The classics from Dead Rising 2 such as the hand-grenade football are here and are joined by beauties such as the Lighting Gun (stun rod and a frequency gun) and the Sterilizer (chemicals and the syringe gun). Just like in Dead Rising 2, you can combine certain weapons to make combos that rake in extra experience points and do a hell of a lot of damage. There's food to eat and heal with, concoctions to make in blenders, and even photos to take. The Zombrex plant is littered with sickles, baseball bats and other items that you can pick up and use to bash in the faces of the undead. Taking down this three-case story plays out with the in-game mechanics Dead Rising fans already know. Having a partner involved in the story - unlike Dead Rising 2's unexplained Chuck clone for co-op gameplay - is a welcome change of pace, and the banter between Chuck and Frank both in the game and in cutscenes is fun to watch and play through.
![frank west dead rising 2 frank west dead rising 2](https://cdn.imgbin.com/19/8/6/imgbin-dead-rising-3-frank-west-dead-rising-4-dead-rising-2-off-the-record-pop-evil-2013-5c10ywSKtSzYd776hbpibiyYX.jpg)
When I was running around and trying to come up with a plan for the hulking boss at the end of the game, Frank was attacking him and keeping him busy. Frank can't die, so you don't have to worry about whatever trouble he's getting into, and he's actually helpful and active. Alone is just as much fun if not a bit easier. You have to stay in the same area - that is, you can't go anywhere that requires a loading screen on your own - but the spaces are quite large and give you plenty of freedom. If one of you goes down, the other player has a set amount of time to revive the fallen friend. With someone, it's easy to come up with attack plans, distract larger enemies and share supplies. I've played this game both ways, and I actually dig'em equally. If you're in the mood to just play by yourself, the computer will take over for Frank. There's no local co-op, so you'll have to team with a friend on Xbox Live. Player 1 is always Chuck and Player 2 is always Frank.
![frank west dead rising 2 frank west dead rising 2](https://miro.medium.com/max/3840/1*98dSiZJcGDNQjQqR1bSq_Q.png)
If the two heroes didn't give it away, this is a co-op adventure. Here, Chuck runs into Frank West, the hero of the original Dead Rising, and joins the photojournalist as he heads to a Zombrex plant to meet a source that could blow the lid off of what's really going on with all these zombie outbreaks and clear Chuck's name.
#FRANK WEST DEAD RISING 2 DOWNLOAD#
Case West opens as another ending/epilogue to that story with Chuck still framed - although this is a standalone download that doesn't require the Dead Rising 2 disc and doesn't interact with any Dead Rising 2 save you might have. If you missed Dead Rising 2 - or my thoughts on it - the game followed Chuck Greene as he tried to clear his name and keep his daughter alive during a zombie outbreak in Fortune City. However, if you feel like reading a bit about what you're getting into, scroll on. If you feel like killing some zombies with a buddy, have at it this is good stuff.
![frank west dead rising 2 frank west dead rising 2](https://image.api.playstation.com/gs2-sec/appkgo/prod/CUSA04827_00/2/i_416acc5f634f4cfabd0b1e70d8fb317859b6481ca1b9d62adfd2a34200f79e8b/i/pic0.png)
Now, after playing through the whole Xbox 360-exclusive title, I stand by my first look. Nearly two weeks ago, I previewed Dead Rising 2: Case West and ranted about how much I liked it and how it felt different for the franchise (I also went into a lot of detail, so check that if you want some nuts and bolts about this download).