Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is a reimagining of Dead Rising 2 with Frank West as the protagonist. It is a full retail release, released on October 11th in North America, October 13th in Europe, and on October 14th, 2011 in Japan, respectively for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Like Dead Rising 2, the game is once again set in Fortune City, with Frank attempting to uncover the truth behind the Fortune City incident. Off the Record features additional combo weapons, a new mode, extra cases, and a new area called Uranus Zone, a space-themed children's theme park area, complete with rides to help kill zombies.

Story
The entire game is a "What If?" scenario where Frank West covered the Fortune City outbreak, instead of Chuck Greene. As such, the game isn't considered canon within the Dead Rising continuity. It also changes the plot of Dead Rising 2 significantly in regards to the different characters and their motives.

After surviving the outbreak that occurred in Dead Rising, Frank West quickly became a bit of a celebrity. After authoring a successful book, he is given his own talk show, but soon wastes his opportunities and money as his fifteen minutes of fame expire. In hopes to regain a place in the spotlight, he accepts an offer from Tyrone King to appear as a special guest on Terror is Reality.

At the beginning of the event, West, wearing a wrestling outfit, is lifted via platform to the center of a ring surrounded by a chain-link fence. Joining him in the ring is a group of zombies in which he must defeat as many as possible within a certain time limit. Upon winning the event, West feels that he has lost his dignity and decides to take his prize money and get out of town. As he is leaving, he overhears TK and Brandon Whittaker discussing plans. With his trusty camera around his neck, West watches from a nearby scaffolding as TK exchanges money for a mysterious package from Brandon.

When West is caught eavesdropping, TK's henchmen attack him. He fights them off, but soon the zombies get loose, beginning the infection of Fortune City and forcing West to once again fight for his life. Later on it is found out that Brandon let loose the infection upon Fortune City, and the entirety of CURE is set up for it. West skeptical, he still helps Stacey Forsythe uncover the truth.

Later, Frank finds Brandon hiding in a bathroom. The latter has gone insane; after Frank stops him from letting a zombie bite a female survivor, he kills the girl and turns on Frank. After Frank defeats him, he is biten by a zombie and slits his own throat to avoid turning. Frank then confronts Stacey about how he was part of CURE, and he started the outbreak (as seen on the TV earlier). Stacey responds that he was new, and TK must have planted him in the group. They continue to argue until Frank notices people moving equipment in the underground on a security camera. Frank investigates, and finds TK moving packages through the underground tunnels. After fighting off some guards, Frank confronts TK. The game show host admits that he is indeed behind the outbreak, before escaping.

Frank tells Rebecca about what he saw, when they hear explosions going on from outside the safehouse. A number of TK's goons are trying to break the casino vaults. After Frank stops them, Rebecca invites him to come with her to see her source at Bennie Jack's later. Frank arrives, but finds nothing except a tranciever. TK talks to Frank on the other line, telling him if he ever wants to see Rebecca again, he has to bring one million dollars to the bar at the Yucatan by 7:00 PM that day. Frank comes with the money, and it is taken by one of TK's guards. After, Frank is confronted by the Bailey twins. They attack him, but he fights back and manages to kill one of them. The other, grief-stricken at the loss of her sister, commits suicide. Rebecca and Frank catch a chopper on top of the hotel, which TK is trying to escape with. Frank destroys the hellicopter, leaving TK knocked out. They bring TK back to the safe house and explain the story to Sullivan.

