Dead Rising 2 is the third canon game within the Dead Rising series. Like its predecessors, Dead Rising 2 is a survival horror game which features an open world environment and dark humor.
The game was released to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, unlike Dead Rising and Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, making it available to a larger audience. It was first released in North America on September 24, 2010. It was re-released with the Dead Rising Collection in Europe.
The game was widely popular upon its release. On February 2, 2011, Capcom stated that over 2.2 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide.[3][4] The game's popularity prompted a call for Dead Rising 3.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero and Dead Rising 2: Case West, the prologue and epilogue to the main game respectively, are both available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace as stand-alone Arcade Games.
In September 2016, a remastered version of both Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record was released on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows together with the first Dead Rising.
Story[]
Synopsis[]
The game takes place in 2011, five years after Dead Rising, in a Las Vegas-like resort called Fortune City. Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion, was in Las Vegas with his wife and daughter, when a zombie outbreak occurred and the city was overrun. His wife became a zombie, and infected their daughter, Katey. Chuck and his daughter managed to escape the city, but in order to save Katey, he constantly had to procure Zombrex for her.
Three years later, he competed in Terror is Reality to get enough money to buy the increasingly expensive anti-zombification drug. Chuck participated the show and won, but after the show, an imposter caused an outbreak by releasing the zombies. Chuck is framed as the man who caused the outbreak, and with the help of CURE leader Stacey Forsythe, he has three days before the military arrives to find evidence that says otherwise. Not only that, but he must also find daily doses of Zombrex to keep his daughter from turning.
Note: For simplicity reasons, the story is broken up into sections similar to the original Dead Rising, as there are no official "modes" in Dead Rising 2.
Story Mode[]
Story Mode is the game's main story.
Overtime[]
Overtime is a continuation of Story Mode. It can be only played if the player does everything required to achieve the true ending of the main story.
Timeline[]
The timeline details all the events of both game modes in a list, including cases and missions.
Gameplay[]
Dead Rising 2 introduces many new weapons and items, and the potential onscreen zombie count has been dramatically increased to as high as 7000, at least ten times that of the original. The protagonist of the game is Chuck Greene, designed to be more interesting than previous hero Frank West.
Capcom confirmed on the Dead Rising 2 panel at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego that Frank would not make an appearance as he is "taking a break," but Frank stars in the epilogue for Dead Rising 2: the Xbox Live-exclusive DLC named Dead Rising 2: Case West. The DLC involves both Chuck and Frank working together. With the release of Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, players can play as Frank West throughout Dead Rising 2.
Multiplayer[]
Dead Rising 2 includes online features, where two players can tackle the story and four players can compete against each other in Terror is Reality.
Terror is Reality[]
Terror is Reality is a multiplayer mode in which four players compete in various challenges. These challenges include players killing zombies with certain weapons and techniques in order to accumulate the most points in a certain time to be declared the winner. There will be a total of 9 different challenges. The format of the Terror is Reality game show (multiple contestants racing against each other in ridiculous tasks) is similar to American Gladiators. Players can transfer the money collected from this mode to the main story for Chuck to use.
Co-op[]
Aside from the more traditional four-player mode, the game features an online two-player co-op mode. Two players each control a different Chuck Greene and can complete the cases, or just lay waste to the zombies.
Leveling up is still an option, and levels will be saved for both players to transfer to subsequent playthroughs. If a player finds a combo card, both players will obtain it. Money is sometimes only gained by the player who earns it, but it can sometimes be acquired by both players regardless.
Both players can save their games, but only the host player will keep the story progress. Invited players must restart the story if they wish to play single player, but with the level and combo card collection they earned during co-op. Also, the zombie kill count is not saved, something to bear in mind if one is aiming for achievements/trophies which require a certain amount to be killed, such as the Zombie Genocide Master.
If a players health gauge is depleted, they will not die immediately; instead, they can call out to the other player for help, who must revive the downed player using a restorative. This must be done before another life gauge depletes causing the player to die, ending the game for both. If the surviving player's health gauge is depleted before reviving the downed player, the game ends instantly.
When traveling between different areas (which requires loading), both players must be within a close vicinity to each other. Interacting with the exit point without the second player nearby will cause Chuck to yell out to the other player to try and tell him to move.
Gameplay changes from Dead Rising[]
The game follows the same formula as the original Dead Rising, but with minor alterations to the gameplay.
- Dead Rising 2 features an online co-op mode, including the competitive Terror is Reality.
- The photography aspect is absent as Chuck is not a photographer, but he can combine weapons to create stronger ones, known as combo weapons.
- The game camera is closer to Chuck, making the screen look more filled.
- The firearm aiming controls in Dead Rising 2 have improved greatly, and Chuck is able to move and shoot simultaneously.
- The HUD (heads-up display) has been altered, i.e. the health bar now consists of one long row of squares, instead of two shorter ones.
- In response to the criticism of the first game regarding the small text, Dead Rising 2 features much larger text.
- The AI of survivors has improved; they are no longer as defenseless and zombies will focus on Chuck instead if he is nearby, making escorts less tedious.
