2010/2011 -- 9.0 / 10
Dead Rising is a series of zombie games. I played the first one many years ago on the Wii and fell in love with it. The main gameplay involves finding survivors after a zombie outbreak and investigating things going on in the place where the outbreak is contained.
Dead Rising 2 has two games: Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off The Record. The games follow a similar story, with the original DR2 being the canon and OTR being an alternate non-canon version. I’ll compare the story and the gameplay between the games in their own respective sections. However, to set the groundwork, I’ll briefly cover the events leading up to the game, including a summary of the first game as it lays a lot of the groundwork. (You don’t necessarily have to play DR1 to enjoy DR2, but if you play OTR, I do recommend DR1 first. The summary of DR1 will NOT be spoiler-free nor comprehensive to the game’s plot)
Dead Rising 1 covers Frank West, a reporter who’s ‘covered wars before’, investigating strange events happening at Willamette Mall in Colorado. He learns the town is under quarantine, as there’s a zombie outbreak going on. We learn from a woman named Isabela, a research assistant, that this was all the result of the U.S. experimenting with cattle in a town in South America, causing a zombifying effect, which later infected the townspeople. This caused the military to kill the townspeople with a few escapees. We also learn that Isabela's brother, Carlito, who is from the town that was experimented on, is planning on spreading the virus across the country. Carlito is later killed, but Frank West is infected. He ultimately survives and is able to report on what he uncovered and this is then referred to as the “Willamette Incident”.
After this, the company known as Phenotrans is founded with the intention of creating a shot to stop infected people from turning into zombies. This drug is called Zombrex. The formula is based upon research Isabela had done.
A few years out from this, another large outbreak occurs in Las Vegas. Motocross champion, Chuck Greene, is in the midst of it with his wife and daughter. During this, his wife is turned into a zombie and his daughter, Katey, is infected. Chuck and his daughter are able to escape Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Frank’s reporting accolades seems to go down the drain, and he ends up doing commercials for things like hair loss.
Dead Rising 2 picks up three years after the Las Vegas incident. For sake of continuity, I’ll discuss DR2’s plot and then compare it to OTR’s. This summary doesn’t also factor in things such as survivors, which are all optional to save.
In DR2, Chuck Greene is competing on a controversial game show, Terror Is Reality. Chuck begrudgingly participates in TIR because he needs the money to buy Zombrex for Katey. TIR is a game show that focuses on killing zombies in various ways and has come under fire by a group called CURE, Citizens for Undead Rights and Equality, which views zombies as people who are infected and believes they should be treated as such rather than mindless beings. However, during TIR, zombies are let loose and the resort it’s being held in, Fortune City, descends into chaos.
Chuck and Katey make it to the safehouse. Chuck lies to the security guard that’s overseeing it, Sullivan, that Katey has enough Zombrex to hold her over until the military arrives. However, the leader of CURE, Stacey, overhears Chuck and Katey’s conversation later about this lie. Instead of turning him in, she tells him where he can pick up Zombrex in the resort. Frank goes out to pick some up, but when he gets back, he finds out he’s been framed for the releasing of the zombies. He goes to find the reporter, Rebecca, who obtained the tape and released it. He goes back to the safehouse where Sulivian is threatening to kick Katey and Chuck out but Chuck manages to convince Sullivan that he’s being framed and to give him until the military arrives in 3 days to prove his innocence.
Chuck begins uncovering that TK, host of Terror is Reality, has a hand in the outbreak and works to stop him from escaping before he finds out the whole truth. TK’s men work to steal money from the casino vaults, but that operation is also stopped by Chuck. Chuck arranges to meet the source that gave Rebecca the footage of the zombies being released, but it turns out it was a ruse to lure Chuck out by two sisters working under TK and kill him. Chuck defeats them, saving Rebecca and confirming that TK is the one who released the tape and purposefully framed Chuck.
Rebecca and Chuck watch a helicopter land on the roof of the hotel at the resort and again rush to stop TK from escaping. Chuck takes down the helicopter, allowing him to take custody of an injured TK, bringing him back to the safehouse.
The military starts arriving in Fortune City, but they are promptly wiped out by a new strain of zombies that are more powerful due to strange green gas that is seeping out from the underground. This leads to the race to get out before the resort is subsequently firebombed. The safehouse is overrun by zombies and Chuck has to save the survivors inside. TK becomes infected, and Chuck can give him Zombrex to save him or let him die (this is a determinant for the ending which you get; canonly, he does not give him the Zombrex, but for the S-ending and more story, he gives it to him.)
Chuck investigates the underground, finding a lab where Phenotrans employees are working, leading to him realize they’re the ones who paid TK to help start this whole incident in an effort to boost their sales, as well as the people who engineered the gas. Chuck goes back to the safehouse with this information, where he finds out Sullivan was secretly a Phenotrans agent. Sullivan kills Rebecca and escapes. Chuck chases after Sullivan and kills him. He takes Sullivan’s radio and calls for help, leading for rescue choppers to come and save the people who are in the safehouse.