By this time, the military rescue is imminent, so Frank decides to go on top of the Royal Flush rooftop to get a good view. When the military arrives, they have little trouble with the zombies at first. However, a strange gas begins rising from the vents in the ground. This causes some of the zombies to mutate: they change appearance, become stronger and faster, and gain the ability to spit a bloodlike substance that temporarily incapacitates those it hits. No match for the "gas zombies", the military team is nearly wiped out. The sergeant in charge of the team escapes the zombies, gets in a truck, and heads underground. Rebecca (who was also filming the military) follows. Frank heads to the underground, and finds the sergeant has gone completely insane and has kidnapped Rebecca. After defeating the sergeant (who then kills himself), Frank gets Rebecca back to the safehouse. They confront TK, asking where he got the gas. TK only refuses to say anything. Only that when asked why he framed CURE, he said that was just the name that "they" gave him. After, they are talking in the security room when the door is breached, allowing zombies to enter the safehouse. Frank goes out and hotwires the panel, releasing a second door to re-secure it. After relizing it wasn't an accident, Frank goes to search for TK, and finds him sneaking around the safe house. TK is knocked over by a zombie that was still in the safe house and is bitten. Frank contemplates if he should give TK the Zombrex he needs, but eventually gives him the drug.

Sullivan, Frank, Stacey and Rebecca are watching the telivision when they hear on the news that a military firebombing has been ordered, because someone told them that there were no survivors in the safe house. The group are now convinced that TK was not the only person behind the outbreak. Frank then decides the only way to find out who created the gas is to find the source. He heads to the underground tunnels and finds a secret base of people harvesting queens from the zombies. Frank discoveres these people are employed by Phenotrans, the company that manufactures Zombrex. He grabs a laptop with proof, a phone and a keycard, and then turns off the gas. He heads back to the safe house with the new information. Rebecca explains that they did this because of lack of sales of Zombrex, and in order to drive up their stock price, they started this outbreak. Rebecca is about to use the phone to call her station to come get everyone, when she is shot in the stomach by Stacey. Stacey also shoots Sullivan, then turns to Frank. She thanks Frank for taking care of the protester and TK, also saying that releasing the tape to the news was not "part of the deal". Before she can shoot him, Sullivan punches her in the face, knocking her down. She shoots Sullivan shot two more times, mortally wounding him, before Frank can kick the gun away. He grabs Stacey but she escapes, and also leaves behind a wig that she was wearing.

Frank heads to Fortune Park and finds that Phenotrans has deployed several machines designed to harvest queens from the zombies they created. After he destroys the harvesters and finds a radio, he goes to Uranus Zone to confront Stacey. Stacey reveals that Phenotrans didn't start the outbreak for money, but to save lives. At first, Frank is confused, but she explains that they need queens to make Zombrex, and therefore needed to make more zombies to produce them. She calls it "a nessessary sacrifice for our country". TK's actions (getting CURE on television and robbing the city), were carried out without her permission. She then turns on a giant robot, and attempts to kill Frank, but he is able to destroy it. Stacey attempts to shoot him, but is crushed when the robot collapses on her. Frank then uses the phone she stole to call Channel 6 Action News (Rebecca's news station). They arrive in hellicopters, and all the survivors are rescued. TK is not amoungst them, however. Frank goes to get him, but soon finds out he is gone, along with Rebecca's body. All Frank can find is Rebecca's ID card.

After the initial credits roll, TK announces over the walkie-talkie that he has escaped, and that Rebecca survived her wound and is now with him. He asks Frank if he's ready for "Overtime" and that he needs Frank to bring him an assortment of supplies. Some of the items are medical items that Rebecca needs, others are things that TK wants for himself. They include a Compromising Photo, Zombrex Stash, Expensive Champagne, Sutures, Men's Silk Thong, Gauze, and Pain killers. After Frank obtains all the items requested and makes his way to the Fortune City Arena, TK attacks him with a tazer, laughing Maniaclly. Frank awakens in the same arena where the game started, stripped of all his inventory and surrounded by a ravenous horde of zombies. His initial objective is simply to survive while TK taunts him from above, while Rebecca crawls her way to the winch control switch. After two minutes, Rebecca reaches the switch, throws a rope down, and reels Frank up. TK stops her, stating that "Audience participation is not allowed", but he is too late. Frank is already up on the platform, and engages TK in combat, while trying to keep Rebecca stabilized. After the battle, TK uses his last strength to choke Frank and try to throw him to the zombies below while reciting the lines: "You've gotta...risk it all if you're.... ever... really.... gonna-." and is interrupted as Frank throws him over his back off the platform while sarcasticly remarking: "Fall to your death". He then picks Rebecca up, and leaves Fortune City, just before the firebombing. As they depart, a zombie screams at the camera, giving one last scare.

