Dead Rising 2 puts you into a world where the zombie apocalypse has already happened once. You assume the role of Chuck Greene, a man who only has his daughter to live for. Chuck lost his wife when the zombies came, and lives with the feeling that he could have done more.
The game takes place in Fortune City (a little Las Vegas), and you start off on a zombie killing game show. The undead have become a part of normal life, but they are contained..... err, were contained. The game begins with another zombie outbreak (a la 28 Weeks Later). Chuck is desperate to find his daughter.
The name of the game is very much the same. If you have played Dead Rising, the sequel will make you feel very at home. You fight your way though the strip and through casinos to find medication for your daughter, save survivors, and complete missions. Dead Rising 2 allows you to combine weapons on a workbench to create more durable and powerful weapons. It doesn't seem to get old slaughtering zombies with a baseball bat with nails driven through it.
You can beat, smash, slice, and chainsaw your way though your foes. The goal of the game is to keep your daughter alive, and survive 3 days until the military arrives for support. You can do this all by yourself, or with a friend. The co-op aspect of the game helps to bring a lot more replayability to the game. There is also a mode to play the zombie reality show "Terror is Reality". In this mode you must complete various objectives throughout, and achieve the highest score.
All in all, Dead Rising 2 is a great zombie game. Since it is no longer brand new you can pick it up on the cheap. Dead Rising 2 is available for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Left 4 Dead 2 is a phenomenal zombie game. It puts you and three of your closest friends against a world full of the infected. You fight your way through the American south using shotguns, rifles, sub-machine guns, and an assortment of melee weapons. You must stick with your friends, or face certain death if you choose to go it alone. Whether you play the game solo, or online, you have three other players at your side. Playing the game in single player mode has your friends controlled by the AI, where as online you can play with other living, breathing human beings. This is where the fun starts. The game has the ability to make your experience vary each time you play it. I'll get into that more in a bit.
There are a few different ways to play L4D2. You can play solo with computer pals, online with friends, and competitively playing the Versus game mode. No matter which mode you choose, you'll be playing through the same campaigns. There are swamps, cities, and neighborhoods to fight your way through the zombie horde. You have between three and five chapters to make it through in each campaign. The goal of each chapter is to make it to the next safe house. Within the safe houses are weapons, ammo, and health packs. Once in the safe house you can not be attacked. Nick, Ellis, Coach, and Rochelle are the personalities you'll be playing as in L4D2. Each have their own distinct personality which you'll come to know as you're being overwhelmed by the living dead.
Left 4 Dead 2 has more than just your standard, run of the mill, zombies. There are "Special Infected" in L4D2. These are zombies that appear to have mutated in some way or another. These mutations act as unique traits and abilities for the Special Infected. They consist of the Smoker, Spitter, Charger, Boomer, Jockey, Hunter, Witch, and Tank. The Smoker has a long tongue that it can use to constrict the Survivors from long distances. The Charger will pick you up and ram you away from your friends, and pulverize your squishy pink body into the ground. Oh, and you'll know the Tank when you see him. While playing the Versus game mode, one team plays as the Survivors, and the other as the Special Infected. The goal of the Survivors is to make it to the safe house, and the goal of the Special Infected is, you guessed it, killing the Survivors. Just as the Survivors need to stick together to survive, the Special Infected must attack as a team to succeed. No one Jockey can take on four survivors alone.
The game now has eight different campaigns to play through. Each campaign varies in the time it takes to complete. They last between 30 and 60 minutes depending on the difficulty, and the number of chapters. The way that the game stays interesting is because of our friend the "Director". The Director pays attention to how you're playing the game and how well you're doing. If you're breezing through the game, the Director will throw some more zombies your way. If you're having a hard time of it, it might back off a bit. This helps keep the game fresh, and ensure that you never play a level the same way twice.
Did I mention this game has zombies? Oh, it has 'em alright. Loads of them. Zombies as far as the eye can see, and it never seems to get old fighting your way through them. I highly recommend this game if you enjoy playing with others. This game is best served with one or more friends, but recommended with a full team of four. Though you do have the option of finding other zombie slayers, like yourself, randomly online. If this remotely sounds like fun, pick up Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC, Mac, and Xbox 360. Check back tomorrow for the next featured game of Zombie Week. Happy zombie killing.
Let this be your final warning. The zombies are coming. Protect yourselves and your loved ones. Board up the windows, barricade your doors, and aim true against your foes. Tomorrow marks the first wave. Check back to see the first featured game of the week. I'm sure I'll sneak in some other zombie related stuff..... like the video at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!
If you're anything like me, you've wanted to create your own game development company (and travel to space, but I digress). Now you can with the help of Game Dev Story on the iPhone. Game Dev Story allows you to take the reigns and be the boss of the next Valve, Blizzard, or BioWare. You have control to name your company, pick the name, genre, and platform of your games, and hire/fire staff. The game also has big events similar to E3 for you to participate in, and it lets you control what you spend and where for your advertising.
I enjoy the game's clever names for the people that you can hire for your company. Many names are similar to those who work in the gaming/technology industry. You'll see some famous musicians scattered throughout the sound designers, and of course, the amazingly talented programmer Gilly Bates. The better your staff, the more successful your game. It's a good idea to pick genres that work together when developing your games. They tend to be more successful, but it is a challenge in the beginning of the game. Sometimes you get developers that have very different styles/capabilities.
This game isn't fresh from the AppStore, or free, but it is worth picking up. Though this game was developed for the iPhone, I strongly suggest you play it on an iPad if you've got one. Since the game is in the style of 16-bit graphics, it still looks great stretched to the iPad's display. Just to warn you, this game causes mild cases of time travel. I started playing this on a Tuesday, and now it is the end of April. Pick up Game Dev Story for $3.99 on the AppStore today.
You've read correctly. Next week will be Zombie week on this blog. I'm going to feature a different zombie game each day of the week. I'll be posting information about the games, and giving my opinions. If there are any games that you would like to see talked about, feel free to comment on this post. Grab your shotguns, axes, assault rifles, and crowbars, and don't forget to remove the head.... Zombies are coming...
Age of Empires Online has opened their beta today for anyone who would like to receive a key. The keys are limited, so hurry. I managed to get a key today, and I sank a few hours into it. I will be giving my impressions in the coming days. From my limited amount of time with it, I must say that I'm having a lot of fun. I'm at level 6 with my civilization. It took me a while to figure out the tech trees and everything, but that's what happens when you jump into the game without reading anything. Try to pick up your key here.
Two Portal fans by the names of Jonathan Guberman, and Leigh Nunan, created an amazing plush Portal turret. It also needs to be said that this squeezable gadget is interactive. It will respond to you picking it up, toppling it over, or moving within its view. Check out the video link and see for yourself. Now if only these went into production. I'm sure people like me would be throwing their money at it.
Dead Rising 2 puts you into a world where the zombie apocalypse has already happened once. You assume the role of Chuck Greene, a man who only has his daughter to live for. Chuck lost his wife when the zombies came, and lives with the feeling that he could have done more. 
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. Check back tomorrow for the next featured game of Zombie Week. Happy zombie killing.
