DRW Dead Rising 2

For a list of the important events in this game, see Dead Rising 2 Timeline

Dead Rising 2 is the sequel to the popular Xbox 360 game Dead Rising. It was released on September 28th in North America, September 30th in Japan and September 24th in Europe on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Windows PC. The release date was delayed numerous times due to certain development issues. It is set in a Las Vegas-like setting called Fortune City, which suddenly fell victim to a zombie outbreak in an act of terrorism.

Case Zero, the prologue to the main game, is available for download as DLC on the 360, while Case West, the epilogue, is to be released.

Synopsis
The game takes place five years after the original, in a Las Vegas-like resort called Fortune City. Chuck Greene, a former motocross champion, was in Las Vegas with his wife and daughter, when a zombie outbreak occurred and the city was overrun. His wife became a zombie, and infected their daughter, Katey. Chuck and his daughter managed to escape the city, but in order to save Katey, he constantly had to procure Zombrex for her.

Three years later, he competed in Terror is Reality to get enough money to buy the increasingly expensive anti-zombification drug. Chuck participated the show and won, but after the show an imposter caused an outbreak by releasing the zombies. Chuck is framed as the man who caused the outbreak, and with the help of CURE leader Stacey Forsythe, he has three days before the military arrive to find evidence that says otherwise. Not only that, but he must also find daily doses of Zombrex to keep his daughter from turning.

Note: For simplicity reasons, the story is broken up into sections similar to the original Dead Rising, as there are no official "modes" in Dead Rising 2.

72 Hour Mode
The game's main story.

Overtime Mode
A continuation of 72 Hour Mode. It can be only played if you get the true ending in the main story.

Gameplay
Dead Rising 2 introduces a great deal of new weapons and items, and the potential onscreen zombie count is set to be dramatically increased to as high as 7000, at least ten times that of the original. The new protagonist of Dead Rising 2 has been officially named by Capcom as Chuck Greene. Frank West was said not to appear "in the new game" and is "taking a break" at the Dead Rising 2 panel at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego. Recently Frank was announced to appear in the epilogue for Dead Rising 2 named Dead Rising 2: Case West, it will involve both Chuck and Frank working together. This too will be a Xbox Live exclusive. No news yet on when it is released. However, they said it will be available after Dead Rising 2's release date in the US.

Multiplayer
Dead Rising 2 includes both two player co-op and a more traditional four player multiplayer mode.

Terror is Reality
A multiplayer mode in which four players compete in various challenges; these challenges include players killing zombies with certain weapons and techniques in order to accumulate the most points in a certain time to be declared the winner. There will be a total of 9 different challenges. The Terror is Reality game show is very similar to American Gladiators. Players can transfer the money they collected from this mode to the main game.

Co-Op
Asides from the more traditional four player mode, the game features an online two player Co-Op mode. Two players will be able to take control of two different Chuck Greenes and complete the story mode together. Getting level ups will be integrated, and will be saved for both players. If they find a combo card that player will keep it, regardless of host status. Money will also be saved for both players. During story progression only the host will keep story progress. If a player is downed they can call for help and be revived via food.

Development
On February 9, 2009, Capcom officially confirmed that Dead Rising 2 is in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC gaming platforms. It will be developed by Capcom Games Vancouver (formerly known as Blue Castle Games), a Canadian games company.

Outbreak Edition
Exclusive to Europe, the Outbreak edition features a detailed 12″ zombie figurine complete with accessories (including a Servbot head), a download token for a bonus theme pack plus additional bonus content for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Zombrex Edition
Available in both North America and Europe, the Zombrex edition comes as a two-disc steelbook case and includes a Zombrex syringe pen, prescription notepad, prospectus sales brochure, safety card, and a 48-page hardback Dead Rising 2 art book. In addition to those items, the Xbox 360 Zombrex edition will include a DVD featuring a high-definition "Making of" featurette, along with the Zombrex: Dead Rising Sun movie, and the PlayStation 3 Zombrex edition will include a Blu-Ray disc featuring the "Making of" featurette, as well as a voucher for a downloadable XMB theme. (European version of the Zombrex edition only contains the Pen & Making of DVD in the steel case regardless of console.)

High Stakes Edition
The "High Stakes" edition includes a copy of the game, an in-game outfit, a poker set, a visitor map, and a DLC voucher. One special edition will have a special ticket that can be used to redeem a 6 foot tall zombie replica.

Endings

 * See 72 Hour Mode (Dead Rising 2)

Possible Sequel
The creator of the Dead Rising series, Keiji Inafune, has speculated about the possibility of a Dead Rising 3, stating that its existence would depend on how well Dead Rising 2 sells: "Well, we’re not going to start even speaking about Dead Rising 3 until we see the sales of DR2 – unfortunately that’s the nature of the game!" (videogamesblogger.com). Fortunately, Dead Rising 2 did sell well within the first month of its release, racking up over 3 million units being sold (examiner.com). It is up to Keiji Inafune to decide if he would like to pursue a Dead Rising 3 now that the second game in the series has sold considerably well.