Capcom had a major hit on their hands when they released the original Dead Rising game as an Xbox 360-exclusive. The game broke boundaries in terms of what was possible with seventh generation gaming technology, and kickstarted gaming's current obsession with zombies. Dead Rising 2 was still an acceptable game, but many fans were disappointed that the main character from the original game, Frank West, was nowhere to be seen. These complaints have been heard and Capcom has decided to give us a re-do of Dead Rising 2, complete with the notorious photo journalist himself, Frank West, in the lead role. It's a "what if" story that no Dead Rising fan should miss! So, let's get duct- taping and picture-taking and all that jazz. There are some zombies that need to be killed. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record Written by Dalton "Horror Spooky" Cooper Copyright 2011 Contact Information E-mail: horror_spooky@hotmail.com ------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------- 1. Introduction and Controls 2. The New and the Old 3. Characters A. Survivors B. Psychopaths 4. Story Mode A. Terror is Reality B. Find Zombrex C. Case 1 D. Case 2 E. Case 3 F. Case 4 G. Case 5 H. Case 6 I. Case 7 J. Case 8/TK is Infected K. The Facts 5. Uranus Zone A. Quarter Circle to Forward B. Security Box Keys 6. Sandbox Mode 7. Co-op 8. Extras A. Art Gallery B. Endings C. Achievements/Trophies D. Protoman 9. Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1. Introduction and Controls - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Let's just forget about that Chuck Greene character. Have you forgotten yet? No? Well try harder damn it! Frank West is all that matters. Following the events of the original Dead Rising, Frank became a world-renowned superstar. However, his fifteen minutes of fame dried up rather quickly, and Frank became bankrupt. He has come to Fortune City to participate in a pay-per-view game show called Terror is Reality, in which he is paid for killing zombies in the most creative and brutal ways imaginable! That's all fine and good, but you can't possibly hope to save Fortune City without knowing how to control Frank, can you? He's covered wars, y'know. Left analog stick - Move Right analog stick - Camera control A - Jump/Confirm B - Action Button/Cancel X - Attack/Use item Y - Call LB - Select item LT - Aim view RB - Select item/Camera view RT - Take picture/Throw/Shoot D-pad (up) - Put away D-pad (down) - Drop item D-pad (right) - Co-op confirm/Answer calls D-pad (left) - Take Zombrex Start - Pause Back - View map Frank is a trained professional zombie-fighting wrestler, so expect him to learn plenty of combo attacks and new moves throughout the game! This is only the tip of the iceberg, brother! So eat your prayers and say your vitamins, dude! By the way, the Dead Rising games are played in a very unique manner. When you die at the early levels of the game, it is recommended that you restart the story from the beginning, retaining your abilities and outfit and level. Just a tip! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2. The New and the Old - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dead Rising 2: Off the Record features the return of plenty of elements that were present in the first game, but for some reason excluded from the original release of Dead Rising 2. There are a lot of minor changes and some major ones. This section of the guide won't go over any changes that pertain to the game's story as to avoid spoilers (if you want spoilers just scroll down and read the damn walkthrough! Or...just play the game, you know). ============= A. WHAT'S NEW ============= What's new is old and what's old is new. Some of these features appeared in the original Dead Rising, but were, for some reason, excluded from Dead Rising 2. The main feature that was removed would have to be the picture-taking mechanic that was very popular amongst fans of the original game. Once again, players can snap photos of all sorts of things in-game to gain extra experience points (or PP, or XP, or whatever). The categories of photos include Brutal, Erotic, Horror, and more. However, that's not the only new (well, old) feature. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record also packs a brand new game mode called Sandbox Mode. In this mode, players can explore the mall at their leisure with no time limit and nothing to do but murder the hell out of zombies. Challenges will pop up during Sandbox Mode that can be played for bonus PP. Any experience points gained during this mode is transferred to your Story Mode character. On top of that, Capcom has added an all-new area! A new, space-themed location in the mall is known as the Uranus Zone. It features plenty of new content, including new items, new storyline elements, and much more that will be detailed throughout this entire guide! The audio in the game has also received a facelift. There is more voice-acting than before, with Stacey actually speaking out the lines when she radios Frank about lost survivors. There are new sound effects and musical effects, plus all new dialogue that fits PERFECTLY with the masterful Frank West. And finally, there are some minor changes that are for better and worse. The survivors seem to be less competent when it comes to traversing throughout the mall. I may just be imagining this, but it really feels to me like Capcom dumbed down the AI to make corraling survivors into the safe room a little more challenging than before. ============= B. WHAT'S OLD ============= Dead Rising 2: Off the Record features a TON of recycled content from the original release of Dead Rising 2, but that is to be expected. The game is, after all, not a main installment in the Dead Rising universe, but rather a hyopthetical adventure that I don't think is even canon, unless they have retconned much of Chuck's story. Evil Japanese conspiracies aside, I think it will be good to know what some of that returning content entails. First of all, the storyline in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is largely a repeat of the one presented in the father game. Now, there are some pretty significant differences, but it's by and large the same story, with the same objectives. Furthermore, the survivors in this game are comprised almost entirely of all the survivors encountered in the original DR2. This guide will try to focus on mainly the new content, but I will be providing an entire walkthrough from the beginning of the main storyline to the end of the storyline for those interested. Anyway, one of the most significant returning features from Dead Rising 2 is the ability to combine weapons using workbenches found in maintenance rooms dotted throughout the mall. This feature was received very well when it was implemented in Dead Rising 2, and I'm sure it will see similar success when it comes to Off the Record. When one makes a weapon, they can be told how to make it if they have what is called Combo Cards. This will ensure that you will receive the maximum PP boost when you kill enemies with the weapon. However, you can still create any of the weapons in the game without the Combo Card. When you do this, you get what is called a "Scratch Card", which means you know how to make the weapon, but you will get half of the bonus PP for getting kills with the weapon. In order to unlock Combo Cards, all you need to do is gain levels and find secret posters and what-not in the game that will teach you how to make these weapons in a formal manner. