Dead Rising 2

 PC
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 275 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 115 out of 275
  2. Mixed: 109 out of 275
  3. Negative: 51 out of 275
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  1. yogibbear
    Nov 28, 2011
    7
    Good game. This game is a true testament to sticking to your guns. The gameplay is addictive. It is frustrating. It is hilarious. It is exhilirating. It is repetitive. It is limitless. It can be whatever you choose to make it. This is the strength of this serious. The problem comes with finding the motivation and drive to complete this game without looking at a wiki. I feel that the timeGood game. This game is a true testament to sticking to your guns. The gameplay is addictive. It is frustrating. It is hilarious. It is exhilirating. It is repetitive. It is limitless. It can be whatever you choose to make it. This is the strength of this serious. The problem comes with finding the motivation and drive to complete this game without looking at a wiki. I feel that the time constraints are important to preserve the frantic sense of helplessness and desperation. However I also feel that they force you down a linear pathway with no time to explore or do everything. This means you soon realise there is a cost/benefit analysis that can be done on every decision in this game and for me that means I go google/wiki the best weapon builds and best way to tackle bosses which cheapens the thrill of the experience... you might say I've caused it to myself, but I'd say there is some improvement to be made in the game design before you can say it's worthy of going further into the green territory. Still a worthwhile game to play and well worth the money, but I'd like to see the series progress in terms of engagement with the plot and a bit more freedom when it comes to the time restraints (keep them but make it less restrictive - I know I'm a terrible customer that doesn't know what I want!).… Expand
  2. wowtgp
    May 25, 2012
    7
    i dont know why i bought this game.probably coz of zombies in i was hoping it to be scary a bit but its hilarious and boring at the same time.on the other hand the game is a bad port+gfwl which made my life fuking hell to even run it on my pc.if you want a better game play dead island instead.but if you are a zombie fan like me play this game too.
  3. grandpajoe6191
    Nov 8, 2011
    7
    Well...."Dead Rising 2" isn't a masterpiece, but enjoyable. The missions and zombie massacres are too repetitive after a while, but if you can live with it, that's fine. The weapon making system is awesome and creative in every way. The graphics are also (kinda) impressive if you watch it in a standard viewpoint. Overall a game that you would love to play in a rainy day.
  4. saltychipmunk
    Oct 11, 2010
    6
    in a simple one liner dead rising 2 was a rushed game. Now that doesnt mean it is terrible as it does have some decent fundamentals.
    on the plus side there are plenty of weapons to choose from with enough variety to keep things fresh for a while in both the comical and realistic catagories. The combining system is also pretty deep with the 50 odd combinations. This combined with some    in a simple one liner dead rising 2 was a rushed game. Now that doesnt mean it is terrible as it does have some decent fundamentals.
    on the plus side there are plenty of weapons to choose from with enough variety to keep things fresh for a while in both the comical and realistic catagories. The combining system is also pretty deep with the 50 odd combinations. This combined with some really cool dismemberment mechanics make for some very thrilling zombie bashing. Another good note, the survivors arent totally helpless now which is great;but as i said before this game was rushed and just about everything else could have used an extra few months work.

    To start with the games presentation is the hardest hit. Graphics wise the game is average , nothing here we havent seen before. But then there are the littlethings. Things like missing shadows and jerky and awkward animations for the games living cast. This is particularly apparent in the games cutscenes which range from passable to embarrasing. The cheesy dialogue doesnt help either.
    Even the much flaunted dismemberment and combing mechanics suffer from repetitive animations.
    for most weapons there is only one animation for each attack type ( melee, aoe melee and special move) which can get repetative fast. Another issue came in the form of the survivors. as in the first one there are survivors to save. However the game chose their life's story in the form of , get this, skipable text boxes. yes the survivors have no audable lines which leaves them with no personality at all. the effect leaves the player identifiying more with the psychos of the game ( who thankfully have colorful cut scenes dedicated to them) than the people we are supposed to save. on the topic of psychoes. all the bosses of the game suffer from pattern ai. basically each boss has a rigid pattern of actions to use against the player. some of the bosses can be beaten by simply walking outside the room or building which the encounter took place and then throwing objects at them. some times they do the further service of bugging out in these situations to the point where the player can walkup to them and spam the melee button till the green bar goes empty.

    finally the actual story is quite laughable. the characters are all pretty cookie cutter in design to the point of bad taste. the main bad guy is more annoying than threatening and a 10 year old could guess the plot twists from the very moment the characters involved present themselves. Its all been done before.