In the S-ending (in which Chuck gives TK Zombrex), Chuck finds out that Stacey and Katey have been kidnapped by TK, who demands Chuck bring him various things. He does so, then goes to fight TK, killing him and saving Stacey and Katey. The three leave for evacuation.
OTR follows the same storyline as DR2 with a few beats changed. For the intro sequence, Frank West is the one competing in Terror is Reality as a “zombie killer”. After his segment, he goes backstage and witnesses TK talking to a CURE member and convincing him to release the zombies. Frank still ends up at the safehouse, but the whole incident is blamed solely on CURE as an organization and the blame falls on Stacey. Stacey claims this guy is a new recruit and she’s never seen him before today. Frank defends Stacey and tries to prove her and the organization’s innocence.
Like with DR1, he discover’s TK’s plot in the whole ordeal. He ends up capturing TK as well and bringing him back to the safehouse. The green gas incident occurs pretty much the same way, and Frank discovers Phenotrans’ involvement in the outbreak.
Along the way, Frank does run into Chuck. However, this version of him is one that has lost Katey to infection and has subsequently lost his mind.
However, in this route, Sullivan turns out to genuinely just be a security guard. Once Frank finds out the truth, Stacey is revealed to be a Phenotrans operative and kills Sullivan and wounds Rebecca, running off. Frank chases after her, finding out several harvesters have been set up to collect the wasps that cause the infections. Frank destroys these before heading into the theme park, Uranus Zone, to face off against Stacey. Stacey is in a mech and the two fight. Frank comes out victorious and goes to the safehouse as the survivors are being evacuated.
Similar to DR2, if Frank gives TK Zombrex, there’s an extra part. Frank gets a call from TK stating that Rebecca is alive and to bring him various things if he wants her to stay alive. Frank obliges, but it’s a set up and TK forces him to compete in a gladiator-like battle again. During it, Rebecca is able to bring Frank to safety, leading to Frank and TK fighting. Frank comes out victorious, killing TK and saving Rebecca.
When it comes to storyline, I much prefer Dead Rising 2. I don’t think OTR’s storyline is bad, especially as it shares a lot of the same beats, but DR2 just feels like it pulls it off better. I feel like Chuck’s emotional attachment to it lends better to the storyline and makes you feel more for him versus Frank just wanting another scoop. I think the fact of having to care for Katey and feeling the desperation and pain Chuck is going through really makes him a likeable protagonist and it actually hurts emotionally to see him in OTR so disheveled. I also think Sullivan being the bad guy vs Stacey works a lot better. I do like that Rebecca has a chance to live in OTR though... I was sad when she died in DR2.
I do like how they tried to shake up the story in OTR though despite the overarching story being the same. By changing things up, it really helped make it feel like a newer experience. I’m happy DR2 is the canon though.
Before I compare and contrast, I’d like to take a second to gush about the gameplay in the series. The main objectives of the game are broken down into “cases” (chapters in another word). You need to complete these cases in certain specified time limits (usually 12 in-game hours) or else you fail the game. I really love the time system as it really adds a strategy component to the game (and oh boy, did I go back many, many times! I even restarted OTR around 70% of the way in because I felt I was making bad time!).
Between these cases, you have the (optional) task of finding and saving various survivors across this giant map. This is also strategic, as it helps if you gather multiple at once (but there’s a challenge element with the fact certain survivors need to be carried, won’t use weapons, ect). Like cases, the ability to save survivors also have time limits, as you get notified of them at certain times and have a set amount of time to save each one of them before god-knows-what happens to them. These are given over the radio to you, but there are some ‘unmarked’ survivors as well you can just encounter. These range from easy to find to having a 15 minute in-game window to find them. Some you even need special conditions so they’ll come along with you (a drink, having a gun, or even beating 3 people at poker.)
This took so many do-overs lol
Mixed in with normal survivors, there are what the games call ‘psychos’, which is the in-game way to say mini-bosses. These are usually people who have broken under the stress of the events unfolding before them. In the aforementioned plot of OTR, Chuck is one of these (in DR2, his mini-boss fight is substituted with another TIR contestant, Leon.)
In both games, you also need to get Zombrex every 24 in-game hours for yourself/Katey (and administer it at specific times). Zombrex is not easy to come by, so you either need to 1. Get it from a quest 2. Find it somewhere hidden 3. Buy it for a hefty price from merchants. In DR2, you have to go back to the safehouse every time because obviously Katey is not going out into a danger zone; With OTR, it’s a little easier as Frank can do it anywhere.
Frank West T-Shot
Both games kept the dress-up mechanic from DR1. Given that you’re at a resort, you can find all different types of clothes to dress the main guys up in. I really like putting Chuck in a banana hammock and Frank in the plaid bra-thing and short shorts... (These outfits also show up in cutscenes, so it adds extra incentive to dress them up!) I also really liked the Elvis-esque outfit... Though for a while I did keep Chuck pretty vanilla as I really like his motocross jacket.
In terms of gameplay, I think OTR overall is better. There are some things I prefer in DR2, but in terms of quality of play, OTR is much better.
