Differences between Dead Rising 2 and Off the Record

There are a number of differences between Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. Below is a list of known differences between the two games.

Weapons and moves

 * Skateboard durability has been increased in Off the Record. This makes the Skateboard a more practical weapon and mode of transport at the beginning of the game.
 * Dynameat no longer gives 1,000 PP per kill with its combo card. In Off the Record, it instead gives 500 PP with its combo card.
 * The Snowball Cannon and the Super B.F.G.'s hit detection has been improved in Off the Record. In Dead Rising 2, the Snowball Cannon would lock up and the Super B.F.G. had poor hit detection after being used a few times in the same area.
 * Zooming with the sniper rifle is no longer controlled using the and  directional pad buttons. Instead, it is controlled using  to zoom in and  to zoom out, much like the camera.
 * The Snowball Cannon no longer requires a second shot on a frozen zombie to earn the PP. The player can simply destroy the frozen zombie for the PP, making it a very useful weapon.
 * The blast frequency gun does not make mercenaries vomit anymore. However, the Super B.F.G. will kill mercenaries in one shot. In Dead Rising 2, using the Super B.F.G. on mercenaries simply made them vomit.
 * When jumping and getting hurt in Dead Rising 2, should Chuck try to do an action, Chuck would not be able to complete the action and Chuck would flinch upon landing. In Off the Record, Frank can still perform the action if he is injured while in the air, but he will still flinch when he lands.

Skills

 * The Pick Up skill now harms survivors when zombies are thrown at them. In Dead Rising 2, it did not hurt survivors at all, making it a great tool for clearing out zombie hordes around survivors.

Psychopaths and Cases

 * Psychopaths now have a damage limiter in Off the Record. Frank can only do a certain amount of damage before his attacks become useless, regardless of weapon or attack. Frank will have to back off for about two to three seconds before Frank can do the weapon's maximum damage on the psychopath. This discourages the player from constantly staying close and attacking. To make up for this, most of the psychopaths have less health than they did in Dead Rising 2.
 * In Dead Rising 2 when a psychopath was beaten the body would disappear. This was changed in Off The Record as it was in Dead Rising with the bodies staying in place (With the exception of Chuck Greene), possibly because of the bonus camera PP points.
 * Chef Antoine Thomas is no longer weak to the Burning Skull in Off the Record. In Dead Rising 2, the Burning Skull would kill him in five to eight hits.
 * Damage received from gun attacks is heavier in Off the Record. In Dead Rising 2, Chuck would flinch from the first shot that makes contact and the rest of the shots would go through him without damaging him. In Off the Record, every bullet will connect and do damage regardless of whether Frank is flinching or not. This makes mercenaries more of a threat if ganged up upon or if the player is not cautious.
 * Taming Snowflake is now easier, as the artificial intelligence (A.I.) has improved. In Dead Rising 2, she would randomly decide to either eat the meat on the ground or just run past it and attack Chuck. In Off the Record, Snowflake will always take the steak as long as Frank keeps his distance.
 * There's now an alternative method to taming Snowflake. Rather than feeding her steak, Frank can just leave the area and come back about a few hours later in-game time. Snowflake will then be automatically tamed.
 * Looters are now more aggressive. They will chase and attack Frank with greater persistence. Looters now have the ability to throw Molotovs at Frank from a distance and can steal Frank's weapons and money.
 * It's now possible to "loot" a looter by spraying one with spray paint. While he is stunned, Frank can put his item away (he must be barehanded) and press the action button to steal some money from him.
 * Looters now have their own music theme when encountered.
 * In Off the Record, the pawnshop looters are named whereas in Dead Rising 2, their names were not displayed in-game.
 * Some psychopaths can react faster after Frank hits them. In Dead Rising 2, they usually flinch and Chuck had some time to get out of the way. In Off the Record, bosses can quickly hit Frank the second Frank hits them, making it difficult to play both safe and strategic (for example, Antoine Thomas and Seymour Redding).
 * In Off the Record, during the mission World's Most Dangerous Trick, the blood on the table around Madison Lainey is absent (see Madison Lainey § Trivia).
 * The Bike Chase portion in Case 3-2: Sign of Life was removed in Off the Record.
 * In addition, any survivor you bring during this mission will temporarily disappear during the underground portion and will teleport to the player's location once this mission is completed. Any survivor you bring during this mission will temporarily disappear during the underground portion and will not take damage. In Dead Rising 2, the survivors will be left behind during the train chase sequence and will take damage. They also won't teleport to the player's location once this mission is completed.
 * The Case 7-4: Breach was changed in Off the Record by giving survivors less health. This makes it harder to have a survivor not die during the mission.

