TGS 09: Dead Rising 2 Multiplayer Hands-on
Thought killing zombies couldn't get any better? Capcom turned it into a game show.
September 25, 2009 - At first glance, most of us thought we had Dead Rising 2 pegged. Another normal dude (Chuck this time instead of Frank) is trapped in a town full of zombies (Fortune City this time instead of Willamette) and forced to use all sorts of crazy weapons to make sure he's still breathing by the time the credits roll.
Turns out, we might've been oversimplifying the situation.
Dead Rising 2 isn't dropping you into a simple zombie apocalypse and asking you to survive this time. It seems that Chuck is actually a contestant on Terror Is Reality, a TV game show pitting people against the undead. Capcom wasn't ready to dish all the details, but our main character has a "special" reason for being part of this show where the number of zombies you kill and the way you kill them is key to winning.
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Terror Is Reality
However, last night's Tokyo Game Show Dead Rising 2 party wasn't to talk up the single-player campaign; this party was to unveil the game's multiplayer, which puts you and three other players into an episode of TIR.
When players pick to hop into a game of online action, T.K., the loudmouth host who is accompanied by lovely ladies and happy to use as many sexual puns as possible, introduces the show and does a whole song and dance on stage in front of a crowd while you wait for other players to join the game. When the cast is assembled, everyone's given a colored motorcycle suit and launched into a four-round contest that's pretty much American Gladiators meets Night of the Living Dead. Now, there are going to be a bunch of games that make up these rounds of TIR, but for this event, Capcom was only showing four specific ones.
Ramsterball puts the contestants into giant metal balls and has them roll around an area filled with zombies, pillar-like bumpers, and each other. One contestant is "it" and needs to ram his ball into the colored pillars for points. Every other contestant is trying to run into the tagged opponent and become "it" so that they can score points. As the collisions are going down and points are getting racked up, the current rank of the contestants is changing on the screen so you know where you stand at all times. Tapping the boost button has your guy run faster in his ball and hopefully roll by the competition.
Headache adds a bit more danger to the lives of the contestants. Here, the players are running around a playing field filled with zombies and trying to get these special "hats" from the center of the arena on the heads of the undead. I say "hats" like that because really these are just blenders. You grab them three at a time, slam them on the heads of the zombies, and then have to run to a far off button to activate the blades. The devices tear the zombies apart and you get points. The blender hats are color-coded, so if you see an opponent's hat on a nearby zombie, you can give that corpse a stick of dynamite and blow away your opposition's chance at points.
It becomes a risk/reward thing because it's obviously appealing to try and get as many hats on the ghouls as you can before hitting the button, but the longer you take, the more chances you're giving your opponents to interfere. Plus, you always run the risk of getting attacked by the undead and having to shake them off with the left stick.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/102/1028518/dead-rising-2-20090925110013330.jpg)
Double your pleasure.
Pounds of Flesh is possibly the most ridiculous thing we've seen in a long time. Here, your character dons a helmet equipped with a giant set of moose antlers and needs to knock zombies onto a giant scale with said antlers. The player with the most weight at the end of the round is the winner. Now, you can just walk up to the mess of zombies on the platform and tap the attack button to try and flick them over the gap and onto the scale, but the more effective way is to hold the attack button for a charge attack that'll have your guy run into the mob and do a massive thrust when you release the button. This is key to clearing the gap and fence blocking the scale. The only problem is that the charge attack doesn't let you adjust your direction, so you need to make sure you're lined up perfectly before going info the kill.
Oh, and you can reload the zombies on your platform at any time. You just run over, hit this big reload button, and a giant anvil comes down to smush the lingering zombies and deposit a fresh batch of rotting flesh.
The final round Capcom let us get our hands on was Slicecycles. Here, each player starts on a motorcycle with a chainsaw on each end of the handlebars. In front of the players is a sea of zombies. You just need to ride through the mob killing as you go to rake in the points. Now, the three rounds leading up to this were simply to decide who gets a head start on the killing; whoever wins the final round wins the game.
