Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
Developer: Blue Castle Games Inc.Publisher: Capcom
Price: 400 Microsoft Points
Platform: Xbox 360, XBLA
Release Date: August 31, 2010
If you have been following the site for the past few weeks then you would know that we are all really excited for the new installment of Dead Rising. With the news about Case Zero being the fastest selling game on Xbox Live Arcade ever. Followed by the introduction of Frank West, we are all about to loose our minds over waiting the next 17 days. We want it now! But during the wait we will be able to keep our minds off it with Case Zero.
Lance (our Editor In Chief) wrote the article about Case Zero being the fastest selling arcade game ever. As that night went on more and more people were asking for a review. This was bad because at the time we were still on the everyone has their own day of the week to write schedule. Since then that has been lifted and I have been set free. He was about to jump down my throat about posting the article I had written, but I'm glad I didn't. After reading through it a few more times I decided to scrap it and start over. It was very boring to read and didn't really have the content that this game deserves. With that said it is now time to witness the greatness that is Case Zero.
I will start off by saying that the main thing that sets this game apart from the original in my opinion is the story. While I'm not trying to say that the originals story was bad this one is just more heart felt and meaningful. The bond between father and daughter just tugs at your heart strings, and the innocence of Katey is very believeable of a 4 year old child. "But no Daddy I don't even like Zombrex." That is unless your a heartless bastard. This story is going to be more mature and more of a fight for survival not only for Chuck but for the one person he cares for the most.
While the story is a great change it is not the only one. This game itself is a great change that developers need to learn from. The ability to play something that is not in the main game and have a story that sets up the mood. A prequel if you want to be technical. Is fantastic. It is something that will take into account your progress in levels and skills and bring them with you to the new game. It reminds me of the Fable 2 Pub Games though that game only let you take your money to the real game. But it is a great way to see if this is the game for you. Developers just need to keep in mind that if they price it to high or don't have enough content it wont sell well. Remember that.
This is a Capcom game as well so there are small details or references all over the place. From IJIEK written on Chucks shirt to a cardboard cut out of Protoman in the Still Creek Movie Theater. This game is a great place to test your knowledge. What is the importance of IJIEK? Well spell it backwards and it turns into KEIJI, as in Keiji Inafune. The Producer and graphic designer of many of the great series out today including Dead Rising. Just something fun to think about. I wonder if the Mega Man Buster will make a return?
Moving right along the gameplay is very solid with most of the old controls and many great additions. Here is a list of all the great additions of Dead Rising 2 Case Zero as opposed to Dead Rising.
1. Being able to move and shoot - It is very fluid, you move fast enough to escape most of what might be creeping up behind you and best of all you shoot with the triggers instead of the A button.
2. Combo Cards - I will get more into this later, just know they are Amazing!
3. Survivors - Did you ever try to save a survivor in the first game and have them just sit there and cry? Well thats out the window. The survivors are like bull dozers just running as fast as they can through zombies. This is a very nice and needed addition.
4. Being able to attack while holding a survivor - I can't even try to explain how many times I wold have to drop the person I was carrying to save Aaron or some other dumb survivor from the first game. It is soooo nice to just be able to push X and have Chuck kick down 5 zombies without ever having to put the survivor down.
5. Money - Some of you might see this as a bad thing. I actually find it more of a challenge. I can't wait to see how it will be used in the full game.
6. Additional Save files - Yes.
Case Zero has a total of 5 levels you can level up in this arcade game. They will all transfer over to the main game when it ships later this month. Leveling up will give you random rewards:
- Spiked Bat Combo Card
- Drill Bucket Combo Card
- Molotov Combo Card
- Attack increased by 1 and I.E.D. Combo Card unlocked
- Health increased by 1 and Back Drop Ability gained.
- Inventory Stock increased by 1 and Jump Kick Ability gained.
Remember you will not get all of these. On my account I didn't get the Jump Kick ability. Do not worry, you will end up unlocking everything when the main game is released.
