Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

DLC Review from Sarge - Monday, 06 September 2010 @ 8:05am

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is the new DLC release from Capcom. It's a bit of a sneak peek at the full relase of Dead Rising 2, so you know what to expect - third person action adventure survival horror. With lots and lots of, well, you know, "the Z word".

Case Zero is set 2 years after the end of the original Dead Rising, and 3 years before Dead Rising 2. You play as Chuck Greene (who bares a striking resemblance to Thomas Jane), a moto-cross champion with slightly 90s blonde tips in his hair, as he tries to escape from the small town of Still Creek with his daughter Katey, who's been bitten already - the full infection being staved off by regular injections of the experimental antibiotic, Zombrex.

Chuck takes a lovely paddle down zombie river
A lot of the game mechanics in Case Zero are not far removed from the first Dead Rising game. When last time we had wartime photojournalist Frank West, we now have motorcross champion Chuck Greene, who has a knack for motorbike repair and putting together random objects to create some bizarre and at times hilarious weapons to help dispatch Chuck's would-be dispatchers. The game opens with a cut-scene showing Chuck's car being stolen by a fellow survivor, which was also full of Zombrex. So the task now, is to get out Still Creek and on to Fortune City where he hopes that his daughter can get some medical attention.

But, as you'd expect, it's not quite that simple - Chuck learns that the military is about to move into Still Creek, and realises that if they find that Katey has been infected, they'll take her away. Chuck needs to get out Still Creek, and fast. He finds the main section of a motorbike, and decides to set about the town gathering the missing pieces to get out of Still Creek. Along the way, Chuck will run into a number of distractions, mainly in the form of fellow survivors, who will both help and hinder his progress to save Katey and escape the town before the army swoops in.

So, who wants to get picked first?
What makes Case Zero a truly fun and hilariously gory adventure is the weapons. If it moves, Chuck can use it to kick some arse. And chances are, he can also combine it with other things to make it even better. From the baseball bat covered in nails, to the canoe paddle with a chainsaw at either end, the weapons in the game are definitely something you're going to want to explore. While some of the things around the town can be used to hurt, some can be even used to humiliate. Putting a traffic cone on the head of a zombie causes him to run around confused in random directions and grabbing a tyre and shoving it over a zombie, watching him hopeless flail his arms never gets old. Even some of the more basic weapons can be altered. Let's say you're running into the undead horde in the local cafe, you can either belt them about the head with a frypan, or you can put it on the hot stove for a few seconds to heat up, then press the hot frypan into their faces. If you also use a heavy-attack with the chef's knife, that iconic music from Psycho plays as you stab your victim repeatedly in the chest.

Because of the amount of things to do in Still Creek, Case Zero is a game demands a lot of play-throughs. As you level-up Chuck, you increase your energy bars, your attacks become more lethal, and you're able to carry more items. At any time during the game, you can save your game and restart the storyline, carrying forward your ranking and money. Assuming you do everything correctly and don't get distracted by side-quests, the main storyline itself only takes an hour or so to get through - but to do it that way is to really miss out on the pure joy that is Case Zero. Each replay brings something new to explore, a new person to find, or a new weapon combination to try out. You'll need to play through this at least 3 or 4 times to get the full experience.

Who's head do I have to cave in with a sledgehammer to get a room here?
I must warn some of the more squemish, or those with younger children - this game is insanely violent and gory. Not only does Case Zero earn it's MA15+, it cuts into tiny bloody pieces with a broadsword. Considering how ban-happy this country's been lately with it's game ratings, I'm honestly surprised Case Zero got released in Australia at all. When Dead Rising 2 comes out, I'm going to make sure I buy it on launch day, because this is a game that is destined to get recalled. It's violent and bloody to the very extreme. There's targeted dismemberment, litres and litres of blood gushing everywhere, close-up 'heavy attack' animations and it's all out in the open in full hi-def glory. However, they pull it off due to it's heavily tongue in cheek approach. This is gory violence at it's other-the-top greatest and most hilarious.

Look out for Brett's review of Dead Rising 2 coming soon!

Pros

- So amazingly gory (TAKE THAT, ATKINSON!) ... You know, if you like that kind of thing
- The weapon combos are amazingly fun and hilarious
- You can carry your progress over to Dead Rising 2
- With all you need to do, and the time-limit that you have to do it all, it truly does succeed in the "survival" genre.
- At just 400MSP, it's an absolute bargain.

Cons

- The boss battle is amazingly frustrating
- No multiplayer
- A punishing save function (mind you, not nearly as bad as the first Dead Rising)