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3. Characters - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTE: The following descriptions about the main characters in the game is taken directly from the instruction manual. Beyond that, the information is FRANK WEST - Frank West, the freelance photojournalist who exposed the truth to the world, has become a hero. But the fame went to his head. He used his newfound fame to try and treat his infection and pay his medical bills, but it just isn't enough. Having covered wars, his ability to survive is extraordinarily high. STACEY FORSYTHE - In-your-face activist Stacey is the head of the controversial zombie rights group CURE (Citizens for Undead Rights and Equality). Stacey believes the game show "Terror is Reality" is cruel and demeaning to infected survivors everywhere. She leads protests with the aim of making Zombrex more affordable and available. RAY SULLIVAN - Sullivan is the first (and only) reserve man to make it to the official government shelter alive. His job is to keep order in the shelter until help arrives. Sullivan is loyal and patriotic, but he's in way over his head once the outbreak starts. REBECCA CHANG - Rebecca Chang is an ambitious, beautiful news reporter in town to cover the controversy surrounding the "Terror is Reality" television show. But when things go to hell, Rebecca sees it as her big chance to break the story of the century: what's behind the Fortune City outbreak? T.K. - T.K. is the host and producer for the controversial and popular pay-per- view television game show "Terror is Reality." T.K. has no problems with killing zombies for the entertainment value; he's making a killing after all. He is always on the lookout for the next big business opportunity. THE TWINS - These beauties are T.K.'s twin co-hostesses on Terror is Reality XVII. The gold one is Amber, and the one wearing silver is Crystal. Hard working eye candy, they love to taunt the contestants into taking bigger and bigger risks. ============ A. SURVIVORS ============ Like the other games in the series, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record features a multitude of survivors sprawled out across the mall that need to be saved. By saving these survivors, players can earn PP that helps them level up and earn more health, inventory space, improved attributes, and combat abilities. The survivors in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record are exactly the same as the ones found in Dead Rising 2, with some additions. This guide won't go into detail about saving the repeat survivors as that is just redundant. However, the new survivors that are featured in this game will be covered in full. ============== B. PSYCHOPATHS ============== Psychopaths are just like survivors except...they're psychopaths. Many encounters with these loons can be avoided during gameplay, but some of them are required fights. These operate like boss fights in the game, and these foes are generally just as formidable as they are off their rocker. Be careful! The bonuses for fighting psychopaths include a ton of PP, and they oftentimes drop weapons that constantly respawn in the location that they died. These weapons are usually extremely powerful and very rare. It's wise to remember their location, especially when you are in a jam or have come across a psychopath that is giving you a considerable amount of difficulty. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . Story Mode - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------- A. TERROR IS REALITY ------------------- Poor Frank. His life has really gone down the gutters. Well, when you get control of the greatest zombie-killer ever, Frank West, be prepared to fight some zombies, WWE style! You see, unlike Chuck, Frank doesn't ride on wimpy motorcycles with chainsaws attached to them, oh no; Frank beats zombies to death with his barehands and steel chairs. How awesome is that?! This little mini-game will task you with earning big cash by killing a bunch of zombies. There is a bronze, silver, and gold medal. To get the bronze medal, all you need to do is kill enough zombies to earn $10,000. For the silver, you need to kill enough zombies to earn up to $15,000. Gold demands $25,000 from you, but it's not a hard feat to accomplish. Start beating up on the zombies that are initially in the ring with you. Use the X button to strike and hold X to take them out a bit quicker. Killing zombies like this doesn't warrant much cash, but it's easy at least. A timer at the top of the screen will count down as you do this, so be aware of that. Don't worry about killing too many zombies, though; you will have plenty of time to rack up the dough in a moment. After a while, cages around the ring will open, revealing even more zombies. Along with these zombies, however, there are also weapons to be had in their cages. There are things like baseball bats and steel chairs, so grab them and start beating the zombies to death with these useful items. Just keep doing this some more until the entire cage around the ring recedes into the ground and the giant horde of zombies on the outside is now your headache! These zombies will start to climb into the ring, but they won't all swarm you at once. What you need to do here is get a bunch of zombies to get close to you and lead them into one of the corners. By jumping up on top of one of the corners, a door on it will slide up to reveal devastating grinders. This is how to earn the cash fastest when it comes to zombie killing in a wrestling ring. A lot of them will stumble right into the blades. But don't chill out on top of the corner for long as the pyro will engulf you in flames. Jump back into the ring, hopefully over the zombies that are near