It is still Dead Rising 2, but a poor game from every other aspect.
First of all, it is insultingly short. Roughly, two hours of playing. Of course you can play it for a second, or a third time to discover some more hidden survivors, or reach level 50, but there aren't really many things that can make you be more interested in the game, even if you are a die-hard fan of the franchise, like I.
However short duration isn't really the biggest problem of the game. What annoyed me the most is the dull industrial-like environment of the Phenotrans laboratories, where practically all you do all of the time is to climb up and down endless stairways, getting hit every 10 seconds by the bullets of the special forces and always have the feeling that you are trapped inside a cage, with stairs that is, a lot of stairs.
Secondly, there is no Stacey anymore to call you on the radio, so you are all alone without any notification, or orientation regarding the locations of the survivors. It may sound challenging, but at the bottom line the whole thing now is a pain, I assure you for that.
The combo weapons are very few in this game, the new ones even fewer and basically only one is worth it. Surprisingly and fortunately, the standard weapons are very efficient and there are a lot of them around you, so you can play the whole game with those, without having to search for specific combo tools and maintenance rooms.
About Frank West. His return is most welcomed, but game-play wise, with a few exceptions he is rather useless. Practically you are all alone again. The good news is that he is invulnerable, so at least you don't have to worry to keep him alive. He is there merely as a "decoration element". Oh, and you can't play as Frank on the single player mode, only on multi-player...Strange. Looks like they want to encourage us to go online and make some new friends. How thoughtful of them!
Also as a general impression, Case West didn't do so well in the areas of humour and of that joyful craziness DR2 was so good at. It is rather a depressive version of Dead Rising 2. The zombies massacre is still there of course, but it is rather a soulless procedure, than genuine fun. The environment plays a decisive role here. It's a different feeling to be inside a colorful shopping mall and fool around, and very different to be trapped inside a medical facility with stairs...
The bitter and short story, and the overall underwhelming experience, it sort of made me feel down after I finished it. I thought that something was missing, or to be precise, most things were missing.