Articles dr2

Published on January 11th, 2011 | by Mary

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Love the Universe! #3: Guts, Gore and Gambling: Dead Rising 2

The original Dead Rising game was nothing short of a masterpiece of the horror genre. If you’ve never played, it’s essentially like being dropped into George A. Romero’s classic zombie flick, Dawn of the
Dead. You play the role of Frank West, a reporter trying to uncover the truth about the outbreak as well as saving as many survivors as he can along the way. It’s fun, the story is compelling, and best of all
there are thousands of zombies to be killed. In a mall.

The only issue with the game is that it is extremely difficult for non-hardcore gamers to complete
the ‘true ending’, and saving all of the survivors is next to impossible. If you’ve done either of these
things, I salute you. Personally, it took myself and two friends a sleepless weekend, various internet
guides and a lot of patience to complete these tasks.

These issues have all been perfectly remedied in Dead Rising 2. Set in Fortune City (which is New Vegas
but I guess that title was already taken) you play the role of Chuck Green, a motocross-racing single
dad. Also, your daughter is infected and you have to give her Zombrex every 24 hours to keep her from
turning. I don’t want to say any more about plot in this game, because frankly it’s as good if not better
than the original and should be experienced firsthand.

Tons of improvements have been made in terms of gameplay, the key one being a far easier schedule to keep in terms of completing all of the cases to reveal the main plot. The levelling system is also much quicker due to the PP boosting addition of combo weapons – pretty much the best part of the game. Fifty unlockable weapons are available, which are assembled by Chuck out of various objects. From nail- embellished boxing gloves to dynamite laden arrows, the zombie killing possibilities are nearly endless.

Unlike the original, the use of quickstep drinks is not mandatory in order to complete the plot on time –
though it does help tremendously while attempting to rescue all possible survivors, including Snowflake,
a 3 year old Bengal Tiger. Many walkthroughs and achievement guides are available online for this
game, but the following tips I will provide are a good spoiler-free introduction to DR2.

  1. Easy quickstep – You can make quickstep drinks (which make you run faster as well as restoring five bars of health) at the bar in the Americana Casino. Just pick up some wine at the bar, which is of unlimited supply, and place two in the blender on the counter. You can make as many of these as you can carry, and they come in quite handy – especially later in the game.
  2. Books worth grabbing – There are a few choice books you can find at various locations within Fortune City. For saving survivors, the leadership book located on the desk in ‘One Little Duck Bingo’ on the Silver Strip is indispensable. It increases the speed of survivors being led by Chuck, as well as improving their skill with weapons. If you plan on gambling, getting all three gambling books dramatically increases your winnings. The first is located on the second floor of Royal Flush Plaza, on the floor in ‘Ragazines’. The second is in ‘Stan’s’ on the second floor of Palisades Mall, and the third is behind the desk at the back of the Shamrock Casino on the Silver Strip.
  3. Getting backup – Arming your companions is all well and good, but taming Snowflake is an excellent way to get backup as well as a really cool, though completely irresponsible gift you can give your daughter. Snowflake is located in the Atlantica Casino. After dealing with the psycho she is with, all you have to do is get Snowflake to eat three pieces of steak. You can bring these with you, or get them in and around her pen. Take care not to hit her, as you are attempting to refill her health bar. This takes a bit of patience, but as long as you clear out the distracting zombies around her pen and place the steaks where they are easy to see, it is not too difficult to accomplish. Once you have backup, always keep their health up by giving them healing items – this will keep them from defecting and attacking you.
  4. Combat – The best weapons for fighting Psychopaths are Claws (boxing gloves + bowie knife) and Tenderizers (MMA gloves + box of nails), though pretty much any fast weapon will do once you are a high enough level. For large hoards of zombies, the Paddlesaw (chainsaw + kayak paddle) or the Defiler (fire axe + sledgehammer) are great.

-Mary Hoffman

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