the corner, then turn around and knock as many as you can into the grinders. If you kill zombies that are outside of the ring, you won't gain any cash, so keep that in mind. Repeat this process for the other three corners. Quit using a grinder when the kills start generating less than $1,000 per kill. On the final grinder, flames will shoot across the entirety of the ring, so stay on that grinder until they subside. Then continue murdering zombies as you do. You can get $25,000 and the gold medal rather easily, as I only got 66 kills my first time and surpassed this requirement. The cool thing about this is that you actually get to keep all the money you just earned. Rock on! In the locker rooms after the cut-scene, speak with the other two competitors that are chilling out in here (what kind of name is Anim?), then exit the locker room. The guide area will pop up on the top of the screen and lead Frank out of this area. Notice the posters on the wall that are covering up Chuck's old posters. Oh, Capcom...how meta of you! Another cut-scene will trigger. When you regain control of the diabolical Frank West, it's time to snap photos of TK and some hippie. To use your camera, first pull the left trigger. Then tap the right bumper to pull out the camera. Use the right trigger to snap pictures. Keep your eye on TK and his cohort below and wait for the yellow PP stickers to appear above them to snap the picture. If you zoom in, you can gain more PP points and get a better photo. Keep following them around the warehouse area, taking pictures of them every time that the PP stickers appear above their heads. After you have finished doing this, yet another cut-scene will play. If this is your first time playing through the game, the three thugs that confront Frank cannot be beaten. I am not sure if you can beat them during redos through the game when Frank is more powerful, but I will let you fellas know in a section later on in the guide that goes over the differences when you play through the game again. The thugs will kick you out, and Frank, after being sexually harassed by some sluts, will go into an elevator. Of course, the elevator breaks down, and when Frankie boy comes to, it's time to kill some zombies! The survivors in these areas can't be saved to the best of my knowledge, so just grab weapons off the ground and start swingin'. Killing zombies is a blast and gives you experience points. You can also take pictures if you'd like for PP, which translates into experience points as well. Regardless, fight your way to the far end of the hall. The room right at the end contains some healing items, so I recommend stopping there if this is your first zombie rodeo. Experienced players will have no trouble getting through this beginning section, even though Frank only has four squares of health when you first start the game. Anyway, follow the guide arrow through this place while killing zombies and more or less ignoring the survivors. When you see a door labeled "Green Room", stop in there for a laugh. You can also change into Frank's professional wrestling costume here if you'd like. Afterwards, exit the room and continue following the guide arrow. You will come across a large open area with a cop trying to shoot the zombies and other survivors, of course. Wade through the sea of zombies and do everything possible to avoid taking damage. There are a couple of survivors behind a gate that you will run by. If you want a lot of XP, whip out your camera and get ready for a quick shot, literally. The dude on the right will blow his brains out as the zombies get closer, so be ready to take a quick picture of that. Then leave the area as the other guy is pretty much screwed. Keep pushing through all the zombies and use the guide arrow as your, uh, guide, to reach the doors that lead to the Platinum Strip. ------------------- B. FIND ZOMBREX ------------------- Once you reach the safehouse via the wonders of cut-scenes and go through the ropes, it's time to find Frank some Zombrex. If he doesn't get the stuff at least once every 24 hours like Chuck's daughter, he will turn into one of the undead. When you regain control of Frank, you can collect healing items and weapons around the safehouse if you'd like, but then you need to go to the air ventilation shaft and open it up by pressing the B button. What's with Frank and air vents? You can now freely explore the mall. You don't need the Zombrex for quite a while, so you can just run and familiarize yourself with the stores and easy ways to kill the zombies and all that jazz. If you played Dead Rising 2, then you should have the initial area of the mall, the Royal Flush Plaza, already well-known. The hallway leading into the actual Royal Flush Plaza features a pretty noticeable difference from Dead Rising 2. There is a handbag lying on the ground and a ton of money all over the place. Along with the handbag and the cash, there is a key that opens up a security box. These are new to the game, so be sure to pick up the key. In order to get the Zombrex, you need to visit Roy's Mart, a pharmacy that's not too far away. But you will need some good weapons in order to deal with the looters that are in there. I recommend visiting the Chieftain's Hut to get some hatchets and spears if you'd like. Regardless, head over to Roy's Mart and enjoy the enusing cut-scene. Take care of the trio of Looters in any manner possible. In a surprise twist that differs from the second game, these guys are packing Molotov cocktails that deal a devastating amount of damage. When they're all dead, Frank will automatically get the key to the pharmacy. Hop over the counter and then open the door to the pharmacy. Grab the Zombrex off the counter in here and collect any health items that you may need. There's orange juice and milk in here, which both do wonders for Frank's stamina. I recommend speaking with Denyce, who was being terrorized by the looters before Frank saved the day. She is the first "survivor" that you will be able to save. If you have played any Dead Rising game before this, then you should know how this works. Basically, you find these survivors around the mall. You speak with them, and then they follow you back to the safehouse. Sometimes they will require extra tasks to be completed or something of that nature, but Denyce is pretty obedient. After speaking with her, work your way back to the safehouse. It may just be my imagination, but the survivors seem a lot more stupid in this game than they were in Dead Rising 2. Regardless, lead Denyce back to the safehouse. The game will let you know when she's close enough so she'll travel with you through