The first thing most of us noticed when Capcom confirmed Dead Rising 2 was the lack of the original title's lead Frank West. The second? Where's the camera?
There's an argument for not including the camera, so prevalent, so beloved in the first Dead Rising, in this sequel.
In the original Dead Rising you play as photojournalist Frank West, dropped into zombie-infested Willamette, Colorado to get photographic evidence of a conspiracy in the small town. The camera isn't just an interesting gameplay mechanic, it's an integral part of the storyline and something that helps identify West.
But things have changed in Dead Rising 2. The zombie infestation is, seemingly, no longer an isolated incident. The plague has spread unchecked throughout the United States.
It looks like Dead Rising 2 will be taking place in a Vegas-like setting and apparently star someone seen wearing a leather racing jacket and, in one shot, riding an off-road motorcycle. Safe money is on this new character being a racer or stunt driver.
While I can't imagine that Capcom and Blue Castle Games would completely remove the photo element of the game (I can see it showing up as maybe something you can do with a cell phone camera) I suspect it won't play as important a role. Mostly because this game isn't about a photojournalist trying to uncover a secret. Also, keep in mind that the Wii version of Dead Rising appears to be camera free.
What I'm more interested to find out is if Capcom will come up with another interesting gameplay mechanic, this one related to the new hero's new job. Maybe that human hamster ball was actually a motorcycle cage of death? Maybe, if the lead is a motorcyclist, it speaks to a more open-world aspect coming to this next Dead Rising. I could see a motorcycle ride between locations being a very interesting new mechanic if done correctly.
What do you think?