- Vehicle mechanics have been slightly improved, specifically motorcycles, to fit with Chuck's background as a former motocross champion.
- Chuck's watch is digital.
- Instead of repetitive calls from the transceiver regarding survivors and psychopaths, which were criticized in the first game for disrupting gameplay, only urgent calls relating to the story must be answered. Survivor and psychopath missions are instantly added to Chuck's watch display. Likewise, Chuck can skip through calls and text boxes without being scolded for ignorance.
- A money system has been implemented, allowing Chuck to purchase various items from pawn shops set up in Fortune City. He may also gamble in the casinos and take part in money themed minigames.
- The save system has been improved to use three slots, instead of one like in the first game.
- The Infinity Mode from the first game has been removed.
Getting Started[]
The most important thing to realize when starting to play Dead Rising 2 is that it's not possible to do everything in a single playthrough, at least not until at a higher level (40+). Due to a tight 3-day time limit on the player's actions, the player must choose carefully whether they will solve all the cases to find out what happened in Fortune City, or try to rescue all the survivors.
Screen Layout[]
- Chuck's Status
Chuck's status is displayed in the top-left corner of the screen. The yellow blocks represent how much health he has, and can be increased by leveling up.
The blue bar represents how much prestige points Chuck has gained towards his next level-up, and his current level is displayed beside it.
- Inventory
The items currently held by Chuck appear in the top right of the screen. Usually only the currently equipped item is displayed, in the right-most box. The others appear when you scroll through the inventory with 
. The number of slots available to carry items can be increased by leveling up.
- Current Tasks
The cases and missions Chuck has undertaken will be displayed down the right-hand side of the screen.
- Compass
The compass points the way to the currently-selected objective. You can change the active objective by bringing up the wristwatch, then selecting the objective.
Prestige Points[]
Prestige points, usually referred to by the abbreviation "PP", are comparable to experience points in role-playing games. By collecting enough prestige points, Chuck will "level up," which unlocks additional skills, increases the player's health and attack power, and increasing the number of items the player can carry at any one time.
Prestige points can be gathered in a number of ways, but the most common way is by rescuing survivors during missions. Prestige points are also awarded for reaching milestone kill counts or killing zombies with combo weapons.
Leveling Up[]
By collecting prestige points, Chuck's level will increase. The level increase will be in the form of one of several possible upgrades to Chuck's abilities and status. The type of upgrade you receive on each level up is randomized.
- Attack + - Chuck's basic attack power is increased.
- Speed + - Chuck's movement speed is increased.
- Life + - Chuck's health bar is increased by one block.
- Item + - Chuck's item slots are increased by one.
- Throw + - Chuck can throw items farther.
- Skill + - Chuck learns an additional skill.
Saving[]
Chuck is able to save his progress in the various restrooms throughout Fortune City.
Development[]
On February 9, 2009, Capcom officially confirmed that Dead Rising 2 had been in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC gaming platforms. It was developed by Capcom Games Vancouver (formerly known as Blue Castle Games), a Canadian games company.
In response to the question, "...What did Capcom Japan learn from watching your team develop Dead Rising?" Off the Record executive producer Jason Leigh stated: "We feel like we’ve taken the series as ours, we feel like we own it now. We’re still guided by Capcom Japan, but we take it very personally that this is our franchise and these are our games to build. I think with Dead Rising 2, not only did we bring technology to it, but we brought a lot of Westernization to the game. Simple things like not being able to move while shooting was one of the first things we insisted had to change to for Dead Rising 2. Also, making the game a little more Western and user-friendly." [5]
Josh Bridge, executive producer of Dead Rising 3, stated that "[Blue Castle Games] had to re-create the [Dead Rising 2] by looking at videos of the first Dead Rising, [Blue Castle Games] didn’t get any code to build from."[6]
On November 9, 2011, Capcom announced that anyone would be able to play a trial for Dead Rising 2 on their browsers for free through the cloud-based gaming service Gaikai. This demo was limited to 30 minutes of play and did not allow saving; however, the player could skip in-game movies by pressing “ESC”.[7]
Kotaku reported, "as we've seen previously with games like Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, and The Witcher 2, gameplay is pretty much lag-free, and you don't have to worry about downloading and installing anything."[8] Guyism, however, reported difficulty in running the game: "Unfortunately, because my computer sucks, I’m unable to run the dam thing. Keeps asking me to update my Java, which I already did, yet nothing...I think it might be [an Apple Mac] Lion (10.7) thing, because others have had no problems under [Apple Mac] Snow Leopard (10.6)."[9] Comments on the Capcom-Unity site were mixed, although some players said that the game ran better online than on their own computer.[7] The service was discontinued in 2012.
Special Editions[]
Outbreak Edition[]
Dead Rising 2 Outbreak Edition
- Further information: Dead Rising 2 Outbreak Edition
Exclusive to Europe, the Outbreak edition features a detailed 12″ zombie figurine complete with accessories (including a Servbot head), a download token for a bonus theme pack plus additional bonus content for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.