the vent, which is truly a welcome addition to the game. When she's been returned to the safehouse, you will see yet ANOTHER cut-scene. You can now do whatever you want to waste time until Frank needs his first dose of Zombrex. You can go into the mall and save more survivors if you'd like, or you can just kill zombies and collect weapons. You can practice picture-taking, or explore the area. Really, the sky's the limit, so just have some fun with the game for god's sakes! Oh, and unlike Dead Rising 2, you don't need to return to the safehouse to deal with the Zombrex nonsense. An icon will pop up on the screen when Frank needs his dose, and all you have to do is press left on the d-pad to administer it. ------------------- C. CASE 1 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 25TH, 8:00 AM All you need to do in order to activate this case is to hang out in the security room with Stacey Forsythe when the time is right. Things are a bit different this time around, as it seems that Stacy is the one being accused of causing the outbreak, and not Frank (in Dead Rising 2, it was the protagonist Chuck Greene). When you regain control of Frank West, you will be asked to save your game and continue, or just continue. I recommend saving the game because, you know, it is the logical thing to do after all. When you try to exit the safehouse, you will be stopped by Sullivan. Speak with him to get the maintenance key, a key which opens all the maintenance rooms in the mall. This is where you can duct- tape weapons together to create more powerful ones and all of that fun stuff. Anyway, after Frank gets out of the air vent, try to return to the Royal Flush Plaza. It's a straight-shot, but if you can't find your way by yourself for some absurd reason, the guide arrow is always at the top of the screen to lend a helping hand. However, when you reach the hallway with the maintenance room, a short scene will play and it will introduce you to the workbench where you can cook up all sorts of dastardly devices! Go ahead and create the spiked bat that the game tells you to make. All you need to do is place either a box of nails or a baseball bat on the workbench. Then place the left over item on the bench afterward and Frank will put it all together. Every maintenance room has the equipment to make at least one combo weapon, so don't be afraid to do some experimenting. There's more details about Combo Cards and all that later in the guide (the Table of Contents is your friend. I'M NOT. Just kidding. Please keep reading. I take back every mean thing I said!). Anyway, your next objective is to reach the Hotel in the Platinum Strip. It's simple enough. Just use the guide arrow and it will lead you right to it. Kill zombies on the way if you'd like, or avoid them, or do whatever you want. You have quite a bit of time on your hands before you actually NEED to be there, so don't sweat it. When you get around to going to the hotel, enjoy the cut-scene that introduces you to one Rebecca Chang. Following the scene, you can then continue to do whatever you want until the meter runs out and you fail the game, so...yeah, if you wish to continue the storyline, speak to Rebecca. She will then lead you to the central security room. Follow her, but don't worry about babysitting her. The lady can handle herself. The first destination that she leads you to, before the central security room, is a couple of bathrooms. She leads you here so you can save your game, of course, so take this opportunity to do just that. Then speak with Rebecca and continue to follow her. You will bump into some looters along the way. Deal with these guys as quickly as possible, otherwise they will spray you in the face with spraypaint (which I believe is a new feature) and then steal a ton of money as well as items from your inventory. Ugh. Defeat them and then continue following Rebecca through all the zombies. Frank and Rebecca will come across a gate, which is ripe for another scene to play, obviously. When that scene concludes, once again continue to follow Ms. Chang. When you reach the security room, you will discover that the door is locked. Examine it to witness the master of unlocking in action! When the scene concludes, all you need to do is make it back to the safehouse security room to finish this case. ------------------- D. CASE 2 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 25TH, 6:30 PM When the time comes, return to the safehouse's security room to trigger the beginning of this case. This case didn't take place in the Uranus Zone (the newly added zone unique to Off the Record) last time, but it's still pretty much the same events that occured in Dead Rising 2. Anyway, your guide arrow will lead you to Uranus Zone, so book it there! Uranus Zone is pretty sweet. There are a ton of new items to enjoy and Uranus Zone itself is absolutely dripping with the charm that was very prevalent in the first Dead Rising, but not so much in Dead Rising 2. It's the most original area in the Dead Rising 2 universe, period. On top of that, there's also the bank there, which contains the security boxes. If you find the right keys, you can unlock the security boxes in the bank for a TON of cash. Cha-ching! I recommend going to the bank, actually, before you go and fight the first psychopath, which is that dude that was talking to TK earlier in the game. That hippie guy. You know who I'm talking about! You watched the damn cut-scene! Anyway, the reason you should go to the bank is to, A) use the key that you come across at the very beginning of the game that I instructed you to pick up and B) grab some gems. The reason I want you to get gems is because it's smart to have a pretty powerful weapon when dealing with any of the psychopaths. The gems are located in the floor in the vault in the bank. In, in, in. Once you have procured the gems, there are two different weapons you can make that both deal a devastating amount of damage when used. I also suggest that you visit the local restaurants in the area for healing items, by the way. In the center of the Uranus Zone there is a hall that is lined with carnival games. Near here is a poster for a film called Uranus Invaders!. If you examine this poster, you unlock the Combo Card for a brand new weapon in the game, Laser Eyes. All you need to create this is some gems and an alien mask. The alien masks can be found all over the Uranus Zone, especially behind the counters of shops, so keep a look out for them. The other weapon you can make is the lightsaber, which requires gems and a flashlight. There are plenty of flashlights in the area as well, which are also usually