Dead Rising 2

Dead Rising 2 is an upcoming survival horror video game. It is being developed in partnership with Dead Rising developer Capcom by Blue Castle Games, and will be distributed by Capcom. The original Dead Rising team members have returned to create the game, including Keiji Inafune, head of Research & Development at Capcom. Originally set to be released in the beginning of 2010, the game's release has been pushed back to September 28 in North America and October 1st in Europe.

Gameplay
The gameplay remains similar to Dead Rising with the player controlling protagonist Chuck Greene as he fights off hordes of zombies while accomplishing specific missions. The game will include several new objects that can be used to attack the zombies. The number of zombies which can be seen onscreen at any one time has also been dramatically increased from 800 in the original, to roughly 6,000. According to Inafune, the new protagonist will be more "interesting" than the previous hero, Frank West.

There will also be a greater variety of missions for the player to undertake, and the sequel will retain the original's time management mechanic. However, the original game's photography mechanic will not be present in Dead Rising 2. Instead, Dead rising 2 will feature a brand new mechanic that allows players to manufacture their own custom weapons at various points in the game. The player will also be able to purchase "cards" that will reveal item combinations that could prove deadly after being built. Such combinations include the "Hail Mary," a hand grenade duct taped to a football, "Dynameat," a stick of dynamite duct taped to a piece of meat, the "Paddlesaw," two chainsaws duct taped to a kayak paddle, and "Freedom bear," which is a giant stuffed bear with a Rambo-style headband and a machine gun that acts as a turret.

Cooperative
It was confirmed during Captivate '10 that cooperative gameplay for the story campaign will be available, but according to Blue Castle Games there will be no offline co-op mode. Both players will play as the main character, Chuck Greene, and will be able to earn experience and keep the items they collected throughout the game -- but only the host player will be able to save the game's progress. A host can invite a friend to join the current game by sending out an invitation; if the friend accepts, a confirmation icon will be displayed and the host can allow the player to join in. Non-host players can drop in/out of a co-op game anytime they like. When the players become separated, a tiny animated Chuck Greene icon will appear at the bottom of the game screen. The icon will show what the other player is up to -- attacking, being assaulted by zombies, etc. If a player is taken down by zombies, he will be able to call the other for help to revive them. The player will use food to revive the dying partner before his health runs out.

Multiplayer
Speaking at Captivate '09, Keiji Inafune confirmed that Dead Rising 2 will include multiplayer, but refused to state what the mode would entail. "We're at a point in game history that you need to have some form of multiplayer component in a game. Single-player alone is not going to cut it. So rest assured we are going to put multiplayer in the game, but I can’t go into specifics about what type of multiplayer as that directly relates to some of the game systems that we don’t want to talk about at this event. It will be online multiplayer, so keep that in mind."

During the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Capcom revealed that the multiplayer of Dead Rising 2 will take the form of a reality TV show called "Terror is Reality" in which players will act as contestants in a fictitious gameshow. Up to four players can participate in multiplayer, competing against each other for the most kills inside an arena full of undead. Players will be able to use weapons and vehicles including human-sized hamster balls and chainsaw-equipped motorcycles. They also will be able to prevent other players from scoring by using various forms of "dirty" tactics. The multiplayer mode has been compared to the television show American Gladiators. Video:Dead Rising 2 - Official Trailer

Video:Dead Rising 2 Case Zero E3 2010 Debut Trailer

Video:Dead Rising 2 Weapons Combo Demo by GameSpot

Video:Dead Rising 2 Co-Op Demo by GameSpot

Plot
The game is set 5 years after the events of the original Dead Rising. The zombie parasite that originated in Santa Cabeza and caused the Willamette outbreak has spread all over the United States. This is due to the 50 orphans scattered throughout the United States who had been injected with the parasite; subjecting them to zombification and infecting the rest of the US. The game will take place in the fictional setting of Fortune City, which is modeled after Las Vegas, Nevada. The game's protagonist, Chuck Greene, is a former national motocross champion who takes the role as one of the very few uninfected humans in the city. Just like Frank West (the player-character from the original Dead Rising), Chuck will face a number of zombie hordes as well as surviving psychopaths and civilians whom he may choose to save. Among the survivors in Fortune City is Chuck's own daughter, Katey Greene, who was infected in an attack that killed her mother. Katey serves as Chuck's primary motivation for battling the undead. He tries to earn money to keep his daughter on the infection supressant "Zombrex", introduced in the original Dead Rising as the synthetic Frank West was using. Inafune mentioned in an interview that part of Chuck's quest will force him to participate in a violent game show known as "Terror Is Reality".

Development
The sequel was announced on February 9, 2009, confirming earlier rumors of the game's existence, as well as a viral video for the game. The developers Blue Castle Games will be working with Keiji Inafune, the game's producer and Capcom's global head of research and development, along with other Dead Rising team members.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
Case Zero will be an Xbox 360-exclusive download. It will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It will develop the plot in between the two main games and will act as the demo for Dead Rising 2. The story takes place three years before the events of Dead Rising 2 and involves Chuck's first large-scale adventure against the horde of zombies. The player can reach up to level 5 in Case Zero, after which the player may carry over his experience and cash earned into Dead Rising 2.