Dead Rising 2: Off the Record: When good war writers go bad.

Alright, so I figured that since I liked DR2 so much and the story was pretty good too that I'd decide to actually write a playthrough and discuss what is different about the game as I play through it.

Okay, first of all you play as Frank West who is washed up from taking his fame for granted in the Willamette case and uses Terror is Reality to try and get back on top and do what he does best. He ends up being a special guest for TiR and his game pretty much consists of killing zombies in a wrestling ring that has corners which are set up to kill the shit out of some zombies. Like the DR2's beginning sequence, it sets up the other playable mode before the actual gameplay. Although, whereas Chuck had TIR games, Frank has sandbox mode which are basically a collection of challenges that are neither story related or hampered by any survivor searching quests, just outright zombie-killing fun.

Secondly, the story has a different twist to it all. Instead of the zombie outbreak being pinned on the main character, it's been pinned on CURE (The Zombie rights activists from the original DR2) and you have to help Stacey Forscythe clear up its name when there seems to be something wrong about it.

Third, when you play co-op you will not be playing as a second Frank West (Like how it was in DR2 where it was two Chucks) but instead the 2P skin is actually Chuck Greene.

Next, you have the camera mechanic which allows you to take pictures and get PP for it, so for those of you who didn't get to experience the original DR's camera or Case West's camera, you now get full reign on that baby and man is it fun.

Finally, the first psychopath battle is a lot like the original DR2's first psychopath fight in that it involves a slicecycle, there's a biiiiiiiiig difference though.

MASSIVE SPOILERS

Spoiler:

So yeah, only the first boss fight in and OTR is already darker than the original DR2.

I heard that

Spoiler:

I knew the first part but I just assumed the latter would happen by process of elimination.

Spoiler:

This isn't released here yet, i'll post commentw wqhen i get my internet back

if i can sell DR2 for a good price i'll get this

Alright, more changes.

1. Chad and his wife are no longer listed as actual missions, now they are hidden survivors.

2. Capturing Snowflake is made much easier as she'll seem to go for the steak everytime she gets near it as long as you are far enough from her.

3. Brandon's fight is now a story mission and has had some changes because of that. It is now located in a bathroom in Uranus Zone, he kills the hostage he has this time so you can't save her and zombies are being pushed out of every stall in increments of three before he attacks from one of them so watch out for that.

All I did for brandon in the original was lure him out of the bathroom, dodge, hit him, and have him run away, repeat. And thank god for capturing snowflake becoming easier. That took me 2-3 hours of trial and error. I got to the point where I thought the game and internet were lying about him eating the steaks at all.

After this, seems the games an instant buy for me. Was holding out because of the free roaming concept I liked being timed. Also missed the camera.

Ace wrote:

All I did for brandon in the original was lure him out of the bathroom, dodge, hit him, and have him run away, repeat.

That's just dumb, he's painfully easy to beat even in the bathroom.

Oh and I'm almost on Case 4-1 and so far the only major differences are that the rock band is another set of survivors who are no longer listed under missions, Randy's voice actor is now different and Frank still says some different lines. In the way of new survivors, there are some new ones at Uranus Zone who have you judge a joke contest and the loser has you pay him money. This is sort of a call back to an earlier survivor who forced you to pay him too but far more than this guy.

Oh and now instead of getting X armor or Arthur armor, you can get the Protoman armor in Off the Record.

after seeing this has a mode similar to infinity mose. i'm going to try and get this asap

Welp, I made it to the part where Rebecca gets kidnapped but in OTR you have to collect 1,000,000 big ones for TK in order to access that mission... lovely.

I think Evan's the first psychopath I've seen to have a two-phase fight. Basically, for the first phase just bring some guns and keep your distance. He's got several attacks that are all slow as shit. The second phase is a bit more annoying because he's on his feet now and moves fast as hell but his grab takes health from him if you escape quickly enough.


For a new psychopath, he's pretty easy.

Which do you prefer thus far? This or the original? Which is your favourite MC?

Off the Record is definitely better. That's not to say it's worth 40 bucks if you already own DR2. This has everything DR2 had besides the Terror is Reality multiplayer but has more than that.

The camera adds a faster and fun way to get PP, Sandbox mode is a lot of fun since you go wild on zombies and do challenges without having to worry about a timer getting in the way of your fun, taking Zombrex is made far less annoying now because Frank can do it anywhere compared to Chuck who had to go back to the safehouse every day to give it to Katey, there's more stuff to make and in general things just seem to have been fixed to make this the definitive DR experience.

That's not to say however that DR2 wasn't already a fantastic game. Pretty much everything OTR did was improve on some minor problems that DR2 had, DR2 is still a great game and if you've already played it and own it I wouldn't say spending 40 bucks more to kill zombies as Frank West is going to be much bang for your buck unless you're a big DR and Frank West fan like me. Sandbox mode is pretty damn close to making the 40 bucks worth it, though. It's a really fun mode that I still don't get tired of playing.

And really, if you're going to ask me if I like Chuck or Frank better, I'm not going to be able to pick. Chuck and Frank are both good characters in their own way. Frank is more of the everyman who was thrown into the situation and did what any regular guy would've done up to wasting his fame that he gained from the Willamette Incident, Chuck is more of a straight up hero who does anything for his daughter and cracks wise constantly. Both are fun characters that have great stories to watch and if Dead Rising 3 ends up becoming "Chuck Greene and Frank West fuck up zombies for the whole game" then you can bet I'm buying that in a heartbeat.

Does Frank end up with all the wrassling moves he had in the first Dead Rising game?

Yes, it's awesome. He's got some extra stuff too, like this.

Oh boy, mutant zombies time.

Had more trouble fighting Boykin than I did in the originl DR2, then again I came into the fight with a bunch of melee weapons and liquor for healing so the combination of getting filled full of leading and trying to fight him while puking my guts isn't something that's advised.

Okay, I take it back. After the last chapter it's definitely worth the 40 bucks. Ask any questions you want to because short of a few I saved every survivor and bet every psychopath with the exception of Deetz.

i picked this up. i'll mainly be playing co-op with my friend though. but if anyone wants me to join them for shits and giggles i'll be up for it

Alright i played this today, i think i did the first 3 cases, honestly the game is stupidly easy if your a vet i thought taking psychos on below level 10 would be hard but i've killed every boss without having to heal much (only thing i ignored was taking any missions where i would need to get additional zombrex).

Haven't tried sandbox mode but assume it will be awesome when i'm up to a decent level.

Only thing i can't stand is stacey's new character model is offensive to the eyes, i don't know why they changed her maybe there'll be a reason later.

the only hard thing in dead rising was infinity mode in the first

actually, it'd be more accurate to say the hardest thing is infinity mode. it's not that hard either

Well the bosses aren't even hitting me this time and you saw how much the bosses hit me in 2. I've yet to use a cocktail.

What are the bosses like? Big zombies? Monsters?

Mental people