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Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Review
Harvest the living dead on a budget.
Written by Thomas Worthington, 02 September 2010
What's the cost for early admission to Capcom's carnival of zombie genocide?
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero has certainly raised a few blood-stained eyebrows as a downloadable prologue to quietly usher gamers into the upcoming and fully-fledged zombie-massacring sequel. Whilst it offers more nourishment than a typical demo, Capcom is asking gamers to cough up 400 of their shiny Microsoft Points for this pint-sized pleasure, but will they bite?
Case Zero sets itself a couple of years before the events of Dead Rising 2, with new zombie exterminator Chuck Greene battling against hordes of undead in an attempt to escape safely from Still Creek with his infected daughter.
Time however is not on Chuck's side. To keep his daughter from turning cannibal, you must seek out her fix of the miracle drug aptly dubbed Zombrex, a stock of which is subsequently stolen along with your ride at the start of the game. If that wasn't enough, Chuck must build himself a motorcycle in order to escape the town of Still Creek before the military arrive.
And so after some short establishing cut-scenes, your objective is to trot around the town in search of engine parts, wheels and handlebars before sundown. Your objective pointer won't direct you to these aforementioned bits and bobs, although Still Creek is small enough to scour without much desperation.
In fact those familiar with the original should find Case Zero a walk in the zombie-populated park. Run around picking up anything you can and use it to mutilate, decapitate and humiliate the living dead that stand in your way.
Capcom hasn't really reinvented the formula much over the original when the concept is this wacky it's down to you explore the exciting opportunities that being the sole survivor in a zombie apocalypse affords. Chuck might not be equipped with a camera and a book of classic one-liners but instead his handyman skills allow you to piece together items in a tool shed and whip up ungodly creations designed to obliterate the undead.
There's also been a small handful of pinches and tweaks to the mechanics which made the original Dead Rising such a stubborn game to play. Even the most obvious of mechanics such as the ability to move and shoot whilst aiming over the shoulder has finally been implemented, making the firearms something worth picking. Save points, the bane of the original, have also been significantly improved allowing you to save after completing each case and offering up three save slots for you to exploit. They're little increments, but ones that improve the experience in little leaps and bounds. It's a shame that newcomers simply won't appreciate with quite the same gratitude as those who endured a 72 hours stay in the Willamette Mall.
It's disappointing then that whilst many elements have been refined, old habits appear to have shown age. Once again visuals take a backseat to the franchise's emphasis on pushing as many enemies on screen as possible. To their credit, the swarms of zombies can feel like an overwhelming threat when you're in a tight situation. Unfortunately compromise isn't an option and as a result some of the finer details - and in particular most of the characters - look a little rough, which makes some of their more touching moments a little hard to swallow.
Being a prequel to Dead Rising 2, experience points earned during your brief stay in Still Creek will translate over the sequel. There's a level cap to stop players from abusing this advantage but it makes Case Zero feel a lot more than just a lengthy demo.
So at 400 Microsoft points, is Case Zero really worth the skip the queue pass? For a short but sweet slice of Dead Rising action, 400 points is a small investment that could go a long way to deciding whether or not the series is right for you. Meanwhile those who have been eager to get on the ride for a while will find Case Zero a worthwhile refresher in maiming and taming the undead.
Score: 75%
