What I want to see from Dead Rising 2

Zombies – can’t live with them, and nerds can’t live without them. Though some gamers these days are arguing that zombies are suffering some over saturation in games these days, I am not one of them. I firmly believe zombies could be added to literally any game and that game would be better for it. Maybe not any, but most.

Being a huge zombie nerd, I nearly lost my mind when I first played Dead Rising. Outside of the weird photography experience mechanic (leveling up main character Frank West was partly dependant on taking different, vaguely defined pictures) the biggest draw of the game was being inside a giant mall (just like Dawn of the Dead!) where you could use anything and everything to smash countless zombie skulls.

But beyond bashing zombies with shovels and battle axes, Dead Rising was a pretty brutal game to play. The save system only allowed for one save slot, so if you got in a bind you were stuck with the last time you saved. Along with that, you could only save at bathrooms which, like most malls, were almost non-existent. One of the main tasks in Dead Rising is to try and save as many survivors from the mall as possible. This wouldn’t be so hard if they were actively trying to die as fast as possible by doing things like not following closely enough, not following at all, getting stuck on things, and moving slower than the zombies themselves. But to get info on where these survivors are, you are briefed by Otis, a maintenance man stuck in the mall’s security offices (the only safe haven). Unfortunately, Capcom didn’t get anyone to do voice work for Otis so these tidbits of information are deliver via the tiniest, most unreadable text possible. It wasn’t until after the game was released that Capcom admitted that the only tested Dead Rising on HDTVs and anyone without one probably(definitely) wouldn’t be able to read that text. Oh, and that they weren’t going to fix it. Ever. But on top of that, my biggest gripe was the way the game hurried you along. You were only given 72 (in game) hours to save as many people as possible and discover the source of the zombies before a helicopter was supposed to rescue everyone.

For starters, I know for certain that the time constraint is still part of Dead Rising 2. Developers at Capcom stated that they gathered that American audiences didn’t understand that Dead Rising was designed and meant to be played multiple times, so as to level up West. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t really grasp that aspect of the game and viewed the 72-hour time limit as almost a mistake more than carefully considered element of the game. I’m the kind of gamer who likes to take his time and explore my options in a game and didn’t appreciate the feeling of being hurried along through Dead Rising. A game’s replayability should come from how well it’s made and making me want to play it again, not be forced to play it multiple times to experience all it has to offer.

That aside, it seems that Capcom has righted all Dead Rising’s other wrongs, though. Gone is the photography aspect of Dead Rising – the method used to earn experience and level up West. Replacing it is a much more intuitive way to earn experience points. In Dead Rising 2, protagonist Chuck Greene will be able to create deadly weapons by combining items he finds in Fortune City. The more unique, violent and interesting the combinations are, the more experience points Greene earns – so instead of having to pull out a camera to try and catch some ambiguously defined photo-op, your XP points are now directly related to how creatively you can dispatch zombies.

I’m really hoping I won’t be tasked with saving too many hapless survivors in Fortune City but I’m not going to hold my breath on that matter. Greene finds himself in Fortune City because his daughter, Katie, was bitten some time ago and needs regular doses of a drug called Zombrex to stave off infection. You’d think Greene’s biggest concern would be keeping his daughter as hopped up on the drug as he can and not running around, saving some fools who couldn’t figure out how to elude the shambling hordes on their own. Unfortunately, the most I can hope for is that Capcom gave these survivors enough smarts to not wander helplessly into a sea of zombies when they should be following me to safety.

But more than anything, I want the multiplayer to be fun. I don’t know much about it outside of the modes revolve around a reality TV show of sorts with each game have different variations of “kill the most zombies” requirements. Honestly, I probably won’t even play the multiplayer since I will still probably be playing “Halo: Reach’s” multiplayer. Dead Rising 2 does feature a co-op mode – because splattering zombie skulls is so much more satisfying when done with a friend.

Luckily, “Dead Rising 2: Case Zero” will finally be debuting on Xbox Live Marketplace and sometime next week (Tuesday or Wednesday, I’d guess). The game proper was originally planned with an end of August release date but got pushed back, also pushing back Case Zero. While Case Zero is essentially a demo, it’s also much more. Case Zero is set (some years, I believe) before the events of Dead Rising 2 and features Chuck and Katie stuck in a small town where Chuck must find a method of transportation so the two can escape. Though it will cost 400 MS points ($5), all the experience you earn as Chuck will transfer over to Dead Rising 2, allowing you to get a leg up on the zombies of Fortune City. I’ll be interested to see just what in the way of missions is included in Case Zero but let’s be honest – I just want to see how many different, zombie mangling weapon combos I can create.

