Dead Rising 2

[Greisha1]

I've been playing Dead Rising 2 A LOT this week. I bought it a month or so ago, but found it pretty boring and derivative of State of Emergency. (Probably in that it had craploads of people running around in a large city-environment. It may be a false assumption, since I only rented State of Emergency once.) But it's starting to grow on me -- finding new (and quicker) ways to dispatch zombies and beating the psychopaths is rewarding.

Yes, the escort missions and "beat boss" missions repeat non-stop. Yes, it takes a while to get to point A to point B in most cases. For right now, it's a lot of fun. I'm not sure if it will stay that way, though.

Does the pacing change at all later in the game or does the game run through the rinse-wash-repeat cycle of escort missions and the like?

[Astrosmasher1]

Got bored with this one and put it down never to pick it up again... so I cant help you.... its in my to do list with the first game

[JustLikeHeaven1]

Dead Rising 2 has quite a bit going for it.  When I first started playing it I really enjoyed the gooey, mindless, action.  The game feels like an HD Dreamcast game.  It has easy controls, great graphics and a strange sense of humor.  For me the best part was just messing around trying to find the zany weapon combinations.  However, the game doesn't really reward you for that.  Instead, you are under the constant stress of rescuing someone or finding medication for your daughter.  So while I wanted to hunt down a cool weapon I felt like the game kept nudging me along to continue the story.  Don't make a giant casino with tons of cool crap to see/explore and then put the player under a strict time limit.  If you want to do that, make the game linear with levels instead of open world/open mall...open whatever.

The game isn't bad and I certainly enjoy playing it, it couldn't keep me interested in it.  Maybe I'll come back to it in a few weeks...

[Viper821]

As I mention in my own review, Dead Rising 2 SHOULD have been an instant classic and an A/A-. The sheer amount of zombies and excellent details in the background (escalators actually look like escalators..... this might be a first!) are quite good even for PS3 standards.

Unfortunately, the 'clock' completely ruins the game. How many times have I been enjoying exploring a new area with new weapons only to have to drop everything and slowly make it across the map only to get a 'game over'. It's even possible to save without having enough time to finish a mission and get stuckwithout enough time although you can keep your levels when you restart.

Bottom line: I play games to forget about schedules! The game screams "sandbox" and is much more fun when you just abandon your daughter and leave everyone to die. Nope, no Father of the year award for me!

[VideoGameCritic]

I agree about the clock.  When I found out my daughter needed to take her Zombrex between 7AM and 8AM each morning, I was like, Really?  Did the designers really think that would add to the fun?

[JustLikeHeaven1]

Just another example of how realism doesn't always equal fun!  The game is about zombies for Pete's sake and yet the medication has to be taken on the most strict of schedules...talk about lame.

From what I've read if you finish the game it unlocks a free play mode that lets you wander about and cause mayhem.  Even worse than that is the recently released Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.  This typical Capcom rehash is the exact same game with a few new tweaks/bells and whistles.  First it lets you play as Frank West the protagonist from the first Dead Rising.  Second it allows you to access the free play without completing the game!  

Who is making these ill-advised decisions over at Capcom?

[ActRaiser1]

[QUOTE=JustLikeHeaven]First it lets you play as Frank West the protagonist from the first Dead Rising.  Second it allows you to access the free play without completing the game!  

Who is making these ill-advised decisions over at Capcom?

[/QUOTE]

Sounds like it's trying to solve the problems you've already mentioned - give players Free Play from the start...

Sounds like a pretty good decision to me.  I can't stand time based games aka Majora's Mask or Dead Rising.  I liked the actual games themselves behind the systems and wished I could have just played without feeling so hurried.

[JustLikeHeaven1]

I suppose you're right that it is a good decision.  It would have been better if they had made that choice from the get go instead of releasing a new version that costs $40.  Better late than never...hindsight is 20/20 and all that...  

I totally agree with you about the time thing though.  The feeling of being rushed all the time is not particularly enjoyable.  The games themselves are good and fun, but the relentless clock is your worst enemy.  It takes away for the game too much if you ask me.

[PacFan]

It sound like fun to me. Everyday I drop the kids off at school then go feed some barn cats we keep on some property that we have in the country. 

 

Some how I can see kissing the wife and kids goodbye and heading out to kill zombies just to feed those cats. But dear they are protecting the mice the barn from mice. Yeah you can all come along.

 

Heh I got it! Well get rid of it. Little Three Stooges humor!!

 

That might make for a good Road Rash theme game similar to the old 16-Bit game Outlander. If they would include the infamous decapitating limo from an old horror movie I once saw that would be all the better.

 

I'm full of points today and my point is here if you want realistic games sometimes you have to add real life elements. It could just as easily be someone needing insulin shots or an inhaler for asthma or like the movie Zombieland a really good snack cake.