Genre = Action
Developer = Capcom, Blue Castle
Publisher = Capcom
Players = 1 Player
Online = 2-4 players, 2 player Co-op
Age = 18
The "zombie" genre has been around for a long time but it wasn't till George Romero's 'Night of the living dead' that the zombies became the shambling, fleah eating corpses that we know and perhaps love. Many films have attempted to add to the genre, '28 days later' gave us the marathon runner zombies, 'Evil Dead' showed us a comic side to the horror and that it's cool to add chainsaws into the mix. So what does Deadrising 2 add? In truth, not alot, and that probably describes Deadrising 2. A game that doesn't add alot.
Deadrising 2 is set sometime after the outbreak of the original game. Humanity for the most part has weathered the zombie onslaught and even developed a medicine that can prevent people from turning, naturally though its extremely expensive. You play as Chuck Green who's daughter needs a constant supply of the aforementioned medicine to prevent her from turning into one of the dead. Unfortunately the only way for him to get the money is to use his skill as a former motor cross champion and participate in "Terror is Reality". A horrific gameshow where the undead are butchered and points are awarded for the most graphic kills. Having won the tournament (as part of an optional introduction) Chuck's hopes of a quiet life are quickly shattered when a zombie outbreak occurs and he is framed for it. As Chuck you have 72 hours to clear your name, find Zombrex for your daughter and stay alive, after that time the military arrive and hopefully will wisk you away to safety.
The previous game was set in a shopping mall, very similar to 'Dawn of the Dead', in it you used all manner of tools to survive whilst uncovering the mystery of what caused the zombie outbreak. The sequel is set in "Fortune City" a Las Vegas esque town which is essentially consists of a mall with the odd casino thrown in. So little has changed from the original. The gameplay is similar as well, everything is a weapon and there are literally hundreds of zombies on screen at any given time so you have to hack and slash your way through the large groups of zombies ducking and weave past the smaller numbers. The controls for the most part are simplistic enough to make this relatively easy, the only difficulty comes when your inventory has grown so large it takes a decade to cycle through all your weapons. On the topic of weapons, the biggest feature that you may have heard of is the ability to craft new more powerful and amusing weapons out of existing items. These require a work bench but they are dotted around the map and often provide you with the items to make something relatively easily. Its one of the big features of the new game but in reality you will rarely use it, I was able to get through most of the game using just 2 ridiculously overpowered combinations. Even the boss battles that appear in the form of "psychopaths" are easily won by using the combination of boxing gloves and large knives. The psychopaths being human beings who have been driven insane by the outbreak and need to be quickly dispatched.
Despite the lack of originality I'm still a fan and I think its because there is so little to the game. It's an odd statement but think of it this way, you're given a large area, its littered with implements with which to dispense death and thousands of zombies to dispense death to. There's a simple purity which creates some truly fun moments. Yes there are missions but rather than being linear they are based around a schedule, so you don't have to complete them but if you do you've only got a certain amount of time to get to them before they dissapear. Missions fall into one of 3 categories, people to save, psychopaths to kill or main story missions. The thing is they are all entirely optional, if you miss any of them at worst you may get a cutscene telling you off and from there you can either reload or just carry on what you are doing. You can spend an entire session dressing your character up in a manner of different costumes and riding a tricycle round whilst shooting fireworks from your dinosaur mask. How could that not be fun? When the 72 hours is up you can restart the game with your character's stats intact and play in an entirely different manner. I'd recommend your first run through should focus on levelling and exploring, just so you can get to grips with the area and its shortcuts before beginning in earnest.
Visually there's little over the original, there's still hundreds of zombies on screen at any time and all manner of gorey things taking place so not alot has changed. I suppose the engine works a bit slicker, I vaguely remember slowdown in the original when things got particularly hectic but for the most part this game has been quite speedy no matter what chaos unfolds on screen.
Musically there's the nice addition of Celldweller based soundtrack whilst fighting bosses or taking part in particularly interesting events. Personally I quite like Celldweller so thats good for me but if its not your cup of tea you might get quite annoyed at every boss fight because it features quite prominently.
The multiplayer isn't really worth mentioning, the "Terror is Reality" modes where you play mini games with other people are amusing but I think you'll struggle to find other players to join you now that the game has been out for a while. They do give you money which you can spend on different weapons, vehicles and medicines in game so its quite useful if you do get to play. The co op mode is very good fun as well but again it will only work as long as you have friends who have the game as well.
So if you enjoyed the original you'll enjoy this, its the exact same albeit slightly better. If the first one wasn't your cup of tea then there's nothing new here to entice you. For those on the fence, try it, it's only £20 on the pc at the moment and you'll easily get your moneys worth.
