Not as good as original but ALMOST!

User Rating: 8.5 | Dead Rising 2 X360
The original Dead Rising was released exclusively on the Xbox 360 as one of the first 360 games to come out on the console. I played the game and thought it was amazing (See my DR1 review for more) and eagerly awaited a sequel. I heard various rumors and eventually thought it wouldn't happen but then Dead Rising 2 was released in North America September 28th, 2010 after 4 years of waiting...now was it worth all the waiting and rumors? Yes. It is better then the original game? No. Is the new main character Chuck Greene better then the main protagonist of DR1 Frank West? Almost but no. Why isn't Chuck as good as Frank? I appreciate and understand Chuck's situation I mean his wife was killed by a zombie outbreak in Vegas and his very young daughter Katey was bitten and infected. Chuck now has to give her zombrex everyday between 7am and 8am to keep her from turning into a little child undead zombie. My only real problem with Chuck as a character is that he seems bland. He hardly ever shows any real emotion except maybe 2 or 3 times throughout the game and almost everything he says he gives the same kind of bland straight faced facial expression where as Frank gave us good emotion throughout the game at both emotional points and just random points. Frank West kept us entertained and made us feel sympathy and connect with him as well. Chuck is still a good character just not on the same level of the great Frank West.

Graphics- You'd think that since the game was released 4 years later in 2010 would have better graphics then the original game from 2006 but no not really. I actually to this day still prefer DR1's graphics as compared to DR2's graphics. I give credit though at certain points DR2's graphics do really look good but sometimes especially during gameplay it just seems to bright and I found myself adjusting the brightness level. Also DR2's graphics do seem a bit more cartoonish then the previous installment. Does it have better graphics then DR1? No. Does it have the worst graphics on the Xbox 360? No.

Gameplay- The gameplay isn't the hard to learn and it is still really really fun to kill zombies in this game especially with the additions of combo weapons. There are a variety of them and all give gruesome and fun results.

Story- You play as Chuck Greene a former motocross champion who had lost his beloved wife in another outbreak that occurred in Vegas beforehand. At the same time his young clueless optimistic daughter Katey was bitten and infected. Thus Chuck needs to give her daily doses of a drug that prevents turning into a zombie for about a day called Zombrex. So Chuck has a lot of stress on him. Competing on the Terror is Reality game show a conspiracy occurs which causes the zombies to be let loose on Fortune City and Chuck is framed for it. You must give Katey Zombrex everyday and also uncover who is really behind this outbreak, clear your name and escape alive. The story is interesting and made me want to keep playing.

Replayability- With the fun and intriguing story, fun gameplay, combo weapons, mostly challenging bosses and just sheer fun of killing endless hordes of zombies it will have you coming back for more no doubt.

Difficulty- On your first few playthroughs of this game you will find it fairly challenging. The bosses are all for the most part anyway difficult. But as you level up, use combo weapons like the Knife Boxing Gloves more often and learn/adapt you will find it easier eventually.

Fun Factor- There are plenty of things to do like play through the main story, rescue survivors, defeat/kill psychopaths, make combo weapons among other things this game is extremely fun and entertaining.

Overall- Overall Dead Rising 2 is a very good game that isn't quite as good as the original but is still a game that I am glad I own.

FINAL RATING: 8.5/10