XBox 360 Review: DEAD RISING 2 - OFF THE RECORD

rating:3.5

In a fairly rare move, Capcom have decided with Dead Rising 2: Off The Record to release a cover version of their own recent game, a reinterpretation, rather than an add-on like DLC packs Case West and Case Zero, which once again pits original hero Frank West against a slobbering horde of brain munchers. Quite cleverly, Off The Record is founded on the very post-modern idea of what happens to the hero of a game after he saves the planet and the credits roll, opening on a montage that reveals what happened to photojournalist West after the events at Wilamette Mall, including a double-quick rise to fame, and a similarly quick fall after a scandal robs him of the starlight. Inspired by the outbreak at Fortune City, West sees an opportunity to repair his career, and heads into full-on investigative journalist mode, entering TK's morbid gameshow as a zombie-slaying contestant and then sleuthing it around the same locales that original sequel hero Chuck Greene prowled for more personally desperate reasons previously. For anyone who didn't take the opportunity to play Dead Rising 2, Off The Record is a very good hack and slash zombie actioner at a very reasonable price - the story is pretty much exactly the same as the original version of the game, albeit with a few changes to fit the change of character. It's split up into missions, with individual time limits spread across a 3 day time period (until the cavalry arrives and quarantines everywhere), which require a lot of zombie slaying on the way, with all manner of wonderful weapons, from effective (guns and baseball bats) to comedy (handbags and giant foam hands). Each weapon has a limited usage time, which makes acquisitions and innovation key to survival. Anyone who has already played Dead Rising 2, will find a lot the same - with whole missions ported over from Chuck's time in the hero seat, though the return of Frank West's photographic abilities adds something slightly different when things are the same. So while you're being attacked, if you have the presence of mind to get your camera out, you'll find yourself rewarded with XP (called PP in this universe) based on how well the resulting image matches certain criteria. But it's often too difficult to get the best-judged photos away without compromising personal safety, so the incentive to take them doesn't outweigh the threat. The game is not bad, in fact it is just as good as Dead Rising 2 on exactly the same terms, but the problem is that it is near enough exactly the same as Dead Rising 2 - there are no new weapons (how could Chuck have missed them first time?), and the only new area to play at zombie killing is the Uranus Zone theme park, whose slightly chucklesome name looks intentional in light of the Prom Night achievement that rewards the milestone of killing 69 zombies. There are a few new customisable weapon combos, but that, the theme park and the ability to play through the game as Frank West don't really justify the tag of "new game". But then, it's only £17.99. There is a lot of fun to be had in gleefully dispatching the zombie hordes, but they are plainly too easy to beat for the most part (apart from when they band together in serious numbers and over-run you), and boss battles represent a huge hike in difficulty that are difficult to reconcile with how easy the combat falls in your favour for the general parts of the game. Which usually means you're unprepared for the experience, and death comes quickly the first time you try and beat the bosses - or at least that was my experience of it. As I said, the general nuts and bolts of the game are exactly the same as Dead Rising 2 - the game succeeds for the same reasons at its predecessor did, and doesn't quite soar completely for the same glitches and limitations as it too. The animations are the main problem here, as they remain terribly wooden (but then even Dead Island suffered from that infection), and there are way too many loading pages for a game that should be about fluidity and speed. But overall, it's another strong Dead Rising game, enjoyable for the same reasons - the reckless fun of the zombie killing - but it is so close to the original game that it's difficult to see many who bought and enjoyed that game shelling out even the budget price. The greatest sales point is definitely the new Sandbox Mode which lets you freely roam the Mall environments, taking on challenges or just generally enjoying the carnage, if that's your bag. With my final words I must say this: if Dead Rising 2 didn't exist, Off The Record would be brilliant, so it's still definitely worthy of a high score, and it certainly shouldn't be judged unfairly because it does. Dead Rising 2: Off The Record is available to buy now on XBox 360, PS3 and PC.