Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

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This game is not part of the Dead Rising 2 canon, as it is a "what if" scenario, but Capcom did a good job of improving things like load times, and the zombies are more aggressive. Cut scenes and plot are different because Frank West's presence changes the situation.The game may come off like a cash grab to some folks, but it is not really by comparison to say, Super Street Fighter IV and games like that, which only add a minute amount of added content.

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record gives you a new main character, new plot, new aggression level for zombies, new Psychos (boss fights) new missions, new items, new weapons, new combo weapons, the new amusement park area Uranus Zone, new outfits and of course Frank West's camera is fully functional to take pictures of the carnage (he IS a photojournalist, after all). Also, weapons and items are scattered in different places, so expect to have to search for your favorite weapons because they're probably not where you remember them from back in Dead Rising 2.

It also includes a Sandbox mode that people have been waiting for, where you can freely run around killing zombies without thinking about the timer like in the main game, and can also complete missions for cash and PP (Prestige Points Dead Rising's experience point system).

Unfortunately they have removed the Terror Is Reality online multiplayer mode, and they did not bring back Survival Mode from the original Dead Rising, but Online Co-Op for the main game is still in tact, and for those who are fans of Chuck Greene, they will appreciate playing as Chuck when they are player 2.

The game is overall an improvement over Dead Rising 2, but still shares many of it's flaws. If you liked Dead Rising (Xbox 360 exclusive) or Dead Rising 2, then you'll like Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. It's a lot better than what they could have done: a "Director's Cut" with one or two improvements. If you like Frank West or enjoyed your time in Fortune City with Chuck, you'll be pleased with your return to Fortune City with Frank West. He's covered wars you know.

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Frank West is back, and boy has he let himself go. But in spite of this, he travels to Fortune City to rekindle his fame and finds himself in the middle of yet another zombie outbreak.

I was afraid to buy this game because reviews led me to believe that it was just a rehash of the first game, but I was pleasantly surprised. The new game play and different story line were engaging enough to keep me going, and the new sandbox mode is too much fun. Frank West brings new personality to the game, including some hilarious comments when picking up survivors and entering areas.

Pros:

SANDBOX MODE. I found myself playing it more often than I played the regular story line. Frank West can either mess around in Fortune City or play challenges to earn money. Smashing up casinos with no time limits to worry about is oddly stress-relieving.

-CHECKPOINTS. Any time you enter a new area, the game creates a checkpoint that you can load from if you die. Saved my rear a number of times. Why didn't you think of this before, Capcom?

Dialogue changed to better reflect Frank's personality. Most of the dialogue is new. Removal/re-imagining of certain cheesy puns (sorry Chuck).

New twist ending and slightly altered story line

Tons of new items, new outfits, and a good handful of new combo weapons.

Uranus Zone: New interactive area

Tons of new interactions. New ways to earn PP by interacting with the environment.

Better co-op, no more creepy Chuck clones.

More challenging game play. Zombies are meaner, SOME of the psychopaths have new and more challenging moves, and survivors are harder to rescue. Looters are meaner. Zombrex is harder to find.

SOME new psychopaths and survivors

Frank West's camera! Having the camera for this particular story line is surprisingly entertaining.

Cons:

Story line is still a little TOO familiar. They could have put a little more creativity into the main story line or added different survivors or more psychopaths, especially for the price they're charging.

You can pass three other video games in the time it takes this one to move past a loading screen or save screen.

Game play was a little glitchy? I had dialogue boxes staying stuck to the screen and one particularly annoying glitch where Frank walked around like he had anvils attached to his shoes. Could just be my system, I guess.

Frank West in a banana hammock.

I found this game worth the investment. If you played through the first DR2 and found yourself asking "Yes, but what would Frank West do?" this is definitely the game for you. If you don't have Dead Rising 2 yet, maybe you should buy this game instead. If you've played through this and think it was nothing but a rehash, well, I don't know what you were expecting. This game was branded as a re-imagining of the Fortune City controversy with Frank instead of Chuck. How different did you expect it to be?

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+ PROS:

+ Frank West and his camera return to Dead Rising!

+ New weapons to create

+ New plot twists, new psychopaths and new challenges

+ 2 Multiplayer modes: Game campaign and Sandbox Mode

+ New area: The Uranus Zone

CONS:

Still has long load times

No more "Terror Is Reality" 4-player mode

Extra save slots and improved survivor AI make the game too easy for veterans of Dead Rising 1

PLOT:

It's been 5 years since the Willamette disaster, and in this game, we play Frank West, a photojournalist who's covered wars. He's had his 15 minutes of fame, and now he's slumming around the game show Terror Is Reality to pay the bills. A zombie outbreak occurs, and Frank needs to keep himself alive for 3 days until the military arrives to clean up the mess.

In a nutshell, The game starts as Dead Rising 2 did, but the story is told with Frank West in the spotlight.

GAMEPLAY:

From the beginning, Frank starts off with his hands and feet as his weapons. As you wander around the mall, you can use pretty much anything as a weapon, whether it's a can of whipped cream, a bottle of whiskey, or a pitchfork. Zombies are EVERYWHERE, and when 7pm rolls around, those zombies take an extra dose of the crazy and get super-violent.