One thing OTR adds is checkpoints. In both games, you have the ability to have 3 save slots, and to save, you have to find bathrooms across the map. Now, even without checkpoints, it doesn’t sound so bad... That is, until you’re at a mini-boss fight and the nearest save is a whole loading area away and now you have to fight through a horde of zombies for the 4th time to get back to that mini-boss and hope you don’t die this time. Checkpoints really help with this and save a lot of time having to go through anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes of gameplay again. You also can load checkpoints, which also helps a lot, especially in a game where time is really important (many times I started going one way, then realized I was about to exit through a door that was on the opposite side of where I needed to be...)
OTR adds a whole new map: Uranus Zone. This map is a theme park and honestly really cute and creative. I loved the look of it, my only gripe being that seemingly there’s no way to actually ride the rides, which was kind of sad. In a similar note, it also adds a new vehicle, the Clown Car, which spawns in certain locations on certain days. It’s nice because you can transport 8 survivors at once... Which is useful because the other free car, a cart, you can only transport one survivor on.
OTR also adds new mini-bosses and survivors. It also changes survivor locations, which is a nice mix-up. Also, there’s a survivor who survives in DR2, but not in the same event in OTR which is interesting.
A new mechanic in OTR, since Frank is a reporter, you get to use his camera. This earns you extra experience points and is just a really fun mechanic. You can also later view these photos if you wish, which is really cool!
Money in OTR is also easier to get. There’s a main case where you have to get 1 million to TK though and that was still a beast to get... Also, Zombrex is more expensive in OTR, but honestly, with the money changes, it’s about the same level of difficulty.
I also liked subtle differences in conversations with certain characters between the versions. Like, for example, in the fight with Slappy, a mascot mini-boss, he blames Chuck for starting the outbreak and ruining his date. However, with Frank, he blames him for not saving the girl he was going to go out with.
I like how between both games the TIR game you play is different. In DR2, you’re on Chuck’s motorbike, and OTR you’re just beating zombies with your fists. I don’t really have a preference because both give a different challenge.
However, despite my glowing praise for OTR’s gameplay being better and adding a lot, I do think DR2 does a better job of the “Main” boss fight (aka, Sullivan vs Stacey). I think Sullivan’s fight felt like a big feat and it took me multiple tries to actually get right (I’d estimate about 10). It really did feel like a big boss fight and a massive challenge. Stacey’s fight on the other hand... Honestly didn’t do much for me. If it was a mini-boss, maybe, but it just didn’t feel like it fit well within the game. It was overall pretty easy; I just had to start over once. I also felt like Sullivan’s fit more within the world, especially as I had to combat zombies just as much as I had to fight Sullivan. With Stacey’s fight... The robot just didn’t feel like it fit, and I didn’t even have trouble with zombies because they were all a good distance away. I killed maybe 1 to grab a healing item, but that was about it. It didn’t have that same level of satisfaction of beating as Sullivan.
I do like what they added in terms of the Overtime part with TK (the part that happens if you give him Zombrex). I think it added a lot more stakes to it with having to fight zombies before him. That part gave me a bit of trouble, but it actually was a lot more fun than Stacey’s fight lol.
On some notes not pertaining to story or gameplay, I think the overall feeling of the game, both versions, is so much fun. I love the fact they give you little tidbits of info about the survivors you can save– something that really makes it feel more realistic and well-rounded. I also really love that the survivors stay in the safehouse and you can run into them again (and some even ask you on bonus missions– I do wish there were more of those, I loved that!). I think it’s no surprise my favorite survivor group was the gothic band Angel Lust.
I also really love all the weapon combos you can make in the game. It was an aspect in the first as well, but they made it really fun in this one as well. I also like the fact they incorporated that into survivors who’s thing was making them (with the Tape It Or Die crew). I ended up using boxing gloves x bowie knives for most of OTR lol.
I also really liked the music. The one that stands out a lot to me is the fight music when you encounter Antoine, a cannibalistic chef waiting on a food reviewer to come. It really was great for pumping up the player. I also love when it’s the nice mall music as well contrasting against the rest of the game.
Overall, I love Dead Rising 2, both versions of it. I think they both shine in their own way. In the future, if it gets remastered like the first one, I’d love it if they combined the games. I know there’s more story with the comics (and a bonus DLC game, but I don’t think that’s on Steam), and I’d love to see that integrated too! Playing through OTR, I thought of how fun it’d be and how they could perfectly integrate both experiences together (It’d be cool if they did semi-random spawning of survivors at different locations for each playthrough... Capcom, hire me, please-...).
I really do think they tried to work to make each game have its own best parts and they accomplished that. I was thinking during it, if someone asked me what one to play, I’d definitely say storywise DR2, but gameplay OTR... But I think both are really worthwhile. I don’t know if I’m more likely to go back and get more achievements in both or go to DR3. I really had such a fun time and felt so absorbed into the storyline of it, it was really fun to play.
I also think Chuck and Frank should maybe kiss. I don’t know...
4:03pm .. .. // 4.24.2025