Locations

 * The Tape it or Die crew is now easier to find in Off the Record. Signs will be spread across Palisades Mall pointing to where the group is.
 * The Playboy posters have all been replaced with Uranus Zone posters.
 * The T.V. screens in the Americana Casino only take one shot to break instead of two in Dead Rising 2. In addition, the player no longer gets the PP environment bonus from destroying the T.V. screens.
 * More Money Cases and ATMs have been added. In addition, destroyed ATMs drop twice as much cash as they did in Dead Rising 2.
 * All slot machines give money when busted. In Dead Rising 2, only a specific machine in a cluster gave money when smashed.
 * Security Box Keys have been added. They can be used to open security boxes in the Fortune City Bank (U109) in Uranus Zone.
 * In the safe house, the storage room 7 (the location of Ante Up) is now a separate loading area within the safe house. Also, a washing machine now appears in one of the storage rooms.

Co-op

 * When playing the giant slot machine in the Slot Ranch Casino or opening the safe in the Yucatan Casino, the winnings are not shared in co-op. In Dead Rising 2, whenever the host won, the guest would also win that amount.

Glitches

 * Dodge Roll canceling is removed in Off the Record.
 * The shotgun glitch is still present. The glitch occurs when Frank or Chuck wields the shotgun while using the Wingman, Tesla Ball, Roaring Thunder, and other specific combined weapons. The durability of the weapon lasts for an unlimited amount of time as long as the player is holding the shotgun.
 * In Off the Record, there is a hit detection bug that can be somewhat of a problem, especially with psychopaths such as Chuck Greene and Carl Schliff. When Frank is knocked down, he is not as invincible as usual to some attacks. What happens is the psychopath's attack hitbox is active constantly, and as he hits Frank, he will start losing a massive amount of health. Frank can go from full health to death in a matter of seconds.
 * Some survivor scoops that Stacey should normally call Frank about, even when the eight survivor rule isn't active, Frank may never receive a call about. For example, Two's Company is a survivor scoop that Stacey should call Frank about, but a call from Stacey is sometimes never received.

Off the Record Features

 * Modes, missions, and Uranus Zone
 * Sandbox Mode. "Something the fans have been asking for since the first game... [it is] as big, if not bigger, than the story mode."
 * Co-op multiplayer is included, this time with Frank West and Chuck Greene as the second player.
 * New unique story, "the story’s been changed quite heavily".
 * New missions, including the mission: Quarter Circle to Forward, and the case: Case 5-1: The Source.
 * A new area, "Uranus Zone" Amusement Park
 * Photography
 * Frank's camera returns, allowing outtake photographs.
 * New photo opportunities in a “Buddy Shot”, Frank can grab a zombie from behind and essentially "photo bombs" his own image, snapping a photo of him grinning next to a zombie before he throws him/her aside.
 * Digital camera rather than a film camera.
 * Sandbox Mode also has fully integrated cameras. "In Case West it was in there but it was kind of ‘camera lite.’ This time around we’ve made sure to integrate all the categories - Horror and Brutality and Outtake. Plus of course we had to put in the Erotica category too."


