Dead Rising 2: Case Zero review

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is a downloadable prequel to Dead Rising 2, setting up the story for the full retail game set to release on September 24th  in the UK. It costs 400 Microsoft Points, and is really good value at that price, here’s why:

Case Zero is set in a small town called Still Creek which is separate from Fortune City that will be the main city featured in the retail version. Within the town are various things for you to be getting on with. You have to keep your daughter, Katey, alive by getting her Zombrex (the anti-zombie drug!) to stop her from turning into a zombie. You have to fix up a motorbike to get out of Still Creek with said zombie-child crossover, something former motorcross star, and the game’s main protagonist Chuck Green is pretty handy at. You can also choose to  save survivors of the deadly outbreak. There’s one other thing too. Zombies. A whole lot of zombies.

Killing zombies is obviously the major point of Dead Rising 2, as it was with the original Dead Rising, and it’s incredibly fun. The number of zombies on-screen is amazing, and there’s literally hordes of the things in the small town of Still Creek alone. Luckily, you’re not alone. At your disposal is a huge variety of weaponry, some crazier than others, to help you brutally murder the zombies for your own enjoyment and pleasure. For example, there’s basic weapons like a 2×4, a baseball bat and even things like chainsaws and garden rakes. But one of the major new features for Dead Rising 2 is combining weapons. The majority of weaponry can be combined to make a crazy killing contraption. There are nine possible combinations in total in Case Zero, ranging from the already popular Paddle-Saw, to the brain popping Air Horn. It really is an awesome feature, and nine to feature in a relatively small game like Case Zero is actually quite a big number and I can’t wait to see what the full game of Dead Rising 2 has us creating. All of these Combo Cards can be carried over to the full game too along with Chuck’s level and experience.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is listed as an “Arcade game” on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, but it’s a sort of demo/Arcade game crossover. On one hand it lets you try out almost exactly what you’ll be playing if you choose to buy Dead Rising 2 in September, but it also lets you play it in a unique environment and carry over stats to the full game, giving you an early advantage over the waves and waves of zombie killers.

So, for 400 Microsoft Points you get a pretty substantial “demo” of Dead Rising 2 but with it’s own unique story and events along with nine combo weapons for you to create, levels for you to earn and literally an unlimited amount of zombies for you to dismember along the way.

Review by Daniel Brookes