Whilst we've been inundated with news about the delays Dead Rising 2 has suffered from (the most recent being from the 3rd of September to the 1st of October), there's been a strict radio silence regarding details about Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, an intriguing XBLA prequel to the casino based zombie adventure.
This is one of the rare moments when you've actually got a firearm. Use it wisely.
Finally the silence has been broken, with both a release date and a price now confirmed for Case Zero. Launching on the 31st of August, the prequel will cost just 400 MS points, half the price of most XBLA games. There's no need to worry that (because of the low price) it's going to be incredibly short and pointless either, because as well as being at least 3 hours long (and that's for the seasoned Dead Rising players, new players will take around 5 hours to reach the end), it will also give players the ability to level up their character in Case Zero, to a maximum of level 5, and then start the full game with their slightly leveled up character, allowing them to even the odds slightly on arrival in Fortune City.
Like the full games, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero features survivors, who you can lead to safety if you're feeling nice... or use as a zombie distraction if you're not
Case Zero takes place 3 years before Dead Rising 2, when Chuck and his infected daughter Katey pull up at a petrol station to refuel. But when someone steals Chuck's truck, along with his stash of Zombrex (a temporary antidote to the zombie virus, that lasts for up to 12 hours), they find themselves trapped in the zombie infested town of Still Creek, with just 12 hours to escape before Katey joins the undead hordes, and only Chuck's scavenging and duct-tape skills to help them get out alive.
And it's the scavenging that's a large part of Dead Rising's appeal. Trapped in a town, with your back against the wall, firearms are few and far between, so it's up to you to make use of whatever you find lying around as you fight to escape the hords. From rakes, to giant teddy bears, and even a pink girl's tricycle, the weapons are as daft as the zombies are numerous, with the tongue in cheek humour helping stop the game from becoming too much of a characterless horror.
At just 400 points, any fans of Dead Rising would be crazy to pass up on an extra bit of zombie fun, and if you've never played Dead Rising before, the trial version of Case Zero gives you a taster of the game without any cost. We'll be picking it up, so check back here for a full review next month.