    the game doesnt even get that scary or tense which i think partially ruins the theme of the game (zombies are supposed to be scary). you can get through the game without killing even one zombie which i think undermines them as a threat.

    over all its only good for a few giggles and laughes but as a serious game, it is not even close which is a shame    … Expand
  5. RudeVader
    Sep 9, 2013
    5
    Pros:
    Endless supply of Zombies and lots of ways to kill them---
    Cons:-- Just about everything else.-- Windows live (ugh)-- Clunky movement controls and interface for pc.-- No durable weapons, no matter what it is made of.-- Save point system, bathrooms needed to save and very limited save slots.-- Boss battles that make you sigh or want to punch the monitor. Multiple    Pros:
    Endless supply of Zombies and lots of ways to kill them---

    Cons:--
    Just about everything else.--
    Windows live (ugh)--
    Clunky movement controls and interface for pc.--

    No durable weapons, no matter what it is made of.--

    Save point system, bathrooms needed to save and very limited save slots.--
    Boss battles that make you sigh or want to punch the monitor.

    Multiple timed missions occurring at the same time on top of the countdown timer for the military.---
    Graphics are weak for a 2010 game, even for a console.---

    A sandbox game that does not allow you to enjoy it as you are always in a rush to beat the clock or you fail. Looking at other screens in the game does not stop the clock and zombies can still munch on you while you are trying to look at information. If you can find a trainer or engine that will work with it then the game may become fun to play for you. Otherwise the fun you have killing zombies will quickly turn into frustration over many glaring annoyances and problems.

