Review | Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

In Dead Rising 2: Off the Record we see photojournalist Frank West (the original ‘hero’ from the original Dead Rising) in a ‘what if’ scenario of the Fortune City outbreak. You’ll need to pretend that things didn’t go to plan for Chuck Green in the first Dead Rising 2 and head off with Frank to experience a newish story.

If you have already played DR2 it wont take you long to realise that it lends a large portion of the timed events, story and of course location. The outbreak occurs at the same time as do many of the same cut-scenes. In fact you may very quickly start to wonder what’s new. Firstly there is Franks photojournalism skills, in the game you will be able to take photos to earn ‘Prestige Points’, each photo will be awarded points against specific criteria’s such as drama, horror, brutality and even erotica. Additionally Frank will be able to access more weapon combos, fight new enemies and explore a new section (called ‘Uranus Zone’) of Fortune City.

In ‘Off the Record’ Frank is down and almost out, his fame from surviving the first outbreak has quickly faded and Frank has squandered away his opportunities as a celebrity as well as blowing all his money. In an effort to rekindle his place in the spotlight he takes up on an offer from Tyrone to take part as a special guest on the Terror is Reality gameshow. From that point on the story follows the same timeline as DR2 except that instead of finding Zombrex for Katey, Frank will need it for himself.

What I found particularly grating in this game is just how unlikeable, pretentious and uninspiring Franks character is compared to Chuck. Frank has travelled to Fortune City purely to make a buck and gain the spotlight, his whining self-centred attitude will have you wishing he could join the zombie horde in short order. Whereas Chuck is there to fight in the TIR gameshow, only to earn enough money to pay for his daughters very expensive, life-saving Zombrex necessity.

There are no significant changes to the game in regards to the graphics or mechanics. You’ll be watching the clock, replacing broken weapons and chugging gallons of coffee, orange juice and anything else you can find to hastily restore lost health.  A couple of minor welcome tweaks include a warning that you may lose survivors who get too far behind when you are about to enter a new area or are about to die, a new checkpoint feature, more psycho’s and loading times that are far shorter than before.

There is a Sandbox mode that will allow you to fight off both zombies and survivors as much as you please as well as bring over any money you obtain into the story mode. In this mode there are 30 missions that range from kill targets through to photography assignments. In many ways it’s an easy option for grinding up a few levels and/or raising cash to carry over for the single player (or co-op) campaign.

Is there enough in the game to justify paying for it as an off the shelf title? I think not. I was expecting this to be DLC (at a much reduced price). The photography element adds very little, where you would be better off spending time saving survivors (for far greater PP rewards) than stopping for pics. In my view the few additional psychopaths, weapon combos and new level don’t really justify the price tag.

If you enjoy the genre and have not played DR2 (as Chuck) then the game offers a lot of fun — otherwise be prepared for a dose of déjà vu.    [6.5]