hanging around behind counters. Make one of these weapons. Or exit the Uranus Zone, return, and make them both if you'd like. When you feel that you are ready to face the psychopath, named Brandon Whittaker by the way (see! I do know his damn name!), return to using the guide arrow, which will lead you right into the restrooms where he is residing with his nummy hostage. Unfortunately, Frank won't get to do anything sexy with the hostage. Brandon slits her throat, and then it's a fight to the death with the hippie bastard! Spam attacks with your most powerful weapons at him as much as possible. He will then hop behind the stalls. A stall door will open up, a zombie still stumble out, and then Brandon will jump back over the stall in an attempt to surprise you. By staying mobile, you can avoid taking damage from him. Return to spamming attacks, and be sure to heal if your health gets too low obviously, and when his health bar is depleted, Brandon Whittaker is dead as dead can be! ------------------- E. CASE 3 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 25TH, N/A Immediately after finishing Case 2, this case will become available. All you need to do in order to complete the first part of this case is return to the safehouse and speak with Stacey in the security room. However, on your way there, you will run into a surprise psychopath! This surprise nutcase is Chuck Greene, the protagonist of the original and canon version of Dead Rising 2. It seems that Chuck's daughter Katey has died, and he has gone absolutley insane. It's a rather hilarious take on his character, and I'm sure fans of the series will rather enjoy his scene and dialogue. This battle is completely optional. It's actually a side-quest. However, it's simply a retooled side-quest from the original Dead Rising 2. It's really the same fight and concept, albeit with Chuck Greene as the psychopath, and not the crazy motorcycle dude it was in the original version of Dead Rising 2. Well, if you defeat him, you can use his badass motorcycle with the chainsaws coming out of the side, but it's a pretty tough fight. The best way to defeat him is to stock up on health and guns, and wait for Chuck to pull out a Molotov cocktail. Then shoot the Molotov while it's in his hands. Or you can just skip it, you know. That's the best strategy if you are low level at this point. If you do decide to skip the fight, you can return to it later until the time on it runs out. Well, return to the safehouse when you are good and ready and head to the security room to watch the subsequent cut-scene and activate the second part of the third case. Your objective now is to reach the underground railroad system that lies beneath Fortune City. The arrow will guide you directly to the door that leads down into these tunnels. Once you're down there, Frank will notice TK and his dudes moving stuff around. This is another photo shoot opportunity. Observe the workers and wait for the PP stickers to appear above their heads, then snap a quick photo. Keep doing this until Frank is noticed, and TK and his cronies attempt to flee on the train. When you regain control of Mr. West, you will be on the far end of the train. There is plenty of health lying on the floor so chances are that you won't die, but the enemies are packing machineguns. What you need to do is get in close to the first enemy, one that is usually hanging around by himself, then beat him to death and steal his weapon. By doing this, you can just keep aiming and taking steps foward. Aim for the heads of your opponents to take them out quickly. Pick up as many of the machineguns as you can because they definitely come in handy. Keep blasting the enemies away and move to the end of the train, only for TK to dramatically make his escape! ------------------- F. CASE 4 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 26TH, 1:00 PM To officially start the 4th case, the mid-way point in the game, you need to be at the safehouse at 1:00 PM. This means that you can go around saving survivors and doing side-quests. You can do some exploring, experiment with different weapons, and search for secret areas. Really, the world is your oyster. Now, if you've been taking a lot of time with the other cases to actually get to them and start them up, you may be able to rush to the safehouse's security room immediately and start this sucker up. It's really a matter of how you are personally playing the game which dictates the pace of the adventure. The previous paragraph may just be the longest paragraph I have ever typed for a guide! Yay me! This case is pretty difficult, so be sure you're rocking the best arsenal you possibly can as well as plenty of health. I recomend toting around orange juice and combo weapons like the boxing gloves with the knives in them or the laser swords or something of that nature. Just be sure you're ready for a fight before you start this sucker. It seems that TK's cronies are going to the vaults in three of the casinos, the Americana, the Slot Ranch, and the Yucatan. They are breaking into each vault with a powerful drill, so you need to visit each one, defeat all of his armed mercenaries, and then proceed to destroy the drill. I recommend visiting the one closest to the safehouse in the Americana first due to the sake of convenience and the fact that the arrow will be guiding you to that one to begin with, so it's just a lot simpler. When you get inside the casino, there will be a couple of the mercenaries that are just chilling out and killing zombies. Take these guys out and then steal their weapons. Make your way into the vault room, killing any more mercenaries that you come across. Once inside the vault room, use the desks and walls for cover and pick off the other guys inside. Then focus all your energy on the drill. Once the drill has been destroyed, resupply your ammo by snagging the left-over guns from the dead mercs. Now it's time to make your way to the next casinos. It is likely you will come upon more Mercs along the way. Look at this as the glass being half-full, though! These guys can be killed and then you can take their guns and have even more precious ammo! Great thinkin', right?! The next two casinos are easily completed. Just apply the same strategy used with the original casino that you faced, and you will be absolutely fine. However, after the next two drills have been destroyed, Frank receives a very distressing call! It seems that TK has an armored van that's stealing a bunch of cash from another casino! Oh no! Make sure you are STRAPPED with machineguns and healing items before trying to do this. There are a TON of mercs to contend