The events of Dead Rising 2 take place several years after the conclusion of the first Dead Rising game. The experimental virus transforming live beings into the undead has expanded beyond Willamette and is now present in most of the United States. When the severity of the situation became apparent, the pharmaceutical company Phenotrans launched a new synthetic medicine named “Zombrex” that could slow the zombification process. This drug was very successful and quickly ran out of stock.
The player assumes control of Chuck Greene, a former national motocross champion on the run with his daughter Katey and has made their way to Fortune City, which was created from the ruins of the original Las Vegas but has not yet been infected by the zombie illness. Because Katey was bitten by her zombie mother, she must take a Zombrex injection once every 24 hours to avoid becoming a zombie herself. Chuck is so determined to get his hands on more Zombrex – or at least the money to buy some – that he agrees to compete on a game show called “Terror Is Reality,” where he is required to kill the undead for entertainment. Immediately following the performance, several of his “victims” escape into the city, resulting in a widespread outbreak of sickness. Chuck finds out through a news report that he is being blamed for starting the attack and that the military will arrive in the city in three days to apprehend him and clean it up after the outbreak.
The majority of the game, much like the previous Dead Rising, takes place over 72 hours; however, once the player has finished all of the ‘cases,’ which are discrete pieces of the story that compose the game’s objectives, Overtime Mode will be unlocked, which adds both additional time and additional purposes. During the first three days, Chuck is tasked with finding more Zombrex for Katey, devising a plan to leave Fortune City, and exonerating himself of any wrongdoing, ensuring that he and Katey remain alive.
The gameplay takes place in an area similar to a sandbox. The player has complete freedom of movement throughout the zombie-infested city of Fortune City and can decide how they want the story of the game to develop by determining whether or not to complete objectives (both story-related and side missions, the latter of which primarily involve rescuing people from zombies). The player can completely ignore the main storyline, allowing all survivors to perish, and instead choose to either combat the zombies roaming the streets or explore. The “game over” screen won’t appear as a consequence of this action; rather, it will lead to a different conclusion. In contrast to Dead Rising 2: Case 0, the game will not end if the player cannot give Katey a shot of Zombrex once every twenty-four hours. If Story Mode is cleared with the true ending (which requires completing all plot-related objectives, sometimes known as “case files”), Overtime Mode will be unlocked. This mode will expand the main narrative of the game.
The anti-zombie drug Zombrex can be purchased from merchants eager to kill off the zombie epidemic or located in various locations throughout the city. Chuck receives experience points (referred to as “Prestige Points” in the first game) for saving survivors, defeating psychopaths (survivors who are hostile to Chuck), and chopping zombies. These experience points are used to level up, resulting in Chuck gaining more strength, a more extensive inventory, or new abilities (such as faster movement or additional combat techniques).
The first game was particularly well-known for the creative methods in which players might kill zombies. Most of the environment may be used as a weapon, ranging from standard pistols and shotguns to various types of gardening equipment, food (throwing soda cans on zombies), or plastic light sabers that flash in the dark from a kid’s toy store. The developers at Capcom didn’t think anything was too out there to employ as a weapon in their game. This legacy was carried on by Blue Castle Games, the new creator of Dead Rising 2, who added a further aspect to the combat system as the work bench. Chuck can now create his unique weaponry by utilizing various components he unearths in multiple locations throughout the city. The player may experiment to figure out how to make a specific customized weapon or gather unique blueprints, which are called combo cards. These can be unlocked by gaining levels, completing side quests, or making further headway in the game’s main storyline. Chuck earns extra experience from each enemy he kills when using customized weapons, which also do far more damage than ordinary ones.
Players who own an Xbox 360 and have a save file for Dead Rising 2: Case 0 can import their previous progress, including their level, abilities, and unlocked combo cards, into the Dead Rising 2 game for the Xbox 360.