The shoulder buttons control acceleration and braking, and if you press the gas and brake together, you'll pull off a super-helpful donut. When the zombie horde is thinned out, you'll get tossed into a bonus round. Whereas you've been able to see the other players and what their scores are for the first part of Slicecycles, this bonus round is just you and your score in a room filled with zombies. You shoot around killing them with the bike -- make sure you take out the ones with balloons attached to them for megapoints -- and when the time is up, a winner is declared.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/102/1028518/dead-rising-2-20090925110015579.jpg)
Ramming speed!
The winner gets some cash, and the game is over. We asked Capcom if the cash you're taking home will play into a leveling system or leaderboards, and a representative said that they were looking into it.
Greg's Take
When I first heard that there was going to be multiplayer in Dead Rising 2, I assumed we'd be going through a cooperative story together. When I got the invited to last night's event and saw the four dudes in colored motorcycle outfits, I thought we'd be getting some kind of Running Man game where players were fighting armies of the undead in hopes of gaining freedom.
At no point did I think we'd get American Gladiators for a post-zombie outbreak world.
It's jarring, but it's definitely interesting. I mean, the original Dead Rising was filled with goofy stuff that was kind of out there (the LEGO head, the Mega Man outfit, etc.), but knocking zombies onto a scale with a pair of antlers is really out there. I want to see more of the games, but I hope these mini-games integrated into the story in a way that makes me care about them. After tonight, I could see me playing a few rounds of TIR, but I don't know if it would keep me signing online.
Obviously, this was just a preview, but I did find it disheartening to see the framerate drop significantly when I got to the bonus round of Slicecycles. This was just me in a roomful of zombies -- granted, a massive roomful of zombies -- and the game did chug a bit.
All that aside, I'm still excited to see where this is going. There was a lot of blood, this is definitely a form of zombie game we haven't seen before, and I do love American Gladiators. I hope they make us swing on the rings over a swarm of zombies next time.
![[IMG]](http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/102/1028518/dead-rising-2-20090925110014501.jpg)
Everyone loves fish.
Daemon's Take
I think a multiplayer mode for Dead Rising is a great idea. Is "Terror is Reality" the perfect multiplayer mode for the game? That remains to be seen. While an American Gladiators-style competition involving zombies is cool, I think it would have been more engaging if there were a real threat to the player. In the games we played tonight, the only danger was getting grabbed by a zombie for a few moments and losing time while the other players scored points. Granted, we've only seen four mini-games so far and Capcom says there will be many more in the finished product. But how will it work? Will the host select all games?
The most interesting part for me is that Terror is Reality exists in the single-player campaign and characters will acknowledge it. I expect to hear it referred to in the story, and maybe your victories will earn you something that can be used in the regular game. This feels like an improvement over other titles that include both single- and multiplayer experiences but keep them entirely separate.
Of the four games we've played so far I like Pounds of Flesh the most. Dead Rising is known for having a cracked out sense of humor and that is in full effect as players toss zombies into a giant bucket by ramming them with moose antlers attached to their heads. Slicecycles was fun, but the fact that the game slowed to a crawl during the bonus section dampened the experience for me. Hopefully Capcom can get that ironed out before the game ships. There is an impressive number of zombies on screen, but it doesn't make much difference if the game can't run.
The Terror is Reality game show comes with a lot of theatrics and cut scenes, and I don't know if people want to sit through that when playing a competitive multiplayer experience. Hopefully we'll be able to skip though all that and keep the game streamlined. The banter from the announcer is pretty insipid, anyway. Before starting the first round he says something to the effect of, "If you don't watch yourself you might lose your head. Or a zombie might eat your head. Or your girl will give me head. Again!"
As I type that I guess it does sound kind of funny. But in the context of the game, I was rolling my eyes. Overall, I am excited for Terror is Reality in Dead Rising 2. Tonight was also the first time I got to try the single-player game and I thought it looked great. Really looking forward to this one.
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