New Games To Watch For pt. 2 - Dead Rising 2

The second installment of my musings on upcoming games casts its' shadow on Dead Rising 2, sequel to the hit release Dead Rising from Capcom. Out of all the upcoming games, I am most underwhelmed by this release. The first Dead Rising showed next-gen owners their first taste of zombie action, and they lapped it up feverishly, which may be the only reason the original game was so successful. However, after some serious gameplay issues, in my books, Dead Rising was utterly annihilated by the far superior Left 4 Dead, which provided a better alternative to those zombie fans. For some reason Capcom insisted on a problematic save system, poor AI and of course, keeping that infamous screen text which only HDTV owners could view. Between these issues and the timer constantly ticking away while I still flailed on the first mission, I usually ended my Dead Rising sessions with a bunch of survivors getting eaten and my controller flying across the room.

With games like Left 4 Dead circulating on the market, what makes Capcom think we'll line up for another round of Dead Rising? They are no longer the only option for next-gen zombie enthusiasts and yet they still stubbornly refuse to meddle too greatly with the annoying save system and, at times, boring gameplay. The new game, although receiving a boost from a larger environment, better weapons and graphics and characters, still looks like the same, tired game we saw the first time round only in a different setting. For a studio like Capcom, who has never made the best games in their field, to simply ignore their consumer's requests and stick to the same formula, it is very disappointing. I was hoping to see more than just a zombie mash-fest with every weapon you can find. I want to see an emotive story line with moral choices and bold characters, with a more hands-on feel than the third-person viewer from the first game. and yet, even from the trailer you can see it is not. Dead Rising 2 is set in a Las Vegas lookalike and of course the main protagonist has changed, but most else seems unchanged. I'll keep an open mind, but from what I've seen on the game so far, it's lessons not learnt by Capcom, and ultimately, the game will be gathering dust with its' predecessor on my shelf.