Zombrex Edition[]
Dead Rising 2 Zombrex Edition
- Further information: Dead Rising 2 Collector's Edition
Available in both North America and Europe, the Zombrex edition comes as a two-disc steelbook case and includes a Zombrex syringe pen, prescription notepad, prospectus sales brochure, safety card, and a 48-page hardback Dead Rising 2 art book. In addition to those items, the Xbox 360 Zombrex edition will include a DVD featuring a high-definition "Making of" featurette, along with the Zombrex: Dead Rising Sun movie, and the PlayStation 3 Zombrex edition will include a Blu-Ray disc featuring the "Making of" featurette, as well as a voucher for a downloadable XMB theme. (European version of the Zombrex edition only contains the Pen & Making of DVD in the steel case regardless of console.)
High Stakes Edition[]
Dead Rising 2 High Stakes Edition
- Further information: Dead Rising 2 High Stakes Edition
The "High Stakes" edition includes a copy of the game, an in-game outfit, a poker set, a visitor map, and a DLC voucher. One special edition will have a special ticket that can be used to redeem a 6 foot tall zombie replica.
Endings[]
- See 72 Hour Mode (Dead Rising 2) to view a full list of endings.
- See Overtime Mode (Dead Rising 2) for Ending S.
Sequel[]
- Further information: Dead Rising 3
The creator of the Dead Rising series, Keiji Inafune, who has since retired from Capcom, had speculated about the possibility of a Dead Rising 3, stating that its existence would depend on how well Dead Rising 2 sells: "Well, we’re not going to start even speaking about Dead Rising 3 until we see the sales of DR2 – unfortunately, that’s the nature of the game!" (videogamesblogger.com). Dead Rising 2 sold over 4 million units.(examiner.com).
On November 15, 2010, former Sony Europe president, now Capcom's COO David Reeves, told CVG that Dead Rising 3 will continue the story left by Dead Rising 2, and that digital episodes similar to Case Zero and Case West will be released to bridge the gaps between the games (computerandvideogames.com).
Reeves stated: "Obviously, with all of that success on Dead Rising 2, it makes sense to move onto Dead Rising 3. I think they [developer Blue Castle Games] may extend it by bringing in new characters and new interactions, or bring back others from before. The idea would be that we’ll bring digital content to bridge a link between DR2 and DR3. It’s a bit like an online game in that way – a continuous story. I don’t want to say episodic, but I think you’ll find there’ll be scriptwriters coming in to continue the story." It was announced by Capcom in September 2010 that they intended to acquire Blue Castle Games after their work on Dead Rising 2.
In 2011, a rumor started that Dead Rising 3 would follow a mechanic named Rick, who is attempting to build a plane with spare parts before Los Perdidos, the city he is in, is bombed because of the outbreak. Also, in January 2013, two members of an animation studio both posted on their resumes a supposed Dead Rising 3 cinematic via LinkedIn. Later in June at E3 2013, Dead Rising 3 was revealed and gameplay for it was shown, and the main character was revealed to be named Nick Ramos.
Trivia[]
- There is much speculation over which ending is the true one, Ending A or Ending S. Capcom stated at E3 2013 that Ending S is canon; however, Ending A leads to Dead Rising 2: Case West, which was also confirmed to be canon. It is a possibility that they are both canon, but it is never explained. However, it can be some sort of combination, with Chuck, Stacey, and Katey going to the rescue helicopter together after Ending S, but Chuck being stopped by zombified TK, like in Ending A.
- Dead Rising 2's port for the Xbox One and PS4 experiences issues with its stability. Originally for PS4 players, the game would not boot up at all. For Xbox One players, the game experiences freak, uncontrollable bugs that soon lead to the game crashing. An example of the bugs include "flying" over the Yucatan Casino, entities falling down the boundaries of the map, Chuck's jump height being severely gimped, performing certain skill moves leads to crashing in conjunction with the other bugs, going into the Sports Car may cause the game to freeze, and "flying" in Fortune Park.
Videos[]
Gallery[]
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Fortune City Hotel Slaughter
See also[]
- Dead Rising 2 walkthrough
- Dead Rising 2 original soundtrack
- Dead Rising
- Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
- Dead Rising 2: Case West
External links[]
- Making of Dead Rising 2 - 6 videos
- Official website of Dead Rising 2
- Blue Castle Games official website
- Capcom official website
- Dead Rising 2 manual, Steam
- Dead Rising 2 info and weapons list
References[]
- ↑ PEGI rating
- ↑ BBFC rating
- ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-02-02-dead-rising-2-lost-planet-2-sales
- ↑ Play.tm - Dead Rising 2 Shifts 2 Million Copies
- ↑ Spencer, On The Record With Dead Rising 2: Off The Record’s Producer, Siliconera, (July 17, 2011).
- ↑ Daniel Kaszor, Dead Rising 3 is flush with dark horror … until you want it to be funny, Financial Post, September 10, 2013.
- ↑ a b Announcing Dead Rising 2, Right in Your Browser, Capcom-Unity, (November 9, 2011).
- ↑ Michael Fahey, Now You Can Play Dead Rising 2 in Your Web Browser, Kotaku, (November 9, 2011).
- ↑ Matt Hawkins, You can now test drive ‘Dead Rising 2′ in your web browser, theoretically, Guyism, (November 10, 2011)