with, and they can become quite a nuisance. By the way, if you haven't realized it now, it's wise to shoot in short bursts and aim for the head of the mercs. This should be common sense, but for this section, you REALLY need to apply this practice, so get used to it, you trigger-happy people you! When you near the van, be prepared for a firefight. Use any object in the environment that you can for some cover while you try to pick these guys off one by one. When they're all defeated, grab their amom, and then start blasting away at the armored van. Once its health bar has been depleted, it will explode and you will be happy to know you've completed one of the more difficult cases the game has to offer! Yay! ------------------- G. CASE 5 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 27TH, 12:00 AM This is where things become considerably different than the original Dead Rising 2 game. When you arrive to confer with Rebecca's "source" at the BBQ place in the Americana, you will find she is not there. To be more specific, she has been kidnapped by TK, and he wants $1,000,000 by 7:00 PM or else she's toast! While this sounds like a very daunting task, it's actually made very easy. The reason? Well, Sandbox Mode of course! Dead Rising 2: Off the Record features a brand new game mode called Sandbox Mode, which is tied directly to your story mode profile. What this means is that you can start a new game in Sandbox Mode at any time that you'd like through the main menu, and then any cash and PP you earn in Sandbox Mode automatically transfers to your story mode character! While it's entirely possible to get the $1,000,000 in Story Mode, it will be a lot more fun and easier to do this in Sandbox Mode by completing Challenges and maybe even saddling up with a co-op companion. There are a lot of ways to make money fast. Look for money cases, as some of them can have $100,000+ inside. Visit the bank in the Uranus Zone often to open any security boxes you may have the key for, and grab all the cash that's inside. Use the money hacker to steal $20,000 from the ATMs, and bash open all the slot machines that you see. The sky really is the limit. But for real, your best bet is to enjoy Sandbox Mode. For more information about Sandbox Mode and the various challenges that you will come across while playing it, please refer to a section later on in the guide. Anyway, when you have the appropriate funds, visit the Shoal Night Club at 7PM. Be sure that you are packing a TON of heat and healing items because the ensuing battle is one of the most, if not THE most, difficult battle the game has to offer. The reason this fight is so hard is that the only healing items available in the area that you have to fight in is alcohol. When Frank gets drunk, he throws up and drops whatever weapon he has equipped. This can be a serious pain in the ass, especially since the two women you have to fight deal a significant amount of damage and are very fast. Not only that, but they have a high defense, making the pair of them quite the formidable duo. On the bright side, you only need to kill one of them! So, this means you need to dump all of the power of your weapons into one of the women, and just try to avoid the other one as best as possible. If you have enough firepower and you brought along enough healing items to keep your health bar up, this fight may just not be as hard as I made it out to be. ------------------- H. CASE 6 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 27TH, 7:00 PM It seems that TK is trying to escape on the roof of the hotel. There's another fight that's boss battle-esque, but don't stock up on anything. Keep your inventory as open as possible, with perhaps just two or three food healing items just to be safe. Make your way to the hotel. There will be a bunch of armed enemies that are guarding the elevators. Take them out and use their own weapons against them. Don't bother bringing any of their assault rifles with you, however, as they are pretty useless in your upcoming struggle. Be aware that another merc will pop out of the elevator as you near it. When they are all dead, take the elevator up. Watch the scene, then get ready to roll! Wait for the winch to nearly take you out, then push down on the left analog stick so Frank rolls safely out of the way. Wait for the green light on the winch to flash, then run over and press B. This will pull the helicopter into range. Grab anything on the roof that you can. There are cones that you can chuck that are very effective, as well as spotlights. Throw whatever you possibly can at the helicopter until it flies up again. This is your cue to once again dodge the winch, then run around in circles to dodge the following machinegun fire. Afterwards, winch that sucker back into place and start chucking stuff at it. If your health gets low, run near to where Rebecca is hiding to find some orange juice, vodka, and beer. Mmm. What a delicious combination! You can push Frank up against the air conditioning units here as well to avoid the machinegun fire and so you can regain her senses. Anyway, keep applying this strategy. When its health bar is depleted, the helicopter will be destroyed and this case will be completed. ------------------- I. CASE 7 ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 28TH, 9:00 AM Follow the guide arrow to reach the rooftop of the Royal Flush Plaza. When you are there at the appropriate time, a cut-scene will play that will introduce some super-annoying new enemies, as well as an incompetent military. When it's over, hop on down into the green madness and get ready for what is the most irritating boss fight of them all! The guide arrow will lead you into a parking garage of sorts. It will then continue to lead you in an area passed a destroyed military jeep and a bunch of broken crates. That's where Sgt. Douchebag is. If you go in the opposite direction of the guide arrow, you can find a maintenance room, a save room, and a couple of jugs of orange juice. However, all these items are guarded by a ton of zombies as well as the new, bubbly, acidy, annoying zombies that serve no other purpose than to piss me off! I recommend at least taking the time to save. Make sure you have a healthy amount of healing items and ranged weapons. Melee attacks deal the most damage like usual, but getting up close and personal to this guy is a horrible idea. He can boot you to the ground, fill you with a bunch of bullets, and then toss you across the area like yesterday's trash. Luckily, you don't have to stick around if the going gets tough; in fact, you can leave this area all-together to forage for