To surmise, I wasn’t disappointed by Dead Rising because it was a bad game – it was actually pretty great considering how different it was from any other game at the time. It was only held back by some unfortunate design choices that (I’m hoping) will be rectified for the sequel. And from what I’m seeing so far – Dead Rising 2 is everything I had hoped its predecessor would be. Be on the lookout for a full review of Case Zero next week.

"Brink" developer Splash Damage knows their audience

For businesses, it's usually a good idea to have a clear picture of the kind of people you're trying to sell your product to. Just like Cold Stone Creamery markets their products to people with no self control and Apple markets to people who can't remember that they bought the same product last year, game developer Splash Damage knows who will most likely be buying their upcoming title, Brink - namely FPS fans and fans of post-apocalyptic games because wouldn't you know it, Brink is a near-apocalyptic FPS!

As reported earlier by Joystiq, Splash Damage has announced pre-order bonuses for Brink, which will be released in early 2011. When pre-ordering at Gamestop, fans will receive equipment, clothing and tattoos based on the id classic Doom while those who pre-order at Best Buy will receive items based on Fallout 3. Other retailers will feature similar pre-order bonuses but Fallout and Doom gear is way too cool to pass on.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/15/brink-pre-order-bonuses-include-doom-and-fallout-equipment/

Rumored: Duke Nukem Forever is still a thing that is coming out at some point

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/11/rumor-duke-nukem-forever-being-completed-by-gearbox/

Remember Duke Nukem? Of course you do - how could anyone forget the buffed-out, one-liner spewing orange tank top enthusiast who saved our planet from aliens, or something. That story always was pretty vague. Either way, any serious gamer knows what a running joke "Duke Nukem Forever" has become - mostly since it has been in development since 1997.

DNF resurfaces every now and then, usually with someone in the industry claiming how amazing it will be (when its done) or with a new, much later guess-timated release date. This time the news is a little different and actually slightly hopeful. As reported by Joystiq, Kotaku claims to have info from a source with "knowledge of the situation" that states that development of DNF is now in the hands of Gearbox Software, most famous for the incredibly fun "Borderlands."

Whether this is actually true remains to be seen - Joystiq stated that no one at Take-Two (who retains the rights to DNF), Gearbox or former head of development at 3D Realms George Broussard has been willing to confirm or deny the reports. If this turns out to be true and Gearbox can work their Borderlands magic on DNF, it may not be the biggest joke in the gaming industry too much longer.

Review: Limbo

In video game terms, “Limbo” is fairly simple. You play as a young boy searching for his sister in a 2D landscape where your only abilities are jumping and interacting with objects in the world. But to only view Limbo in those terms would be completely missing what makes it one of the most engaging, thought provoking games since “Braid.”

Limbo is unique in how little information it offers. It starts without any sort of exposition, cut scene or explanation – once you hit start, Limbo simply begins. The boy will continue to lie motionless on the forest floor until you press a button and he opens his white glowing eyes – the only identifiable feature of the young protagonist. You are given no instructions on what to do, where you are or why are you should proceed. The plot point “you are looking for your sister” isn’t even brought up in the game (I only saw that in the various articles and reviews about Limbo on the internet).

Immediately, you’ll notice Limbo’s striking art style. Colored in a hazy black-and-white, the world of Limbo is as eerie as it is enchanting. The world of Limbo is ever changing and once you feel you have a grip on your surroundings, the backdrop to this surreal adventure transforms into something unexpected. As you proceed, the world becomes deadlier and the obstacles in your path become more difficult to solve. What seems at first to be a representation of the real world shifts and changes so naturally you will hardly even notice that the area you’re currently exploring is completely different from where you were minutes earlier.

While the visuals of Limbo immediately catch your eye, you’ll also be taken by the relative silence of Limbo. As you venture through the world, often times the only noise you will hear is the muffled pit-pat of the boy’s footsteps. The relative silence of some sections works well in contrast with the booming noise of other sections. Though it is hard to say what exactly the world of Limbo is, the creepy sound design helps pull the gamer into its dangerous world.

