Waiting For West…

The theme of the month is definitely Zombies. Whilst awaiting the release of Dead Rising 2, I have been eagerly getting into the spirit of the undead by reading World War Z (highly recommended!) and completing Dead Rising: Case Zero.

I recently re-discovered Dead Rising. It was one of the first games I bought for the Xbox 360, back when I had a standard definition TV. I thought it was okay. Good for a bit of a mess-about. That’s all I could really do on it, because anything to do with the story meant having to decipher what that tiny writing said at the bottom of the screen. Otis, you can call all you want, and shout at me until you’re blue in the face, but I am going to hang up on you again and again because I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me anyway. This whole issue, mainly the frustration that I constantly felt like I was missing something, was what made the game okay instead of brilliant. When I finally went hi-def, though, I understood what made people love the game. It could still be a bit of a mess-about, but I could finally have a go at story mode, and I knew where Otis was trying to direct me for the scoops.

This pleasant rediscovery meant that when I downloaded Case Zero, the feel of Dead Rising was still fresh in my mind. I enjoyed Case Zero. I think for the price it was a good little bite of what was to come. Thankfully the AI of the survivors seems to have improved a lot, so that’s my main concern covered. Now Chuck… he had some big shoes to fill. He’s cool, not a bad protagonist at all from what I’ve seen. But I’m sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing when he was running around in his waitress outfit, knocking zombies flat with a rake/drill bucket/toy sword – he ain’t no Frank West.

There was much disappointment when it was initially discovered that Frank wouldn’t be the protagonist to Dead Rising 2. Rumours flew back and forth about whether he would make a cameo or not, whether he would be a playable character in co-op or not. Some would argue that Frank is what made Dead Rising what it is. I think it is agreed that everybody wants to know what became of the guy who ‘Covered wars, y’know!’.

It is good news, then, that we will be seeing Frank again after all. He will be getting his own slice of downloadable content called ‘Case West’.  This will be an Epilogue for Dead Rising 2, and will see Chuck and Frank teaming up. Personally, I think this is an excellent ‘Cameo’ for Frank, and I look forward to seeing him and his camera again!