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Dead Rising 2, though similar to Dead Rising, changed up the formula and improved upon the gameplay elements set forth in the original. Case West, the latest expansion for Dead Rising 2, makes further changes to that core formula in its short two and half hour quest. True co-op play featuring Frank West, a new rescue and objective system, and the ability to take photographs distinguish this experience from the main quest.

By and large, the first expansion to Dead Rising 2, Case Zero, was nothing more than an extension of the main quest; a preamble to the story designed to get gamers excited for the full retail release. In contrast, Case West actually extends the story past the end of the main game and further develops the plot of the overarching story.

This quest takes place within a nearby Phenotrans Facility known to Frank West, who had planned to investigate with Rebecca, though she was killed during the main Dead Rising 2 quest. After saving Chuck from a zombie TK, the two set out to acquire information in order to take down the company for their misdeeds.

While further development of the overarching Dead Rising story is an interesting component to Case West, what truly defines the experience are the changes mentioned earlier. Though these changes produce some mixed results, they are an interesting and welcome departure after the lengthy Dead Rising 2 quest.

Far and away, true co-operative play is the most interesting and best implemented of the changes. With Chuck and Frank working side by side, zombies, enemies, and psychopaths are much more manageable and can be disposed of with relative ease. Thankfully, whether playing online or offline, players will be able to enjoy this experience, though Frank West is controlled by the computer offline. Surprisingly, Frank does a good job of holding his own, and while it’s not quite the same as having a person, you can actually rely on him to help throughout the quest.

While co-op play is great, it doesn’t change the experience too dramatically, and most of the time it’s easy to forget that another person is playing alongside you (well, aside from the Psychopath battle at the end, of course).

The camera is equally unobtrusive, and similarly, it doesn’t really change the experience. Players can aim and shoot pictures, but not of zombies as players once could in the first Dead Rising. Instead, players will be taking pictures of PP Stickers hidden around the world as a side quest to the main cases. Collecting all ten will unlock an achievement, and snapping each picture will net a small amount of PP, helping players reach level 50 from the maximum Dead Rising 2 level, 40. Because snapping pictures requires no particular skill, it’s no different than a fetch quest, making it an uninteresting inclusion, especially when compared to the camera’s implementation in the first game.

The biggest and most drastic change comes from the rescue and objective system. Now instead of being given a set of objectives at set times throughout the day, players will have to scour the Phenotrans Facility to find survivors. Upon finding them, players no longer need to escort them back to the safe room like they have in all of the other Dead Rising quests. Instead, players will need to either kill all of the zombies around the survivor or perform a separate fetch quest in order to save them.

Although the game will never automatically direct players to a survivor in the facility, the survivors themselves will occasionally direct players to additional survivors and other quests. The game will, however, designate time for players to complete survivor missions between the main cases.

Initially the change was appreciaited, as it encouraged me to explore the world, and left me questioning what I would do next. This was a nice departure from the regimented experience typically provided by the Dead Rising games. However, by the end of the quest the allure began to wear thin for me because it was tough to pinpoint the survivors in the fairly large world. Many times I would hear the survivors, but had a hard time pinning down their exact location.

Not dragging them back to the safe room was also a little anti-climatic, though again, it was nice at first. Surprisingly, these small changes really changed how I played the game, and made it feel extremely different from the core experience. I wouldn’t mind seeing these kinds of rescue quests incorporated alongside the original rescue missions, but having only those makes the game feel a bit hollow.

The main quest, which I have neglected to discuss, is comprised of nothing more than five or six fetch quests all occurring at set intervals. They aren’t particularly interesting and do little more than progress the story.

While Dead Rising 2: Case West has taken some risks and further changed the Dead Rising formula, these changes don’t make an overall positive impact. Thankfully, the game includes proper co-operative play, which keeps it on par with the last expansion, Case Zero. Fans of the series should consider a purchase as there is a decent amount of content if you achievement hunt, and the overarching story is expanded via the in-game missions.