thought about what you could use as a weapon. I have. Say a burglar comes into your house while you in the kitchen, would you grab the steak knifes or the rolling pin? Walking back to your car – stick your keys in your hands and make crude claws or look around for a solid object like a rock?

In video games this sort of thinking isn’t welcome. Sure your rifle and pistol are out of ammo, but you always have your knife and the butt of your gun. But why can’t you rip a plank of wood of the side of a house or pick up a garbage bin to protect yourself? Dead Rising didn’t care what you wanted to use as a weapon. Want to smash a park bench into a group of zombies then pick up the broken pieces of wood and use them too? No problems. Furniture, cooking utensils even kids toys – everything could become a weapon.

Dead Rising 2 takes this concept one step further. So now instead of relying on your trusty baseball bat why not shove a couple of nails into it too? Got a bucket and a drill? You’ve got a hat to liquefy your enemies’ head. A knife and some boxing gloves? You’ve got a set of claws to tear through your lumbering foes.

Obviously there are a number of predefined weapons you can make, so your choices aren’t exactly unlimited, but there is a lot to choose from and some of the best weapons and just so stupid but fun you can’t help but want to find more. To make things a bit easier you can collect combo cards, which tell you what items to combine to make these weapons. You can, of course, discover these combinations on your own, but if you find a combo card, either in game world or by rescuing survivors, you can often gain access to a secondary attack using the new killing device and gain extra PP.

But while the actual game of Dead Rising 2 may be a lot of fun, but the story wrapped around it needs a some work. The world of Dead Rising is actually quite interesting and the conspiracy of why the zombies exist is worth exploring, but the execution often leaves a lot to be desired. From Chuck’s stupid one-liners to the sometimes awful dialogue and pathetically misogynist way female characters are portrayed in the game, it feels like Dead Rising 2 was written by a bunch of horny teenage boys with no concept of how real people actually speak or interact with each other. I’m fine with cheesy storylines but it feels like the more serious side of the game's plot becomes lost while the attempts at humour are over-emphasised. To be fair it’s not always terrible, and on the plus side the voice acting is very good as is the fun, if somewhat limited, interaction with the survivors, but the bad outweighs the good when it comes to the writing.

Forgetting the holes in the game’s narrative, Dead Rising 2 is an incredible experience on so many other levels. The sheer size of the undead army that is constantly hunting you as well as the excellent attention to detail throughout the game world makes the whole experience a joy to both play and watch. Granted the graphics aren’t as polished as a more focused game, but for an open-world action game it’s very impressive. Also the failed attempts at humour in the story pale in comparison to the genuine laughs to be had as you plough throw the undead hordes. It’s hard to not at least smile at the confused zombie with a road cone of his head or laugh at the one rubbing up against the bright lights of a poker-machine only to be smacked in the back of the head with a sword fish.

Overall Dead Rising 2 may have its flaws, but it’s still the best zombie-killing simulator on the market. The difficulty is still unforgiving, but if you play the game on its terms and by its rules there’s a hell of a lot of fun to be had here.

GRADE: B

Dead Rising 2 is out now on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Review written after the entire story was complete, including a few restarts and a lot of messing around. No multiplayer was played, the review reflects the only single-player experience on an Xbox 360. Review guidelines