supplies. Don't be afraid to do this if necessary. Otherwise, get ready for this fight. His machinegun deals a ton of damage, so only peak out from cover when you have a good shot. Be sure to watch whenever he throws a grenade so you can run away from that area and avoid significant damage. Sometimes he will hang back behind some cover and fire crazily and randomly, and this is when his gun deals the most damage, but this is also the time when it is most easily avoided. If you are strapped for weapons, you can find a grenade near some of his fallen comrades as well as assault rifles. It's a tough battle, but with enough persistence, Sgt. Boykin can be bested. With the good Sgt. dead, though, there are new problems to deal with. It seems that Rebecca is injured and you need to carry her back to the safehouse. Oh, boy. First, scour the area for supplies. You just had a tough battle, and you are probably low on health. You can grab the LMG that Boykin had as well. It has 200 bullets and it's generally a killing machine. Then use the B button to carry Rebecca. Exit the parking garage. You will come across a couple of soldiers. One of them is Sgt. Woo, who, lucky for you, has not gone bat-shit insane like his fellow soldier that you just iced. Speak with Woo and he and his subordinate will help you reach the safehouse. They are both armed, Woo with a shotgun, and while his subordinate, named Kuss, seems to get stuck on walls a lot, they can help out considerably with thinning the horde of zombies so you don't have to put Rebecca down at all. As you could imagine, this keeps things moving at a lot quicker of a pace. Regardless, make it back to the safehouse. Following the next scene, the safehouse will be invaded by the undead. Uh-oh! This is actually a pretty sweet part of the game, if I do say so myself. If you are concerned with trying to protect the survivors, those of the female persuasion seem to be less efficient when it comes to fighting off zombies, so if you see any in trouble, try to keep the zombies off their tail while you gather the necessary items. You need to get a can of gasoline, a spool of wire, and a generator. The generator is the closest. You can only pick up one of these items as a time, as they are "heavy weapon" types. Pick one up, carry it back to the controls next to the gate, and put them down. Then bring back the other two items and add them to the pile. When you have all three of the required items together, press B to start "hacking" the door controls. Tap A repeatedly to do the "hacking" (really, it's not hacking. It may be some weird, Breaking Bad type of science, but it's not hacking). The door will close little by little, and when it is shut completely, you will be finished with this case. ------------------- J. CASE 8/TK IS INFECTED ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 28TH After all the hoopblah subsides and you once again have control of the world's greatest photojournalist one Frank West, it's time to really put a lid on this case and the Fortune City outbreak! But before you can do that, there is sort of a mission within a mission. At this point, Frank will already have had all the Zombrex shots he requires. However, TK now needs a dose of the good stuff after having been bit by a zombie and all. Zombrex can be found in many different areas of the game, in security lockboxes in the Uranus Zone, and it can also be purchased from the merchants dotted throughout the city. I recommend just buying some from the merchants as it's the easiest option and you are sure to have $1,000,000+ anyway, when the Zombrex will be a fraction of that. Get the Zombrex first, just to be safe. If you are strapped for cash for some reason, you can always switch over to Sandbox mode to build up some funds, then go back to Story Mode and buy the meds. Ahh, I love Sandbox Mode. So awesome. But once you have the Zombrex, it's time to focus on other matters. This case isn't going to solve itself, you know. Your arrow will guide you to the underground system closest to the safehouse, which is really the best way to go at this point. When you reach the tunnels, hop in the vehicle and start driving down the system. Abandon your vehicle whenever you see one that is fresher since these things break down easily. You will notice mercenaries off to the sides, but don't deal with them unless you need or want a gun. You will come across a bunch of sandbags and more mercenaries. Kill the two that are on the wall next to the large, closed door. When they're both dead, hop behind the sandbags and use the B button to open the gate. Head through the gate to trigger a scene. There will be a bunch of mercenaries, but you should be able to take them out without too much of a headache. When they're dead, follow the guide arrow to a couple of scientists. As soon as the scene ends, they will start firing at you. They shoot fast, but they die just as quick. After they're dead, approach their dead bodies for yet another cut-scene to play. Don't worry about having to go back through the tunnels. The guide arrow will lead you right to their spiffy personal elevator. Press B on the buttons on the wall to call the elevator, then head inside and to use it. Make your way back to the safehouse to finish up this case. ------------------- K. THE FACTS ------------------- OCCURS: SEPTEMBER 28TH After the legitimately surprising twist, it's time to get done to business. Make sure you give TK the Zombrex before you start doing this or else you won't get the S ending. Anyway, when you're ready, travel to Fortune Park to start destroying the Queen Harvesters. There is a bunch of these things, and they're all heavily protected. There are two armed mercenaries as well as a mercenary with one of those laser-rifles that make you throw up and drop whatever weapon you have equipped. Take it slow as you move from harvester to harvest, and try to duck into casinos as much as possible to get checkpoints as you do this. Save whenever you can as well and when it's wise to do so. When they've FINALLY all been destroyed, get ready for what is the final boss fight and the most unique boss battle in the history of the franchise. Stacey has hijacked one of the rides in the Uranus Zone. Head over to the area designated by your guide arrow to start this battle. The fight is pretty straight-forward. It's not even hard...just lengthy. Be aware that you don't have to stick around in the boss fight area, and you can actually turn around and go to the bathroom to save or visit the nearby maintenance rooms...or leave the entire area and go gather supplies. It's really up to you. Well, anyway, I suppose you'll