Though Limbo may seem like a simple yet mysterious adventure, make no mistake about the danger the boy faces on his journey. Many obstacles stand in the boy’s way that he must solve to advance where the slightest mistake will often result in a horrific death. Limbo features an achievement to finish the game in one sitting with less than five deaths but considering how often you’ll die just through simple trial-and-error when trying to solve puzzles, it’s a fairly difficult achievement to attain.

Limbo offers players an experience that will stay with them long after they’ve completed the journey. The eerie shadowy world offers far more questions than it answers and will have you eager for multiple playthroughs to find all the hidden achievements or perhaps more understanding about the meaning behind Limbo.

Review: “Alan Wake” takes horror games to new heights

While I was first pretty disappointed to find out that Remedy’s “Alan Wake” is more an action/thriller than a survival horror game, it wasn’t long before I forgot all about that minor gripe. Alan Wake combines all the elements of a survival horror game with an intense action experience and a deep story that will keep you engrossed until its final moments.

Alan Wake is the story of a fiction writer of the same name. Wake, a successful writer with a few years worth of writer’s block, decides to take a vacation with his wife Alice. They settle on the idyllic Pacific northwestern town of Bright Falls where Wake hopes to find peace and quiet and Alice hopes her husband will begin writing again. The couple aren’t in town long before strange things begin happening to Wake – his wife disappears and he begins finding pages of a manuscript written by him that he has no memory of.

The levels of Alan Wake are divided up into chapters and each chapter usually includes Wake investing and talking to residents of the town during the daylight hours and fighting dark entities known as Taken. These Taken draw power from the darkness and can only be hurt after giving them a healthy dose of light. Using light to hurt your enemies is an interesting aspect of the combat in Alan Wake. For instance, Wake will usually have a flashlight to fend off enemies but he can also use items like flares to harm the Taken and create breathing room when outnumbered. Taken aren’t the only things Wake needs to be wary of, as the darkness that is consuming Bright Falls can possess objects to attack Wake.

Wake travels to all parts of the town, meeting many of the odd residents of Bright Falls. These characters often serve as comic relief but will often end up assisting Wake on his journey to save his wife and discover the mysteries of Bright Falls. Sheriff Sarah Breaker has lived in Bright Falls all of her life and has an understanding of the weird happenings in the town. She and Wake’s best friend and manager, Barry, will often assist Wake, whether it is during the fairly boring story-driven day time segments or the action-fueled night sequences.

Though the day time sequences are pretty dull, they do set up the tense night time segments very well. If the combat weren’t so exciting and fluid, you might not be able to overlook the lulls in the action. Fortunately, using light to soften up enemies to be vanquished by conventional firearms is a really fun mechanic and the action runs very smoothly even when overwhelmed by multiple Taken. Though the only weapons you’ll find are a revolver, shotgun and rifle, the different light based weapons help round out your arsenal. Flares, flashbangs, spotlights and flare guns are all extremely useful when fighting multiple Taken (and you’ll often be outnumbered) and the visual effects that accompany these firefights are spectacular.

Recently, the first DLC pack, dubbed “The Signal,” was released on Xbox Live. It should be noted that if you bought the game new, you received a code to download The Signal for free. If you redeemed it too early, the code was voided but you should have gotten a new code in the email address attached to your Gamertag.

The Signal picks up the story right after the finale of Episode 6. It’s hard to give details about the plot, since it deals directly with the ending of the main plot, but The Signal is decidedly much creepier and based less in reality than the game proper. Fans of the combat will be happy to find that The Signal is much more action-oriented than most of the episodes but because of this, the story suffers slightly. The plot is barely advanced at all as Wake spends a majority of The Signal trying to reach a character that will provide him with more information. Just as it seems that this character is in reach, the episode ends.

Alan Wake isn’t the typical third-person action game nor does it necessarily fall under the survival horror category – it blends elements from these genres into a thrilling action/adventure game that keeps you in the dark until the games’ final moments. Using DLC packs to extend Wake’s abnormal times in Bright Falls, Remedy can keep fans of Alan Wake busy for a long time to come.