I’ve been having a fun time lately playing Dead Rising 2: Case Zero on my XBox. So far I’m finding it to be a fun experience, navigating between hordes of zombies trying to accomplish my objectives. While a clock is counting down to the ultimate end, I don’t feel the same pressure that I felt with the original Dead Rising and that’s a welcome relief. It definitely helps that the game is a short one so that an unexpected end isn’t so much of a big deal. I’m finding the save system to a joy with prompts occurring after each cut scene and between breaks to the bathroom. In short, I’m able to have fun and while an unexpected death may set me back, it’s not like being forced to replay a large of section of the game like I did during the first game.

And the bowling ball? It’s pretty awesome to see a zombie’s head explode.

But alas, not all of the game is glorious splattered brains and fountains of blood. Like sand in a bathing suit, there are some definite irritations. The game definitely carried over some of the weaker bits of the first one and even introduced some of their own. Here’s a non-prioritized list of things that tend to get in the way of having a good time.

Sluggish Interface
When the game prompts you to save or select a file, the game appears to freeze when you press a button. It’s only after ten seconds do you see any sort of progress bar, indicating the some file operation is in progress. It feels like you are playing a really laggy online game.

Written Dialogue
While the font is now readable without squinting, it kills me that I’m still reading dialogue at all. This is especially irritating when you are being attacked by zombies. It’s even more disjointing when the non-player character is saying something while his dialogue is different in tone. For example, the guy on the roof was yelling “over here” to me while I was standing next to him and his written dialogue was talking about his lost daughter. It just feels weird and sterile. Speaking of the guy on the roof …

Guy on the Roof
Uggh. The Otis of the game. He kept calling out to me “hey, over here” over and over as I tried to figure out a way to climb up the building. I wish I could have answered him just to shut him up. At least Otis stopped calling. This guy was nonstop and when I finally made it to the roof, he didn’t want to come down. Uggh.

Pawn Shop
Let me just say, when a town is overrun with zombies, currency will hold no value. There will be no buying and selling. Money might hold sway on the edges of an apocalypse, but in the center of the storm, money is useless. I believe bottled water and ammunition would have a higher value than a useless piece of paper. So, the whole “buying” game mechanic bothered me. Especially since I saved the pawnbroker’s life. Seriously, if that dude charged me a cool thousand dollars for information after I just rescued him from a zombie buffet, I would prop open his doors and ring the dinner bell.

Opening at the Gas Station
The moment you actually have control of your character, you can start collecting weapons. Mind you, you can’t swing your weapons, but you can hold them. I think the developers didn’t want people to attack the little girl but it was such a heavy handed move because I felt like something was “wrong” with the controls or I didn’t know the attack button. So when I first encountered zombies, I fumbled with the controls for a bit which isn’t fun when a horde is pressing down on you. It’s a small point sure that could have been avoided.

Too Many Zombies?
Hard to say. I’m noticing a lot of slowdown when the screen is filled with them and believe it or not, you don’t need a lot of zombies to create high tense moments. I’d prefer better placed zombies than a whole street of them if it affects the performance of the game. It’s fun for sure to see the wake of corpses behind you and it feels good to wipe them all out, but it just takes one bit of slowdown to make a tense encounter turn into a frustrating one.

Overall, I think the game is definitely worth the five bucks I paid for it. Hell, I would have been fine with ten unlike say, Onslaught Mode for Bad Company 2 whereby I paid ten bucks for the same maps I already own albeit with bots on it. And while the game has its issues, it’s still a fun romp. It’s a shame this wasn’t released earlier so that the developers could have analyzed the playtest data. Still, if it’s a sign of things to come, then that sign is a good one.