 * Clothing, weapons and food
 * Cosplay Warrior Skills Pack pre-order bonus
 * If the game detects a Dead Rising 2 save file, Chuck Greene's Motorcyle Jacket is unlocked as a bonus.
 * New combo weapons, including Bouncing Beauty, Cryo Pod, Electric Crusher, Laser Eyes, Molten Cannon, Pegasus, Saw Launcher, and Super Massager.
 * New weapons, including Alien Probe, Escape Pod, Giant Spaceship Toy, Ray Gun, Remote Mine, Space Bench, Tennis Ball Launcher, and Toy Rocket Ship. Over 350 weapons.
 * New vehicles, including the Clown Car.
 * New food, including Cotton Candy, Popcorn, and Pretzel.
 * New clothing, including Alien Boots, Space Girl Outfit, Space Suit.
 * New DLC, including the Barbecue Chef Skills Pack, Cyborg Skills Pack, and Fire Fighter Skills Pack.


 * Psychopaths and enemies
 * New enemies and psychopaths
 * Scare Zombies, rare zombies that when a player walks around a corner or passes over a dead body, they leap out and there is an audio sting at that moment.
 * A more difficult game, with "A tougher Frank West and a Tougher Fortune City", with more aggressive zombies than those featured in the same city in Dead Rising 2. Executive producer Jason Leigh explained, "We’ve upped the zombie density this time around. When we first started showing [Dead Rising 2] at Captivate a couple of years ago, on one level we had 7,000 zombies on the screen. What we found in Dead Rising 2 that was not actually practical in an environment because it was just too dense. This time around, because we made Frank a tougher character right at the beginning and we gave him more cool weapons that do a lot more damage, we actually managed to up the zombie density and have the world be a little more dangerous for him."


 * Game mechanics
 * Load times reduced by half from Dead Rising 2.
 * Auto saving, a checkpoint system which will have the game save progress after major story points. Including checkpoints right after the player enters a new area and right before the player fights a boss. It is still undecided whether the save system can be turned off.
 * Fully voiced radio mission descriptions.
 * The ability to set waypoints on the Fortune City map.
 * The ability to check the time and set active missions from the map screen, instead of from your wristwatch in the active game environment.
 * Flashing red "[SURVIVOR] IS TOO FAR AWAY!" message that pops up when an ally is lagging too far behind to "zone" with you into the next environment.
 * Controls for weapon switching slightly changed, now Frank's weapon will switch upon release of the weapon switch button, instead of as soon as it is pressed. This is to work with some of his new skill moves.
 * The Survivor A.I. is noticeably more incompetent and are physically weaker than they were in Dead Rising 2.
 * In Off the Record, if the player drinks Quickstep while escorting survivors, the survivors will also have their movement speed increased. This doesn't happen in Dead Rising 2.
 * The Zombrex sold at Pawnshops are 2 times more expensive than they were in Dead Rising 2.
 * More survivors will award the player with money upon being escorted to safety.
 * All the notebook pictures compared to Dead Rising 2 are better. This may be referencing that since Frank is a photographer and Chuck isn't they look a lot more professional or even implying Frank took the photos himself.
 * Updated movement systems make climbing and traversing areas easier and smoother looking.


 * Other features
 * PlayStation 3 and PC owners can play Frank for the first time.
 * Victims commit suicide with a gun.
 * Achievements/trophies are easier to earn. "There’s still going to be some tough challenges in there. There’s one or two that are relatively tough, just because we didn't want it to be a cakewalk. Overall though, I think people are going to find it a little easier to get all the trophies."
 * Frank now makes verbal comments about his surroundings, other characters and survivors, and about what he's doing.


 * Returning from previous games
 * All the original fighting skills from Dead Rising are available in Off the Record, plus new unique skills that Chuck did not have before, such as "Bruiser Frank West style wrestling moves".
 * TK returns as the final boss.
 * Overtime has returned.
 * Different endings. "It’s still the convention of a sandbox on a clock. All of the Dead Rising games so far have branch points where if you do it a certain way you get a certain ending. There is replayability where if players try things a slightly different way, they may find a different ending."
 * Celldweller and Blue Stahli have returned once again to score the psychopaths' music.