Dead Rising 2

After almost 40 hours of real time and two playthroughs of the main story, I think I can safely put Dead Rising 2 aside for now.  The game was a blast from start to finish, but at the same time it really made me long for more.  They stayed pretty true to the original formula that made the first game so unique, which I definitely appreciate, but at the same time I really want to see Dead Rising 3 taken to a new level.  A true open-world, where the entire city is your play ground.  Lots of different types of zombies, the mutated ones were a nice addition but they need to take a look at Left 4 Dead.  Take the combo card idea and just run with it, there really are limitless possibilities here.  Vehicles would take on a much more prominent role with an entire city to explore, so being able to outfit them with various implements of destruction would be awesome.

But I digress, I'm not really talking much about the game I just spent a week's worth of my life playing.  I finished the story with the S ending and was able to make it into overtime, but the last two psychopath battles against the main "bosses" really left me cold.  Neither was impossible, but each was designed to require a particular tactic and punish when you try something different.  For Sullivan, your forced to do away with melee attacks and resort to ranged weapons.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem, but it seems every psycho in Dead Rising 2 is hopped on PCP because gunshots don't do much.  That's fine with me, as my weapon of choice for most of the game has been knife gloves, but with Sullivan you can only get in a couple swipes.  After that he becomes "invincible", and knocks you off of the platform and into a swarm of hungry zombies.  It didn't take me long to switch tactics, opting instead to pick him off from a distance with the sniper rifle.  It did take longer, but after that I didn't take nearly as much damage.  You really have to be on your toes, even when keeping a distance.

There's also T.K., the loud-mouthed host of Terror Is Reality.  From the start it's pretty obvious that he's going to be the main antagonist; framing Chuck for letting loose the zombie horde that provides the TIR show it's main form of entertainment.  At one point you catch him and his hired thugs loading up a train in the tunnels below Fortune City,  It's never made clear what he's doing, or even what he's loading, until later.  After stopping the train, you next find him attempting to drill into each casino's bank vault and make off with the cash.  After he's captured near the end, Chuck makes it a point to let everyone know that T.K. started the outbreak just to rob Fortune City.  At that point I wasn't convinced, and started to suspect Sullivan was in on it somehow.  Everything fit just a little too perfectly, and I found it hard to believe that robbery was the sole motive here.  My suspicions were clear after completing the next case, where you find that Phenotrans has set up an underground lab right below Fortune City.  During that time, T.K. attempts to escape and is bitten by a zombie.  You're now faced with a choice to either let him turn, or give him zombrex to stave off the infection.  If you don't, he turns and once Sullivan is dead it's game over.  If you take pity on him, he shows up one last time to take Katey and Stacey hostage.  Like the first game, he then sends you off to collect numerous different items scattered around Fortune City.  Unlike the first game, where you were tracking down ingredients to make the precursor to zombrex, this time it's just an excuse to run you through the zombie gauntlet one last time before the game ends.

So I finished his little scavenger hunt, had my knife gloves ready, a couple painkillers to mitigate damage, and plenty of fresh OJ to down if things went bad.  In the end all that preparation meant nothing, as you get knocked out and all of your stuff taken.  The last fight takes all of the choices you had for the entire game, and tosses them right out the window.  You're forced to slug it out with T.K., all the while preventing Katey and Stacey from being slowly lowered into a throng of zombies.  Don't get me wrong, once you figure out his patterns and what moves to use it's not really that hard.  My problem is that, yet again, the last boss is a fistfight that involves little choice or tactics.  The first game ended the same way; Frank West fighting the evil army colonel on top of a tank surrounded by zombies.  At least this fight you have more room to move around, but other than that it's just as frustrating.

I ended my second run at level 50, 60 people saved, A ending.  This time I let T.K. turn, as one fight with him was enough for me.  Overall I would definitely rate it higher than the first, if not as inventive.

Dead Rising 2

The first Dead Rising was the reason I bought a 360.  After playing WoW almost exclusively for over 2 years, I sold my account on eBay and was able to get the console and that game.  It didn't matter to me, as it was really the only game I wanted at the time.  I have a zombie fetish anyway, so pretty much any game that features the undead is an automatic must play.  So now that the sequel is finally out, I find myself once again in gaming nirvana.  Dead Rising 2 has everything I loved about the original, and oh so much more.

Like the first game, you're dropped right in the middle of a zombie outbreak.  Unlike the first game, which was entirely in the Willamette Mall, this one takes place in the Vegas inspired town of Fortune City.  There are several different malls, casinos, and various other areas.  All are connected and open to be explored as soon as things get started, which is a nice change.  Even after 10 hours I doubt I've seen half of the map.  I still haven't found a gun shop, but I know there's one somewhere.

The really ingenious addition is the ability to combine items and create some interesting new weapons.  A baseball bat by itself doesn't do much, but combined with carpenter nails it's downright nasty.  Same thing for a flashlight, not really much use for killing zombies by itself.  Duck tape a box of sparkling rare gems to the front and you've got yourself a crude light saber.  Silly?  Yes, but very effective.  It cuts a swath through zombie hordes like nothing else, except maybe the broadsword.  As of now, it's my personal favorite.  Not only can you cut through zombies like butter, but it's got a combo move and alternate attack that splits them down the middle  Another example; combine a few power drills with a metal bucket and you get an interesting new zombie hat.  Almost every item can be combined with something, so there's lots of combos to find.

One annoying thing about the first game is the survivors were pretty much dumb as bricks, so you had to really keep your eyes open and stay close.  Thankfully the survivor AI for this game has been dramatically improved, so it's not nearly as frustrating to get them back to the safe house.  In most cases I just gave them a pistol, then had them follow me while constantly yelling to keep close or hurry up.  I tried giving a couple survivors melee weapons when I first started playing, but it doesn't work so well when they stop to attack a zombie and get swarmed.  Firearms seem to be the way to go for now, at least pistols.  I stay away from doling out the bigger guns.  Being shot in the back with a shotgun by the survivor you are trying to help convinced me. Even though they aren't quite as dumb as bricks anymore, they still fire with impunity.  Whether you're in the way or not doesn't seem to matter much.