Ending S
Method: Frank completes all cases, but saves TK with Zombrex (TK is Infected). This will unlock the Overtime Mode.

After defeating Stacey Forsythe and withholding the firebombing, Frank lands on the rooftop of the safe house, but heads back into the safe house to collect TK and the bodies of Raymond Sullivan and Rebecca Chang. Inside the safe house, TK and Rebecca are nowhere to be found. Frank picks up Rebecca's dropped ID Card, and stands there silently with it in his hand as the game seemingly ends.

After the credits roll, a case called "Overtime Mode" is unlocked, and Frank finds that both TK and Rebecca, are alive. Frank heads over to the Arena, after picking up some things for TK and Rebecca, gets stunned by TK, awakes in his same condition as in the beginning of the game, saves Rebecca, after throwing TK over a ledge to his death, then carries Rebecca away, romanticly before a screaming zombie ruins the moment.

Ending B
Method: Frank completes all cases. But does not give TK zombrex.

A zombified TK meets Frank at between the Helipad/Elevator entrance and tackles him to the ground, as Frank continues punching him. The pilot flees in the Helicopter, with the last of the survivors. The post-game subtitles read:

'''Unable to deal effectively with the Fortune City outbreak, the U.S. goverment dispatched a squadron of bombers to level Fortune City, erasing all traces of life, both alive and undead..... A convoy of civilian media choppers managed to rescue the safe house survivors shortly before the bombing..... Frank west was not among them... The Fortune City Outbreak became known as "Fortune's End". '''

Ending C
Method: Complete the game up to when the Military arrives then fail all subsequent cases.

Stacey will not wait for Frank, leaving in Helicopter, sarcastically wishing him luck with catching great POV shots of the firebombing. The post-game subtitles read:

'''Unable to deal effectively with the Fortune City outbreak, the U.S. goverment dispatched a squadron of bombers to level Fortune City, erasing all traces of life, both alive and undead..... There is no record of the shelter dwellers having made it out of the city alive. Whether they succumbed to the Zombie attack or were incerated in the subsequent firebombing is unknown.'''

Ending D
Method: Fail the cases before the military arrives, and get to the safehouse.

Frank waits for rescue as mysterious gunshots are fired. Curious and worried, Frank is frightened, remarking "You" to the unknown killer, just before being shot and killed. The post-game credits read:

'''The attempted rescue of the Fortune City survivors was considered a military failure. There is no record of any shelter dwellers having made out of the city alive. What really happened in Fortune City remains unknown. The incident became known as "Fortune's End".'''

Ending E
Method: Fail the cases and don't get to the safehouse when the military arrives.

Frank is captured and handcuffed by the military. As the vehicle stops, the soldiers curiously open the door as the screen is fogged and they are most likely attacked. The post-game credits read:

'''The attempted rescue of the Fortune City survivors was considered a military failure. The military was unprepared with what they found. There is no record of any shelter dwellers having made it out of the city alive... Frank West was reportedly encountered by the Military early in the operation., but no proof of this was ever found. This incident came to be known as "Fortune's End".'''

Gameplay
Instead of giving Katey Greene her daily dose of Zombrex, the player will have to find Zombrex for Frank every day to prevent him from turning. Not giving Frank Zombrex will simply lead to a Game Over, regardless of his location.

Photography has returned in Off the Record with the same category system present in Dead Rising: Special, Brutality, Erotica, Horror, Outtake and No Genre.

