This is where Dead Rising 2 becomes cathartic, but at the same time, there’s always a nagging voice in the back of the player’s head urging him or her to hold onto that prized weapon, just in case a situation lies around the corner that demands it. Knowing that you’re getting 300PP a hit off of your Knife Gloves (one of the game’s more powerful combinations) may encourage a player to run into a throng of zombies and slash with abandon. This inevitably leads to frustration, as hard-won items made from difficult-to-acquire components can disappear at the most inopportune times - or worse yet, dropped prematurely in a crowd of enemies.īreaking weapons is frustrating, but it also gives value to each crafted or discovered weapon, and by extension, gives value to the whole game.

Each swing may drop a zombie or eight, but every point of contact also weakens that weapon, until eventually, it breaks. Yet everything in Dead Rising 2, from baseball bat to paddlesaw, degrades with use. Tools range from practical to absurd, and through the new weapon combo system, Chuck can craft some devilishly creative implements of destruction, capable of mowing down a herd of zombies stylishly and easily. One of the main tenets of the Dead Rising series is the player’s ability to use just about anything in the environment as a weapon. And that’s what makes it such a worthy experience. It’s the total antithesis of everything we’ve come to expect from modern games. From top to bottom, everything about the experience is temporary and ultimately fragile. I’m actually in love with the game, even when it makes me work so very, very hard for that love.

If there was a video game equivalent to the School of Hard Knocks, Dead Rising 2 protagonist Chuck Greene would be sitting in the front row.Īs a champion of accessibility in games, I should hate Dead Rising 2. And the save system, possibly the worst culprit of all, totally disregards modern concepts like checkpoints and continues, giving ample opportunities to totally ruin current game progress.

Dead rising 2 weapon