![]() Rather than giving the player a set of stock weapons, your arsenal comprises of anything that you find to hand. In addition to all this, there’s also the same ‘raid any shop, grab anything you like’ dynamic that made the first game so memorable. ![]() Towards the later stages of the story, there’s even a rather unexpected (and given the circumstances, rather imprudent) opportunity to enter a game of strip poker. In addition to the near-endless array of side-quests and rescue missions, there’s also a generous set of mini-games to find and try – from golf swing simulators to a Crystal Maze-style cash-grab booth. Somewhat perversely, the game tries as hard as it can to lead you off the beaten track at every opportunity. If you’re late for one of the appointments that are connected to the main plot, you may lose track of the central narrative thread entirely – preventing you from seeing the “true” ending. ![]() The action unfolds in accelerated real-time, with specific events taking place within set windows. What follows is a 72-hour mission against the clock, with Chuck battling to rescue survivors and to clear his name before the military show up to arrest him. And just to top it all off, someone frames Chuck for causing the initial attack. Zombies flood across the surrounding hotels, casinos and shopping malls, chomping on the locals and adding them to their swelling ranks. When the show arrives at the casino resort of Fortune City, someone uses a bomb to free the living dead from their cages. Last time we played photojournalist Frank West, at Willamette Mall now we’re in the boots of Chuck Greene, a former motorcross star who now earns cash by participating in Terror is Reality – a dodgy, Gladiators-like TV show that encourages contestants to butcher zombies in exchange for cash prizes. Once again the central conceit is that the player takes on the role of a lone hero, trapped in an open world packed with zombies. Four years have passed since the release of the original Dead Rising, but while Capcom has handed the development reins over to Vancouver studio Blue Castle Games, this long-awaited sequel is a virtual retread of its predecessor. For many of us, this dedication to tradition is something to be praised and greatly admired, but if you’re the kind of gamer who’s grown used to modern design crutches – things like regenerating health and the omnipresent ability to save your game – then you may be in for a rude awakening. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Dead Rising 2 is a game that embraces old-school values, and that it’s a thumpingly hard one too this is, as we well know, “the Capcom way”. “I AM CAPCOM!” it growls, “AND I WILL ALWAYS BE HARDCORE!” Watch as Capcom stomps down the stairs in a pair of Doc Martins, kicks over a bowl of pimento-stuffed olives and spits in the face of the assembled casuals. At a time when every publisher under the sun is trying to make gaming a family-friendly, gather-round-the-coffee-table experience, Capcom is scowling in the bathroom, shaving its hair into a Mohawk. There is something gleefully rebellious about the way Capcom defies the prevailing trends of the day.
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