There is also a new game plus system like in the original. Where if you finish the game or die you can restart the game with all of your saved information. Including combo cards, levels, clothing, PP, and money.
Remember you will not get all of these. On my account I didn't get the Jump Kick ability. Do not worry, you will end up unlocking everything when the main game is released.
There is also a new game plus system like in the original. Where if you finish the game or die you can restart the game with all of your saved information. Including combo cards, levels, clothing, PP, and money.
Combo Cards are a great addition to the game. With Chuck Greene being a motocross star he is good with his hands. It turns him into a handyman of sorts. All he needs is a little duct tape and a few different weapons and he turns normal things into zombie killing machines. You will find objects throughout the environment with a blue wrench icon on them. These can be combined. All you need is a workbench and some thought. There are a total of nine cards to collect in Case Zero:
-Drill Bucket - Drill + Bucket
-Spiked Bat - Box of nails and Baseball Bat
-I.E.D. or Improvised Explosive Device - Box of Nails and Propane Tank
-Molotov - Whiskey and Newspaper
-Air Horn - Pylon and spray paint
-Beer Hat - Beer and Construction Hat
-Electric Rake - Leaf Rake and Battery
-Boomstick - Shotgun and Pitchfork
-Paddlesaw - Paddle and Chainsaw
Out of the Cards to collect 4 will be Scratch cards or the Red and white cards you get by making a weapon. These show that you were able to make the weapon but you don't get as much PP per kill as you would if you had a Combo Card. You unlock Combo Cards by leveling up or completing story related missions in Case Zero.
-Drill Bucket - Drill + Bucket
-Spiked Bat - Box of nails and Baseball Bat
-I.E.D. or Improvised Explosive Device - Box of Nails and Propane Tank
-Molotov - Whiskey and Newspaper
-Air Horn - Pylon and spray paint
-Beer Hat - Beer and Construction Hat
-Electric Rake - Leaf Rake and Battery
-Boomstick - Shotgun and Pitchfork
-Paddlesaw - Paddle and Chainsaw
HOW DOES IT LOOK? While this is not the most polished looking game it is not half bad. The zombie character models are varied more so than the previous Dead Rising game. It is also an arcade game so the graphics are not bad for what it is they were trying to do. As you kill zombies blood will soak your clothing and get on your weapon. The surroundings are very brown and dusty matching what you might think of an area surrounding Las Vegas. All in all it does not look bad.
HOW DOES IT SOUND? There is not any music playing in the game unless it is a boss fight or in the environment. The zombie groans are good and the voice acting is tolerable even if the survivors say around the same thing over and over. If you liked all the sound effects and voice acting in the first game you will find very little differences here.
HOW DOES IT PLAY? It plays like a more fluid and enjoyable Dead Rising. If this is what we have to look forward to then I will be a happy person. The gunplay is smooth. The melee weapons don't seem to break as easily as they did and most of the attacking animations are both fun and bloody. Gathering survivors is actually fun and doing side missions don't seem to be as aggravating as before. The time system is still present so if that was a problem for you in the previous installment then don't buy this game. It is very enjoyable and fun to explore and climb on top of buildings. There is no coop in this arcade game. There is a leaderboard system though where you can see how much PP your friends and other people who purchased it have gotten.
HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? The game is on the time system so you start at 7AM and if you do it correctly you finish at 9PM. So thats about 1hr and 10mins of real time. With that said you will want to replay this game a few times just to get your feet wet and figure out what to do and how to do it. It would be very hard to get all the survivors, unlock all the doors, build every weapon, and finish the game with an A ending in 1 playthrough. I have played it about 10 times. So you do the math.
HOW IS IT PRESENTED? With this game being the prequel for Dead Rising 2 and being set 3 years before it does a good job of showing you what the main game will be like. There were complaints on the first game but those have been fixed for the most part. Sorry to those of you who don't like time limits. This is a great purchase and worth every penny if you plan on ever playing Dead Rising 2.
Final verdict:
Buy
Recommended for Fans of Dead Rising/Zombie games
If you didn't like the first you probably wont like this one...
Worth every penny.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
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