"Priced-right Prequel"
It's been four years and
counting since Dead Rising first released on the Xbox 360.
The zombie slayer scored a stunning 85% press average and
presented a mesh of wonderful gameplay ideas. Some
questionable design decisions may have hampered the
experience for a few, but most were able to look passed it
and enjoy the bigger picture. Similar in all too many ways
to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Dead Rising took place
in Colorado's Willamette Mall and let players experience the
zombie apocalypse from the perspective of Frank West, a
photo journalist. There were rumors of a downloadable update
that would present new content and online co-op, though this
never came to fruition. Instead, Dead Rising 2 was
announced. Quite some time into development another title
was announced, Dead Rising 2 : Case Zero, exclusively to the
Xbox 360.
Dead Rising 2 : Case Zero is the
prequel to Dead Rising 2, it takes place in-between Dead
Rising and it's sequel. Players step into the shoes of Chuck
Greene, a motocross pro who also happens to be a father. His
daughter, Katey, is infected and Chuck must seek out a cure
for her. Case Zero is set in a ran down, zombie-infested
town named Still Creek, 40 miles from Las Vegas. Shortly
after he arrives Chuck's truck is stolen, so he takes cover
in a local gas station with Katey. Introduced shortly
thereafter is Zombrex, a twelve hour cure for the zombie
infection. Zombrex is no longer in production, thus it's
value is sky high. Chuck can either search on his own or pay
a hefty price at the local pawn shop. Aside from temporarily
curing Katey, Case Zero's other main objective is finding
scattered bike parts around town. When together, Chuck can
build a motocross bike capable of skipping town and avoiding
the eventual military invasion. Seeing as Katey is infected,
if the military finds her she would be submitted to
quarantine.
When you take control of Chuck
for the first time, you'll notice a very similar set up to
Dead Rising. The menu and HUD are slightly more stylized
this time around and there is a new icon hovering above
certain items. Adding to the original health and weapon
icons is a wrench, standing for a combinable item. Items
such as nails, buckets, bats and many others can be combined
to form combo weapons. These weapons dish out more damage
and earn a ton more PP, making them one of the best ways to
level Chuck up. After some basic exploration around the gas
station, it is time to step into the zombie infested streets
of Still Creek.
Most definitely the first thing
to arise to my own attention was the level of detail
compared to the first game. The lighting and such were all
just as beautiful. For a game with as much going on as Dead
Rising 2 : Case Zero, it all looks fantastic. Sadly, the
same can not be said about the frame rate. The game runs
from poor to average at best and it's a shame, because there
is so much action to be had. It wouldn't be as big of an
issue if the first game had not been butter smooth, but it
was and the same should be said about it's sequel. The one
thing to keep in mind is that Case Zero, while a stand alone
prequel, acts as a demo of sorts. The final game may vary as
far as production values.
After running around a bit, it
was also apparent that the game felt awkwardly stiff in
comparison to Dead Rising. There were a few reasons for this
however, none literally being a negative mark on the game.
Anyone who has played Dead Rising has gotten used to a LV50
Frank West as he retains his attributes in every play
through. Eventually what was an upgraded Frank becomes a
standard. In comparison, a LV1 Chuck feels slow,
unresponsive and about as lethal as a poodle. The game
absolutely does not run as smoothly, nor is it as fluid.
However it's negligible in comparison to the level gap. At a
maxed out LV5, Chuck learns two skills and still has a speed
of zero out of three. At a higher level the games will
undoubtedly feel much more similar, though I can't call Case
Zero an improvement. Shooting mechanics are slightly
improved seeing as Chuck can move around effortlessly while
aiming. While this is a nice improvement, melee weapons are
still center stage.
For a 400MP ($4.99) release,
there is plenty of replay value in Case Zero. Still Creek is
a decent size with a good amount to do. In order to save all
of the survivors, a timely and well paced path must be
taken, one which isn't blatantly obvious upon starting the
game. A good amount of exploration must be had in order to
learn the towns nooks and crannies. It is this type of
mechanic that is welcomed in a generation of games where
players seemingly follow waypoints and big red arrows far
too much. There is an arrow to follow for big objectives,
though it doesn't always lead the player to an unblocked
path. These will have to be figured out through exploration
and nothing else.
One big gripe with the first
game was it's NPC's, however Case Zero has much improved
A.I. partners. After leading a group to the safe house one's
habit would likely be to turn around and see which NPC was
hung up on what and who was fighting who. This time around
the NPC's stick with Chuck like a line of soldiers. Also
noteworthy is the exclusion of the cell phone. It may be too
early to tell as far as Dead Rising 2 is concerned, though
Case Zero had no signs of Otis-like calls.
Overall Case Zero is everything
it is supposed to be. A priced-right prequel with a ton of
replayability and a good taste of Dead Rising 2. It does
most everything Dead Rising does right and adds to it with
some new unique features and improvements in key areas.
There is some slight cleaning up to be done, though if it is
taken care of by Dead Rising 2's full release, the game will
be a perfect sequel.
