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Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

Dead Rising 2 is less than a month away and Capcom have released Dead Rising: Case Zero on Xbox Live Arcade. A small teaser of what's to come in September.

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The decision to launch a prologue to the upcoming Dead Rising 2 is controversial in a couple of ways. Firstly, it only appears on Xbox 360 and according to Capcom it's vital to the story of Dead Rising 2. Secondly, one way to look at it is that Capcom are charging 400 points for what many would call a demo.

Case Zero starts out with Chuck Greene, our hero and pro motocross star, as he tries to escape an outbreak of zombies in Las Vegas with his infected daughter. She needs to be given a shot of Zombrex (anti-zombie drug) every 12 hours to stave off the infection. Chuck stops in the small town of Still Creek, to get a bit of gas, but he is still within the sealed off perimeter, and zombies are about to take over this quiet little town.

Case Zero is pretty much a miniature version of Dead Rising 2. There is plenty of weapons and zombies to have fun with in Still Creek, and there are survivors to save and a main quest line. There are different endings to achieve, and as with Dead Rising you are going to have play the game a couple of times to get things right. There is a lot to discover in the relatively small town of Still Creek. Overall, you are probably going to get 2-3 hours of entertainment out of Dead Rising: Case Zero - less if you ace it on your first try. It's not a lot, but then again it's only 400 points.

Blue Castle Games, have maintained much of the gameplay mechanics from the original, but things are a bit more fluid and forgiving. Mission objectives are clearer, and the ability to combine weird new weapons is a lot of fun. And fun, is the key word here. Dead Rising: Case Zero isn't pretty, it doesn't have more zombies than you've ever seen, it doesn't have the stellar game design of Left 4 Dead, but it's different and a lot of fun. The characters you come across, the situational comedy you create on your own, and the splatter effects, are what Dead Rising was all about and the same can be said of Dead Rising: Case Zero.

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What's disappointing, apart from the predictably short length of the campaign, is the number of different zombies you can slay. "There's that bitch, again!" my company shouted as I bludgeoned the same skank for the eleventh time. Maybe there is a dozen or so different zombies, and that's just not enough in my opinion. Looking at two identical zombies coming at you is disappointing. I also encountered a few bugs, the collision detection is not always what it should be, and there is quite a bit of clipping. It takes some of the fun out of committing zombiecide.

So, let's revisit those controversial points at the start. Case Zero does have quite a bit of story in it, and PS3 owners are missing out. Of course, I imagine most players care about as much about the story in this game as they do about the story in a zombie flick, but some of you will be pissed to know you are missing out on a bit of background story because of your choice of platform.

The second question, whether or not Dead Rising: Case Zero is a demo is harder to answer. From a gameplay point of view you are getting a sample of the real thing in a much smaller environment. That sounds like a demo to me, but the story elements suggests something else. Personally, I think this is a rather nice compromise as it is only 400 points. If you have been waiting for Dead Rising 2, since you finished the original you should get this, but if you are unsure about whether you're getting Dead Rising 2 or not, having a go at Case Zero will help you make your decision. It's essentially the same gameplay on a smaller stage, and you can't help but smile when you kill zombies with a cactus wearing a waitress uniform and a mohawk.

What it amounts to is something that's really hard to put a number on. It's a sawed off first couple of hours of a game, and while there is lots of fun to be had, in the end I wasn't overly impressed and I hope the full game adds a little more polish and excitement.

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Dead Rising 2: Case ZeroDead Rising 2: Case ZeroDead Rising 2: Case ZeroDead Rising 2: Case Zero
06 Gamereactor UK
6 / 10
+
Lots of zombies to kill, combo weapons, gives you a bit of background story, replay value.
-
It's short. Some bugs. Poor collision detection and clipping. Not enough zombie variety.
overall score
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Dead Rising 2: Case ZeroScore

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

REVIEW. Written by Bengt Lemne

Dead Rising 2 is less than a month away and Capcom have released Dead Rising: Case Zero on Xbox Live Arcade as a small teaser of what's to come in September.



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