Killing zombies earns character Prestige Points, which in turn levels up inventory slots, strength, hit points, offensive and defensive capabilities. Frank West is also able to earn PP by taking pictures of people in various poses such as brutality, horror, outtake, drama, erotica and more.

Frank has a series of case files to complete over the course of 3 days and during this time he can choose to try and save random survivors throughout the city, attempt to defeat psychopaths who have lost their minds due to the zombie outbreak, and try to find the life-giving Zombrex medicine that he needs every day to survive. Or, he can choose to do nothing more than wander around trying on clothes, eating various foods, or gambling in the casinos.

There are additional weapons to create that weren't in Dead Rising 2, and the Uranus Zone is a new kids-theme park area which allows the use of carnival rides to kill zombies.

IS IT BETTER THAN DEAD RISING 2 WITH CHUCK GREENE?

Well, I liked the alternate Frank West storyline. I assumed I knew everything that would happen and where to find everything, but the game developers counted on this and made several changes to the plot and item locations which made it harder for folks who played through Dead Rising 2 several times (like me).

I love the return of Frank West's camera, because that's what made Dead Rising so memorable...taking pictures of zombies is a very fun activity, though it's pretty hard to get a picture of a psychopath when they're trying to cleave me from neck to navel.

There are times when this feels like a complete clone of Dead Rising 2, but then I find new enemies, new plot points or new attack moves which remind me that I'm playing a different game.

MULTIPLAYER:

A player can choose to complete the storyline with an online partner. This makes defeating psychopaths a lot easier than standard 1:1 fighting, and some of the trophies can't be unlocked unless you have a co-op partner with you.

The second online gameplay mode is Sandbox mode. This is what I was dreaming about...I can run around and slice up zombies with no time limit, no need to find Zombrex, no missions, just plain old fashioned FUN. There are several challenges to complete for single player mode, such as trying to drink 30 alcoholic drinks within a time limit, and these challenges have increased difficulty if you decide to play with an online partner.

Your character needs $50,000 to complete a game mission? No problem! Just do an online session and save that game file. Then when you go back to story mode, the money's all there.

TROPHIES:

There's a LOT of busy work in getting all the trophies for Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. There are easy ones such as getting 69 zombie kills or making a zombie slip in a puddle of vomit. For the more dedicated players, there are some time consuming trophies such as finding all the combo cards, photographing all the PP stickers, or abstaining from consuming meat, dairy or alcohol until the military arrives.

Some trophies are missable during playthroughs unless you use a strategy guide.

CONS:

I've said it before, I'll say it again..these load times are RIDICULOUS. Going through a door or moving from one part of the mall to another can take up to 20 seconds with each load. When you fight a psychopath, there's a cutscene...then a loading screen...then you fight...then there's a closing cutscene...and yet ANOTHER loading screen. These load times kill the pacing of the game.

I must admit, I miss "Terror Is Reality". It was fun to run around and put blenders on zombie's heads, tear through a crowd of zombies with a slicicle, or use a zamboni to grind them up on the ice rink. However, Sandbox mode was a fair tradeoff because in the end, it's all about killing as many zombies as possible in the most satisfying ways.

Finally, the save slots. One of the things that made the first Dead Rising so hard and so challenging was having only one save slot. This left no margin of error and would require another run-through if something was missed. The survivors in Dead Rising 1 had a nasty habit of walking into packs of zombies, making trips back to the safehouse very difficult as the game progressed.

In this game, the characters are much better at avoiding zombies and can even use weapons, if they accept them from you. With 3 save slots and the improved AI, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is more forgiving...but some folks do miss that challenge.

FINAL VERDICT:

On the whole, I really enjoyed Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. This gets 4 stars from me because I'm SO masochistic.

My main goals are hacking up zombies like I've got a hunting license, collecting difficult trophies and playing some short, goofy and blood-soaked online gaming sessions. If you like the same things, then I think you'll get a kick out of this game.

Now if you get frustrated with weapons that break (and all of them eventually do), long load times and time-limit missions, you might want to give this game a pass. I'd recommend at least a rental...Once you combine a 2x4 with a lawnmower and see the damage you can wreak, you might like this game enough to buy it.

Enjoy!

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This game is a lot of fun the first couple of times you play it it gets a bit repetitive on subsequent plays but since the game cost less than 20 bucks it was a good value. I had owned Dead Rising 2 with Chuck Green in the key role prior to purchasing this version of Dead Rising 2. I like Frank West in the key role better than Chuck. With Frank you can take pictures for Power Points (like in Dead Rising 1) and you get a few different psychos than when playing as Chuck. Also there is a new area to explore in this game.

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I bought this game after not playing any other Dead Rising video game and it's a lot of fun. BUT there are many things that bother me like no autosave feature, inconsistent hit detection, the most bothersome of all, time limits to help survivors. Those time limits made saving AND walking them to the safe house feel like a huge chore. I found it quite annoying to be hounded by your partner telling you who needs help and where, piling up missions which are TIMED. Because of that, Sandbox mode is the most fun you'll have in this game. Boss battles are also ridiculously frustrating, forcing you to result to cheap tactics to win. This is a decent game to pick up for $20 or less, but if you spent more you overpaid.