rising

Pressing our luck in Dead Rising 2

It's been four long years since Xbox 360 owners fought the living dead in the original Dead Rising. Though it had its flaws, and an infamously frustrating save system, the game had a dedicated cult following.

The zombie apocalypse is upon us again, as we assume the role of new protagonist Chuck Greene, who must slash his way through the casino town of Fortune City, while finding enough Zombrex medication to ensure his daughter doesn't turn into a zombie.

Does Dead Rising 2 reinvent the series, or is just more of the same? Read on for our thoughts.

Jeff: Fans of the original Dead Rising have nothing to worry about. If more zombie-killing anarchy is what you crave, the sequel delivers tenfold. At its core, Dead Rising 2 is almost the same exact game we played four years ago, with a few new elements sprinkled on top. Unlike Dead Rising's photojournalist Frank West, Chuck Greene can create weapon combinations that make for some really clever results and brutal kills.

We love hacking and slashing zombies just as much as the next guy, but we're not sure Dead Rising 2 brings enough new gameplay to the table to attract gamers who may have been turned off by the original. Sure, saving is improved, but the occasionally clumsy controls, frustrating combat, long load times, and time-constricted missions are a lot swallow.

There's fun to be had in Dead Rising 2, but we wish more of an effort was made to evolve the game, rather than add a series of lateral additions that fail to distinguish the two from each other.

Scott: I'll vent this now: there are too many zombie games. Far, far too many. This counts as the first strike against Dead Rising 2: a rising sense of unoriginality. Besides being a sequel, the original Dead Rising felt like a clever take on the Resident Evil series, almost as if it was Capcom laughing at itself. The second time around, Dead Rising 2 is less impressive, less eye-catching. Is it a fun time? In a way, yes.… Read more

Dead Rising 2 delayed until September

In February, Capcom announced that the sequel to its hit zombie-apocalypse action game Dead Rising would arrive on August 31. However, much like the lumbering undead masses players must fight in both games, Dead Rising 2's release date has fallen behind.

The Japanese publisher announced Monday that the new installment in its franchise will now arrive in North America on September 28, in Japan on September 30, in and Europe on October 1.

Read more of "Dead Rising 2 delayed until September" at GameSpot.

preGAME 19: Halo: Reach

This week on preGAME we're getting an exclusive First Look at Halo: Reach, almost two months before the game hits stores! In the studio today is Bungie Community Director Brian Jarrard, who will show us some of the single-player campaign as well as the revamped four-player co-op mode Firefight.

But first, we'll take a few moments to finally put E3 2010 to rest and go over a few things we thought were missing from the show. We'll also chat about the new Xbox 360 slim and figure out why the new console can't red-ring even if it wanted to. … Read more

E3 2010 trailer: Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Microsoft was quick to show the latest trailer and gameplay footage for Hideo Kojima's latest in the Metal Gear Solid universe. Rising lets players play as the sword-wielding Raiden and gives them ultimate control over where and what the lethal weapon slices.

Still, not a lot is known in terms of a release date and whether Rising will have a timed exclusivity deal with the Xbox 360.

360 comes out with all major franchises firing

Besides directly taking on the Wii with Kinect, how else can Microsoft hope to compete with Sony and Nintendo--not to mention Apple--this holiday season? With its big guns, literally.

Microsoft's focus at this year's E3 was, not surprisingly, on its biggest franchises. The company's boast was that the 360 is the only place to have these experiences--which all involved gunplay--although one, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is multiplatform.

Metal Gear Solid Rising: Hideo Kojima's sword-based Metal Gear action game was shown briefly, with a heck of a lot of slicing to pieces and a requisite fruit-slicing … Read more

preGAME 17: E3 2010 preview

This week on preGAME, we gear up for gaming's biggest show of the year, E3. On today's episode we'll run down every last prediction and anticipated game we're looking forward to at E3 2010, from each of the three major press conferences to the individual titles themselves.

First up for debate is Microsoft. It sounds like we'll finally get an official name for Project Natal, as well as some game announcements made for the motion-capturing hardware. We also think we'll see an Xbox 360 Slim announced at the company's press conference; maybe there'… Read more

Power Gig, a music game with real guitars

Announced Tuesday at the start of the Game Developers Conference, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString is a novel approach to the well-trod music game genre.

Instead of using plastic simulations of guitars that are essentially just dressed-up plastic game controllers, the game uses fully functional six-string guitars that control the game, but can also be played in real life.

As one might imagine, the game is being developed by a company connected with the guitar business. Developer/publisher Seven45 Studios is a sister company of First Act, a leading musical-instrument maker responsible for making the entry-level guitars, basses, and … Read more

preGAME 03: X10 Showcase

This week on preGAME, hosts Jeff Bakalar and Mark Licea take a look back at all of the big announcements from last week's Microsoft X10 conference in San Francisco. Today's show is chock-full of debut trailers, announcements, and first look game play video of some of 2010's most anticipated Xbox 360-centric games.

But before we get into the big announcements, we'll chat about the death of local multiplayer. Long gone are the days of local four-player split screen action like Goldeneye 64. Now more than ever, game developers are overlooking the game play element that defined the "party game." Why is this upsetting trend so popular? And why do game developers choose to leave it out?

All this plus the week's headlines and releases on preGAME!

Want to be a part of our live taping? Make sure you head to http://cnet.com/live/pregame every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. If you missed any of the stories we talk about on today's preGAME, make sure to check out our links below.

Xbox Live coming to Windows Phone 7 Street Fighter IV coming to iPhone LA Noire screenshots finally surface Sony will show off motion controller at GDC Jeff's X10 wrap-up post on Crave… Read more

Microsoft X10 conference wrap-up

After a four-year hiatus, Microsoft held its X10 conference this week in San Francisco primarily to announce a bunch of release dates for some notable 360-only games due out this year. The company also flexed its exclusivity muscles by showing off some content that'll only be available on Xbox 360.

We've got all the highlights from the event below, along with all of the show's debut trailers in the video playlist to the right.

Halo: Reach: No solid release date for the game, but Halo 3: ODST owners can get a taste of the title's multiplayer … Read more

Halo: Reach to go into multiplayer beta on May 3

SAN FRANCISCO--If Master Chief means something to you, then get ready. The Halo: Reach multiplayer beta will open up on May 3.

"Reach," as it's being called, is the latest iteration of the hugely popular Halo franchise for Microsoft's Xbox 360. The game is expected to ship sometime this fall, but before that, "millions" of Halo fans will get a chance to play the game and help its developer, Bungie, get the title ready for the masses.

Just this week, Halo: Reach entered private alpha, and on May 3, fans who already have Halo: ODST will be able to access the Reach multiplayer beta using their ODST discs.

For Microsoft and Bungie, Halo: Reach is a crucial title this year. The Xbox has been performing strongly over the last year, but Sony's PlayStation 3 has finally begun to make up some ground on it over the last few months. For Bungie, the game is an opportunity to take on the success of Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which has set records as the best-selling console game of all time.

According to Bungie creative director Marcus Lehto, Reach is a standalone prequel to the existing Halo series, offering fans of the hit franchise an entirely new story and new characters on a scale unlike what Bungie has done with the game before.

Lehto explained that Reach will have a much darker story line and will focus on a "key turning point in the Human-Covenant War." Halo: Reach takes place in 2552.

In the new game, the planet Reach is humankind's last line of defense against the Covenant. But the planet is also home to the Spartan program, the heart of the human military. The game focuses on one group of Spartans known as Noble Team, led by Carter 259. … Read more