Call off the search, because here at last is the least essential video game release of 2011.
A game that is literally Dead Rising 2 with a different protagonist, one new area to explore, and a few minor tweaks, Off The Record is the very definition of redundancy.
In what Capcom are calling a “reinterpretation” of Dead Rising 2, Off The Record substitutes that game’s ex-motocross hero Chuck Greene for Dead Rising 1’s rogue photographer Frank West. Unlike Chuck, Frank doesn’t have an infected daughter to watch over, but the story – a few twists aside – is identical.
A quick rundown: the zombie menace of the original game has been contained to the point where they are now fodder for Terror is Reality, a Running Man-style zombiexploitation game show. Once a celebrated man, Swingers-era Vince Vaughan-alike Frank is now broke and schlubby, and so travels to the Vegas-style Fortune City resort to earn some coin, and possibly because it’s the only place in the world he won’t get laughed at for his ridiculous lapels.
Backstage after bashing a few zombie skulls, Frank witnesses some shady dealings between the show’s host and a nervous underling. But before he can connect the dots, the show’s zombie stock have been freed, and as John McClane would say “the same sh*t’s happening to the same guy twice”. Realising that this is his chance to redeem himself in the public eye and quell his private demons, Frank decides to get to the bottom of things and bring those responsible to justice, or at least take unflattering photos of them to send to Perez Hilton.
With three days until the military fire-bomb the sprawling hotel, the desire to escape immolation might seem motivation enough. However as there's a need to take the infection-stalling Zombrex every 24 hours coupled with missions that are only available once (and between fixed times) the clock is perhaps a greater threat to Frank than the both the military and the shambling hordes that shuffle vacantly around the game’s colourful environments. Fortunately almost everything may be used as a weapon against the latter; from magazines to road cones to actual weapons.
Frank also gets stronger as the game progresses. Levelling up is achieved through Prestige Points, in turn acquired by killing the undead, rescuing survivors, completing missions or even playing poker machines or interacting with other things within the game world. Unlike Chuck, Frank may also take photos to earn points, snapping either specific sites or catching a photo that rates high on the erotica, horror, outtake, drama, or brutality scale. Farming Prestige Points is worthwhile, as gaining levels gives access to special attacks for certain weapon combinations and unarmed fighting techniques such as suplexes and flying kicks, as well as the chance to boost attack, speed, life, throwing or inventory statistics.
Because it is essentially the same game, Off The Record shares all of the things that made Dead Rising 2 fun to play: the ability to combine items to create gloriously demented murdering tools, a metric crapload of zombies, great sound, and extreme violence. That there are so many creative ways to dispatch Frank’s numerous drooling foes is something to be celebrated in itself. This makes the ability to change outfits at any clothing store and the game’s wacky tone mere icing on the cake. There is even a decent story behind all the carnage; it's full of amusing characters, solid voice acting and well-directed cutscenes, and it is this that keeps the game’s momentum up far beyond the point when braining the defenceless undead becomes dull.
And dull it will become, as the new Sandbox mode demonstrates. Stripped of the time imperative, butchering baddies becomes rather boring. Combat in the Dead Rising series has always been basic yet clunky, and Off The Record perfectly preserves Dead Rising 2’s drowsy attack speed and sluggish controls. As in prior games, Frank’s animation is locked tight too, meaning that pulling out of a time-consuming special or eating animation to dodge an incoming attack isn’t possible. Further, with many weapons he cannot attack a downed zombie.
Frank also has a tendency to get caught on objects he’s ambling past, and in the heat of battle picking up a specific item amongst a scattering of many is an exercise in frustration. These flaws make fighting the game’s bosses a chore too – being able to block with more than a sliver of the game’s weapons would have been nice, as would a better dodge manoeuvre that didn’t require unlocking.
Other flaws of Dead Rising 2 are present here too. Survivor AI is ridiculous (although an improvement on that in the first Dead Rising). Often weaponless (without the ability to pick one up), these mopes are nonetheless all too keen to join the fray, with predictably annoying results. In addition, much of the game’s survivor dialogue is delivered through text rather than speech, which breaks immersion even if it has the side-effect of reminding one of fond days spent in front of a Megadrive. Finally, the ability to eat or drink to replenish health without clearing an inventory spot so Frank can hold it would be welcome, and prevent some cheap deaths too.
Sandbox mode aside, the extras that distinguish Off The Record from Dead Rising 2 are all good. The new area – an amusement park – contains new zombies, games, and weapons such as an alien probe whose heavy attack probably shouldn’t be described in detail here. Further, the checkpointing system which saves your progress every time you enter a new area is handy. No-one will miss Dead Rising 2’s limp multiplayer which has been excised, leaving online co-op for both the campaign and sandbox modes the only option for friends who wish to kill the undead in inventive ways together.
It’s certainly not a bad game by any measure, but having played Dead Rising 2 there's little to get excited about with this release. That said, those unfamiliar with the series should dive in here, as shorter load times, a smidge of new content and a checkpointing system do offer a marginally more pleasant experience than that offered by prior games in the series.
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