Terror is Reality has been taken out to make room for Sandbox Mode, a limitless, free reign mode filled with various challenges. In Sandbox mode, similar to Dead Rising's ∞ Mode, survivors are hostile, attacking the player. Unlike ∞ Mode, health doesn't deplete, and you can use your camera and watch freely.

Scoops and general information no longer make the character a sitting duck while answering calls. This is due to the fact that the Transceiver has been replaced by a Hands-Free Transceiver that allows Frank to move, jump, and attack. The only thing he cannot do is talk to other survivors. The same rules that were in the other Dead Rising games apply here: No being in the same place as the scoop is, no scoops involving more people if there already eight people spawned at one time, leaving an area will cut the call off, as will cutscenes, and no calls about scoops earlier or later than the specific programmed time.

Chuck Greene has become an unkempt, drunken, Slicecycle-wielding psychopath after losing his daughter Katey in the outbreak. He appears in place of Leon Bell. The original version of Chuck also appears as the visiting player, in Co-op mode.

As is the case in DR2, Frank gains certain hand-to-hand moves as he levels up. However, the moves he gains are different from the ones that Chuck used in the original game. In Co-op mode, however, Chuck uses his original DR2 moveset, giving the two players slightly different fighting styles.

Adam MacIntyre's brother, Evan MacIntyre, is present in the game, wielding a variation of the Snowball Cannon.

The Protoman Costume is a hidden costume which, similar to the Knight Armour and Megaman Outfit, is a reference to a Capcom character, this time Protoman from the Megaman series.

There are three new DLC outfits available online. Also, the four outfits from the original DR2 can be unlocked by finding, earning, or purchasing the components. However, unlike the original, all four components of the outfit must be worn to benefit from its effects.

Checking the time, as well as managing cases, has now been integrated with the map. The game clock freezes while the player is doing this.

Sometimes when after walking through a door that has just been opened a zombie will be hiding behind the door and will attempt to grab you (this even includes maitenence rooms), they will also sometimes play dead and grab you from the floor (made more difficult to avoid due to even more ACTUAL dead zombies spawning) or hide in bathroom stalls which they will jump from when you walk by, in all of these instances a startling noise will be played.

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Trivia

 * During the course of the game unlike Chuck and Frank's other iterations, Frank now makes verbal comments about his surroundings, other characters and survivors, and about what he's doing, a first for the series.
 * When Frank saves Terri and Willa he's "Have you girls notice you all sound alike?" which is a referance to most if not all female survivors in the game having the same or similar voice over/clips, or it could mean women to Frank are so annoying they all sound alike.
 * After Frank exits the vents at the begining of the game he'll say: "They never think of the vents." or "What is it with me and vents?" a clear referance to how he get in and out between the Willamette Parkview Mall and safe house in his first call to action in Dead Rising.
 * The Uranus Zone is new to Dead Rising 2 Mini Series even though it is seen in the North American boxart, it only has two cases leaving the impression it's not that important to the game or storyline. It should be noted it also appears at the title screen.

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 * There are five distinct glitches in Off The Record.
 * 1) Floating Objects: This is glitch where things particularly boxes float as if it is stacked on another. These items can't be acquired in Frank's inventory. This glicth is fairly common if one pays attention.
 * 2) Ghost Doors: This is glitch happens when the player tries to shut an open door and it automatically opens back up no matter from side the player opens it.
 * 3) Inoperable Doors: This glitch's action is in it's title where doors single or pair of don't work the "Open" sign does appear next to them, even the maintenance rooms doors are victims to this glitch.
 * 4) Flying Zombies: This is very rare, this happens when a zombie is in a tight space like in a "single doorway" the zombie has to be killed in there. the zombie will slide up the doorway... dead. The player can still hit it but, it'll just be stuck at the top of the doorway.
 * 5) Zombies Stuck!?: Sometimes if the player pays attention they'll see zombies stuck in large structures such as in the Underground areas.