Dead Rising 2’s Xbox exclusive duet, featuring the gruff talents of Chuck Greene and Frank West in a standalone epilogue to the events of Fortune City, is very much a fan driven affair. And while that earth shattering revelation sinks in and turns your world upside down, allow me a few more sentences to elaborate.
Whereas Case Zero functioned as a prequel, a release that lured players into the layered world of slapstick zombie slaying and reality TV characters that furnish the series, Case West services the expectation that the ride through Fortune City has made a fan of you, which if you have any interest in downloading this addition is a safe bet. But while Case West subsequently works to add to the experience of the retail release, the simplicity of playing to fan anticipation makes for a game that feels several shades lazy, or at the very least, far less interested in impressing the player.
A narrower path of narrative priority certainly contributes to that feeling, and the inability to play as Mr. West in single-player sessions is most certainly more likely to upset fans rather than please, and as the game unfolds it’s hard to ignore the idea that an assumption of fandom leads Capcom to believe that said fans will tolerate glaring shortcomings for another dose of Zombrex.
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