want to know how to beat this boss. And I guess it's my job to tell you. So, well, here goes! What you need to do is trick the claws into smashing on the ground. But first let's go over the basics with this boss. First of all, notice the large health meter at the bottom of the screen. The two gold stars to the left of the meter indicate what stage of the boss fight you are one. The first time the health bar is depleted, one star will disappear. The second time, the second star will disappear. The third time, the health meter is red and when it is gone, the game is over. In the first stage, this deadly carnival ride can has a few different attacks. If you stand in the middle, it will swipe from left to right with one of its claws and knock you backwards. It also can shoot a flurry of missiles at you, and it also will smash both claws together in an aggravated fashion. On top of all this, you have to be careful not to get too close, otherwise it will shoot you backwards with a puff of air, right into the line of fire of some missiles if you're unluckly. What you need to do here is trick it. If you notice when it smashes its claws on the ground, it leaves a black circle on the pavement. Pick either the left claw or the right claw, and focus entirely on it. Run on the black circle then dodge out of the way when the claw comes hammering down. Then spam attacks on it until it retracts. Keep repeating this process until the claw is destroyed and the health bar is depleted. For the second stage, its claws won't have any armor, but it will now strike in a downward thrust to try to stab Frank. Its attacks remain pretty much the same, except it can now jab repeatedly into the ground, and it's somewhat more difficult to get the opportunity to actually deal damage. Stick to the strategy detailed in the previous paragraph to try to trick one of its claws into coming down so you can then wail on it. Use the dodge ability a LOT while this is all going down to avoid being taking damage. When the second health bar is depleted, the claws will fall off, and the ride will rear its ugly head. To the left and to the right are the claws, and they are the key element to this fight now. You need to jump on top of them when the lights on them are green and press B to call upon a bunch of missiles. Get out of dodge fast, as the missiles are going to be going crazy. Spam that dodge. Make your way to the middle of the area because the missiles damage the head of the ride and make it stay in one place as Stacey frantically tries to fix the thing. This is your cue to run over and press B. What ensues is a QTE session, so get those fingers ready to tap the buttons that flash on the screen. You have a few seconds to hit each button, so if you need to take a couple seconds longer to make absolutely sure that you are going to hit the correct button, then take these seconds. It's a super frustrating to lose these sections, so keep it together and QTE like you've never done so before. Oh, as for attacks with the head, well...you can bypass all of them. Its main attacks are once again shooting missiles, but it will now try to crush you with the entirety of its skull. If you stray far away from it but stay in the battle area, it will spread flames across the place. What I recommend is that after calling the missiles from the two arms, just leave the area completely and return after about a minute so you can head right over to the arm and call the missiles right back immediately. Repeat this QTE process a couple more times to put Stacey out of her misery. Enjoy the subsequent cut-scene and whatever ending you earned. There is more information about the different endings in a later section of the guide. THE END - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5. Uranus Zone - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For more information on the new Uranus Zone section of the game, please refer to this guide: http://tinyurl.com/6emxyaq - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6. Sandbox Mode - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For more information about the brand new Sandbox Mode in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, please once again refer to this guide for more information: http://tinyurl.com/6emxyaq - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7. Co-op - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - One of the most popular new features that was in Dead Rising 2 was the co-op functionality that the game provided. Off the Record retains this co-op mode, and it functions exactly like it did in Dead Rising 2, with some changes. Players can randomly join the game of others online (Story or Sandbox) or they can party up with their buddies and play together. There are some minor differences regarding co-op in Off the Record, however. The most prominent is the fact that the final boss fight in the game cannot be fought with a co-op partner (or at least one that joins in the middle of the fight). I discovered this through Xbox Live. If someone is trying to join your game to play in co-op, the radio signal will pop up, prompting you to press right on the d-pad. You can then choose to let them join you, switch your game to private to avoid any more messages, or you can simply say no. To boot players, do so from the pause menu. There are a few achievements that require players to play the game in co-op. Furthermore, there are 30 replica challenges of the single-player challenges in Sandbox Mode that can be played with a co-op partner. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9. Extras - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For info regarding achievements and extra stuff featured in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, please visit this guide: http://tinyurl.com/6emxyaq - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9. Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I hope this guide helped you beat Dead Rising 2: Off the Record for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3! Special thanks to Jeremy Wise and everyone at CheatMasters! Without them, this guide wouldn't have been possible! Did I miss a new survivor? Got a better strategy for one of the challenges? Well, shoot me an e-mail and I will edit the guide and give you credit for any corrections, concerns, personal strategies, hints, tips, and what-have-you! I can be reached via e-mail at: horror_spooky@hotmail.com Feel free to check out my other guides, walkthroughs, and reviews on CheatMasters! It's okay...I've got Zombrex. Legal Information - - - - - - - - - This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.