    I really wanted to like this game, at least the good old standby Left for Dead 2 can give you a good fix when zombies need to be killed.    … Expand
  6. JonesR
    Jun 14, 2011
    7
    The qualities in this game are really a mixed bag. It's far from an action shooter with the focus primarily on melee weapons. The gameplay feels slow for a sandbox style game. If you just want to kill time along with zombies, there is plenty of that to go around, but if you are looking to do missions, you really can't spend time sightseeing due to the time limit. The major weak points areThe qualities in this game are really a mixed bag. It's far from an action shooter with the focus primarily on melee weapons. The gameplay feels slow for a sandbox style game. If you just want to kill time along with zombies, there is plenty of that to go around, but if you are looking to do missions, you really can't spend time sightseeing due to the time limit. The major weak points are the time limit, the save system, and the fact that the weapons break too quickly. But there are a lot of different weapon combinations you can create and the results always bring a smile to my face. The cut scenes are high quality, but a little on the lengthy side with a lot of them being plain boring. Coop definitely makes it more enjoyable and there is a decent multiplayer experience that reminds me of American Gladiators.… Expand
  7. colintheys
    Dec 27, 2010
    6
    Meh. Using the items you find around you as weapons is cool, but otherwise, there's nothing new here. Traveling to and from places isn't fun either. And, I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that the old-school console game mechanic of making games hard by forcing you to save only at certain intervals and then perform menial tasks before taking on the challenge again was over like aMeh. Using the items you find around you as weapons is cool, but otherwise, there's nothing new here. Traveling to and from places isn't fun either. And, I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that the old-school console game mechanic of making games hard by forcing you to save only at certain intervals and then perform menial tasks before taking on the challenge again was over like a decade ago. The map may be pretty but that doesn't mean I want to run across it *every* time I have to do a mission. I want to have fun when I play a game, not work. Wish I'd bought this in a box so I could resell. I made it through a few boss fights and a couple of in-game days before I got bored and uninstalled it.… Expand
  8. ReubenIsAGod
    Oct 11, 2013
    6
    I felt really annoyed when I played this game because of chucks MOFOING DAUGHTER. She pissed me off so much that I felt like jumping into the game and letting the zombies get to her, beside that the frame rate was pissy, the gameplay was average, and a funny story, if i were to choose between this one and the first one I would definitely choose the 1st one
  9. PorkinsTheWhite
    Oct 2, 2010
    6
    Had potential but too many flaws. My grievances: Same save system as DR1, cannot sprint, everything has a time limit limiting exploration, constantly running to and from the hideout which is out of the way, loading..., escort missions, unbalanced boss battles, Marilyn Manson-sounding music, cutscenes are fully voiced but during gameplay it's all text. Escorting survivors is a pain. If theyHad potential but too many flaws. My grievances: Same save system as DR1, cannot sprint, everything has a time limit limiting exploration, constantly running to and from the hideout which is out of the way, loading..., escort missions, unbalanced boss battles, Marilyn Manson-sounding music, cutscenes are fully voiced but during gameplay it's all text. Escorting survivors is a pain. If they are being gnawed on by a zombie and you go to save them, you'll end up smacking them instead of the zombie, causing them to turn on you. Or they will get left behind when loading new zones.… Expand
  10. ferrari2k10
    Jan 16, 2011
    5
    would be great but the error start at the installation and dont stop there the lag when u go outside to the plaza. But the amount of gore and blood is good and the quality of the zombies is great too . its just the installation and lag spikes
  11. Llaerrick
    Sep 12, 2014
    6
    pretty fun game if you like your zombie-killing with a zany ridiculous twist. the weapons are fun and the build system interesting. content-wise probably a little short (which means gameplay was fun enough that i wished there was more content). didn't totally enjoy the 'time-limit' concept as i it took away from generally roaming and exploring the game world.
  12. GolovA
    Nov 11, 2012
    7
    The GOOD: fun, addictive gameplay, cool idea of combining items to make custom weaponry (awesome weapons, by the way), killing zombies is always fun. The BAD: a poor port with not many options (graphical or otherwise), becomes too hard too fast (no option to adjust difficulty!), no save on demand (gotta find save locations), requires Windows LIVE to play (ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSEThe GOOD: fun, addictive gameplay, cool idea of combining items to make custom weaponry (awesome weapons, by the way), killing zombies is always fun. The BAD: a poor port with not many options (graphical or otherwise), becomes too hard too fast (no option to adjust difficulty!), no save on demand (gotta find save locations), requires Windows LIVE to play (ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE already!). OVERALL: i wish i could keep playing it - but it becomes overwhelmingly tedious and hard to cut through zombies in order to save folk.… Expand
  13. Colthars
    Jan 1, 2019
    7
    GTA whit zombies all over. Except the part that you have to walk. A LOT. Combat mechanics are fun, and the plot too. Multiple endings. But the game caps you, forcing to level up your character. MP coop is very nice, depending of your taste.
  14. rezo_21
    Sep 18, 2021
    6
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 56 IIIIIIIIII====================
  15. Shimmeywill
    Mar 6, 2020
    6
    A decent step up from the original, However, the overall loop is still uninteresting.
  16. Nekrips
    Sep 28, 2022
    7
    Despite the general criticism, this game is not that bad. Fun gameplay from the first part. There are now even more ways to kill zombies. The process was diversified by combining different types of weapons and additional types of attacks. Also, there are new types of enemies in the game with their own tactics. The story is not bad and also has multiple endings.
    The only thing that greatly    Despite the general criticism, this game is not that bad. Fun gameplay from the first part. There are now even more ways to kill zombies. The process was diversified by combining different types of weapons and additional types of attacks. Also, there are new types of enemies in the game with their own tactics. The story is not bad and also has multiple endings.
    The only thing that greatly spoils the impression and evaluation of the game is frankly terrible optimization on PC. Therefore, I cannot recommend this game to everyone.    … Expand
  17. PenetratorGod
    Sep 3, 2023
    7
    Apart from being a mediocre series, more or less everyone can agree that second game was the best. With its story and gameplay, it managed to be memorable and stand out from the other games.
  18. Suprizer
    Apr 22, 2023
    5
    I wanna write a good review but i really can't this game is good for its time but we are at 2023 replaying this game now feels like chores without anything in return isn't fun story isn't bad but isn't good either.

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best PC Game of 2010
34
#34 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
33
#33 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 13, 2011
    80
    Addictive action piece brings a fresh mixture of free-roaming zombie massacre with an enjoyable storyline and timed quests. Weapon variability are absolutely fantastic and make you think of how to create the most bizarre killing tool. [Issue#197]
  2. Gamers' Temple
    Jan 11, 2011
    80
    True to the Capcom business model, this sequel doesn't fly far from the first game. It's fun to kill thousands of undead, again, but it's very inspiring this time around.
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  3. GamingExcellence
    Jan 11, 2011
    85
    The thing about the Dead Rising series is that it's pretty unique. Killing hordes of zombies with a huge variety of improvised weaponry isn't a genre present anywhere else. It's a great game to just mess around in, picking up random clothing, smashing zombie heads in and fighting away psychopaths.
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