Dead Rising 2: Case West

While Case Zero served as a prelude before Dead Rising 2, Case West is its counterpart at the opposite end of the story – an epilogue that follows on from the end of the main game and closes out its narrative threads. It takes place at a research facility belonging to the Phenotrans corporation and, for the first time in the series, brings together two main heroes: newcomer Chuck Greene and photojournalist Frank West, the hero of the original Dead Rising, who together investigate the truth about the virus causing the zombie outbreak and the real intentions of the company behind the epidemic. Frank appears in the story considerably older and more scarred than players knew him from the first game, and his confrontation with the newly emerging generation of survivors is one of the episode's main draws. The return of the character who kicked off the entire series in 2006 also gives Case West a symbolic dimension – it is a meeting of an old and a new hero within the pages of the same story.

Case West is designed primarily as a two-player co-op experience, with one player controlling Chuck and the other Frank, although it can be completed solo if needed with the second character controlled by the computer. The factory and laboratory setting is much more linear and enclosed compared to the open city of Fortune City, full of locked doors, camera systems, and guarded corridors, which fits its role as a short, story-focused addition rather than a full-fledged adventure with free exploration. Like Case Zero, it was released as a digital download on Xbox Live Arcade, meaning exclusively for Xbox 360, and it directly continues the gameplay mechanics, weapons, combinations, and player progression from the main game Dead Rising 2, including the ability to carry over accumulated experience.

Why play it: Case West will be appreciated mainly by those who finished Dead Rising 2 and want to know how the story concludes – and additionally enjoy the rare pairing of Chuck with Frank West, this time in co-op with a friend on the second controller.