User blog:Neo Deus/Guardian DR2 Review (Good for a Laugh)

So, I was looking on Metacritic, and noticed that the UK newspaper, the Guardian, gave DR2 a 2/5. I was curious as to why they would dismiss it so much, so I decided to read the review. It's obviously not positive, but it's actually quite funny, if only in a "laughably bad" kind of way. I'd recommend reading it (including the commenter's responses) if you need a chuckle.

My favorite part about the review is that the first third of it (literally) doesn't even address the game at all, instead addressing the reviewer's views on zombies and fear:


 * The problem with zombies has always been that they are not intrinsically threatening. Vampires, werewolves, slavering multi-toothed aliens, drug-crazed Arkham Asylum inmates, heavily armed Nazi henchmen, that weird pink monster from the original Doom whose echoing roar still haunts my nightmares – all of these are scary because they pose a direct and imminent threat. Not so your classic zombie; a naturally amiable creature, it spends its un-life shuffling aimlessly around like a stoned teenager looking for something to eat.


 * Attempts by film and game producers to turn these shambolic land-plankton into something to shoot a thrill of fear into the hearts of men fall into two broad categories. The 28 Days Later solution is to cheat, giving them the ability to run at great speed, or hunt with intelligence. This succeeds in making them scary, but in doing so arguably compromises their essential zombie-ness. The horde solution, favoured by purists, is simply to whack up the zombie numbers until the casting department runs out of make-up or the console's processors bleed. It doesn't matter if they're slow, the purist says. If there are thousands and thousands of them, and they're everywhere, they'll get you in the end. It is the creeping inevitability that brings the scary.


 * Into this latter camp has Dead Rising 2 been unceremoniously dumped, like an unfortunate cat into a wheelie bin full of zombie mice.

I'm not quite sure, but I think he may have missed the point of the game. Haha! :P