Dead rising 2 review classic game room

That effervescent creativity bubbles over into the combat. The biggest addition to Dead Rising 2 is a crafting system that lets you combine certain objects to create gloriously over-the-top weapons. You can duct tape a machete onto the end of a push broom, affix a machine gun to the arm of a robotic bear, or light your boxing gloves on fire with a spurt of motor oil. It's a fantastic and ridiculous system that gives you a plethora of goofy ways to vanquish your undead attackers. The combinations are preordained, so you don't have the freedom to create whatever wacky ideas you have in your head, but there are plenty of unique gadgets to go around.

You can create these special weapons just by tinkering in tool sheds until you come up with something that works, but to unlock their full potential, you have to earn combo cards. You get these cards by leveling up, killing psychopaths, reading posters, or rescuing survivors, and they not only supply the recipe, but they also give you access to its special attack. This forces you to scour the environment and complete objectives, so you have to work to take advantage of the best weapons instead of just using them from the beginning of the game.

Keep your eyes on the ball and your helmet firmly on your head. The structure that made the original Dead Rising so hectic has survived the transition unchanged. Even though you have the freedom to roam as you please in this open-world adventure, an in-game clock serves as a perpetual reminder to move on to your next task. Every objective begins and ends at a specific time, and if you can't complete it, it disappears.

In the case of optional activities, such as rescuing survivors or killing psychopaths, there's little repercussion for failure. But if you forget to give your daughter her medicine or can't finish a primary storyline objective, that entire plot thread disappears forever. You can keep playing if you want, and there's even a special ending to commemorate your inadequacy, but to finish things off the right way, you have to start all the way back at the beginning.

It's a punishing system that can serve as a stomach punch for the uninitiated, but it's also the driving force behind this unique experience. The threat of failure is always hanging overhead, and it pushes you to act quickly and make smart decisions. Dead Rising 2 is slightly easier than the original, so you shouldn't have too much trouble reaching the conclusion as long as you stay focused; just don't expect any hand-holding. Starting over in Dead Rising 2 isn't nearly as lousy as it sounds.

Chuck levels up by completing certain activities, and your experience stays with you in perpetuity. There's a huge difference between the slow-footed, weak man you start the game as and the virile Adonis you become when you reach the level cap of So even if you stumble and have to start over, you're so much more capable the next time through; thus, the whole experience is much easier and more fun as well.

In addition to earning boosts to your core attributes, you learn martial arts maneuvers. Jump kicks, power bombs, and elbow drops are just some of the deadly moves you unlock, which makes dispatching undead foes efficient and fun.

Pulling off these fancy skills is a lot more intuitive than in the original game. Before, some of your moves required you to click the stick while pushing a button, which was downright clunky in the heat of battle. But now, your techniques are mapped to the face buttons and triggers, so you won't fumble around as much. Unfortunately, the higher-level skills are not quite as interesting this time around. You can't disembowel zombies or perform a German suplex, and the replacement moves aren't nearly as flashy.

Still, the upgrade system in Dead Rising 2 does a fine job of dangling a carrot until you reach the summit. The bulk of Dead Rising 2 involves running around the map, rescuing survivors, and killing psychopaths until you trigger the next cutscene.

It may sound repetitive, but there's enough variety in these simple activities to keep you on your toes. Survivor rescue is not as easy as it sounds. You receive distress calls informing you of stranded humans in need of help, and you have to convince them to come back with you to the safe house.

Sometimes, it's as easy as talking to them for a minute before they decide hanging around with zombies is a bad idea, but at other times, it takes more convincing. You may have to strip down to your knickers or provide a tasty beverage, and there are enough preposterous requests to keep you guessing. Thankfully, their artificial intelligence has been greatly improved from the first game, which removes the aggravation of saving their hides.

However, as adept as they usually are at following you through the zombie horde, they are painfully slow at times, which makes an already stressful game that much tenser. But it's still a lot of fun finding every last survivor, and it takes a bit of practice before you can round them all up in one go.

Psychopaths serve as the boss fights in Dead Rising 2, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that man is worse than zombie. These deranged lunatics show their true colors when chaos rules the day, and their dark backstories make it satisfying to finally kill them. For instance, one of Chuck's former motocross competitors has lost his mind now that law and order have disappeared. He fashions chainsaws on his motorcycle and plows through everything that moves with creepy glee--even humans who are unfortunate enough to cross his path.

Each psycho has a unique tale of depravity, and finishing off these sickos cues a morbid scene of their ultimate demise. Unfortunately, it's in these battles that the sluggish controls are exposed.

There is a slight delay when you try to dodge or attack, and up-close melee attacks don't always register. You can overcome this drawback with a bit of patience, but it's a shame the controls in Dead Rising 2 aren't more precise. One of the most fascinating aspects of Dead Rising 2 has to do with how it urges you to play through the entire game multiple times.

Because of the pressure of the ticking clock, it's almost impossible to see everything your first time through. Going back a second time with a powered-up Chuck and a better grasp of the level layouts makes it much easier to complete the main objectives and thoroughly explore your surroundings.

There are tons of hidden secrets to uncover. Extra boxes of Zombrex, drivable vehicles, shortcuts, and all sorts of fabulous weapons can be found in the darnedest places, and it's well worth your trouble to comb the environment to see what gems you can unearth. One thing that may hold you back from repeat playing is the atrocious load times, which continually try to derail your fun.

The city is broken up into a number of malls and casinos, and you have to suffer through a long load time every time you enter a new area.

There are other technical issues as well, such as pop-in and screen tearing, which detract from the simple joy of slicing a zombie in half. Freeze rays may look dumb, but at least they're effective. If you don't want to slay zombies and rescue survivors by your lonesome, a handy cooperative mode lets you tackle the campaign with a friend.

Although it's certainly interesting to have a buddy by your side as you unravel this conspiracy, it feels strange during the initial play-through.

This is a narrative-heavy game in which your actions decide the ultimate ending, so having someone else along for the ride encroaches on your expression. Although co-op doesn't make much sense your first time through, it's a great idea when you replay the adventure.

Combining your destructive might against the undead zombies and uncaring psychopaths is cathartic, and getting help makes rescuing survivors much easier. Verdict Again, Dead Rising 2 has issues.

Using a car battery and a Street Fighter mask to electrocute the undead and a set of knives and a pair of boxing gloves to make Wolverine claws are all great times.

Any issue the game might have just falls to the backburner. Was this article informative? YES NO. In This Article. Dead Rising 2 takes the franchise to a new level of zombie-killing fun with tens of thousands of zombies, the all new gambling paradise of Fortune City, plus a host of new in-game objects that can be used as deadly weapons to stave off the zombie assault.

Release Date. Dead Rising 2 Review. What did you think? Have you played Dead Rising 2? More Reviews by Greg Miller. The Walking Dead: Days Review. Top 10 Anime of IGN Logo Recommends. Only time will tell. Starfield Jared Moore Jackson as Nick Fury, sans eye-patch.