Great fun for a rare type of person: The patient and violent type.
Hundreds of zombies on screen, hilariously violent weapons, and plenty to do and see, it should by all means be something that everyone loves, and yet, it isn't. Undoubtedly by the time you've read this review, you've seen plenty of other complaints about cruel save systems, clunky boss fights, time limits, and other things that limit this game's appeal. Indeed, these are huge factors that would make this game a bad choice for a mainstream gamer looking for GTA style zombie fun.
Then there's the rest of us. Those of us who don't care about getting every single mission done, who enjoy the boss fights for great personality and music, and who don't throw a fit at a "game over" screen. These people take the game at face value, which is the only way to enjoy it.
Assuming you are the type who can handle a few setbacks, there are some great things about the game that await you:
Graphics: I'm not usually a big graphics lover, but Dead Rising 2 has a great sense of style. In addition to the obvious shock of seeing endless hordes of individually rendered and controllable zombies, the architecture, the characters, and the weapons all serve the game's tongue-in-cheek style perfectly.
Weapons: Definitely the game's strong suit, there are endless ways to beat up the undead. What's really brilliant about this, though, is the balance. In another "some people hate it" move, every item you can smack someone with will eventually break. What this means is that every single weapon you find, create, or improvise has a reason to be used. This results in highly satisfying moments of using a super-powered weapon in the right situation, and panicky moments where you end up lobbing frying pans and chairs to defend yourself. Better yet, the game rewards gruesome and creative kills, particularly with crafted weapons, and gives next to nothing for taking the 'easy route', such as driving through a few hundred zombies in a maintenance car. This makes every level up feel well-earned and satisfying, with very few exploits or "grinds" to be found. Speaking of the leveling system...
A good leveling system: Each level you earn in the game results in random rewards, creating a different "Chuck" for each player. There's a good mix of progression through both character level and player ability, as if your own knowledge of where to find the best weapons or how to get somewhere the fastest is directly in sync with Chuck's stats, giving the feeling that you're steadily more in control of this zombie-filled world.
A good challenge: Dead Rising 2 reminds me just a little of the old days of gaming, before save files even existed, when getting through that game of Super Mario 3 without cheating was an accomplishment worthy of nerdy bragging. Though more people hate it than like it, I respect the developers of the game for sticking to their guns and making a game of classic challenges, even with those occasional "unfair" moments. Something about it just makes survival and victory that much more satisfying, and makes those tough moments all the more exciting. Of course, this sounds like the argument for why death penalties should be in MMORPGs, but in a bizarre way, it's interesting to play a game that kicks your butt like the quarter-eaters of the 90's. And then, of course, there's the feeling of actually getting good at the game, being able to survive boss fights that everyone else is screaming about, and conquering a world that should really be eating you alive... literally.
Good replay value: One of the trade-offs of playing a game on a time limit is that doing everything in the first run is nearly impossible. For "completionists", this is a deal breaker, and even I had to get over the fact that I had to pick one of two missions I wanted to do and abandon the other now and then. But, once you get over it, it means that the second, third, and forth playthroughs are all going to have something new to do, something new to find, and a chance to do things just a LITTLE better than you did before. This also allows one very unique option to things that are too difficult: to not do them. Psychopaths, for example, are one of the game's hardest challenges. But, say you want to ignore them through your entire first game and tackle them later when you have more levels to back you up? You can do that. In fact, with a few minor exceptions, you can let the entire story pass you by and still get to one of the game's endings (albeit, probably not the best one!). It's a strange, yet interesting mix of freedom and constraints, allowing you to do anything at any time, but with consequences.
The bottom line is that all these things will appeal to a patient, mature gamer, which is contrary to the game's immature and violent sense of humor. This is why it disappointed a lot of people: it's a brainlessly violent game that requires thought (which is about as strange as it sounds).
There are a few aspects that deserve demerits, as well, even on top of the usual gripes. The story line, for example, runs the border between campy and irritating at times, while the whole "get medicine for your daughter" aspect of things adds an artificial and, frankly, out of place sense of drama. In many instances, I found myself wishing that the game would have ditched that whole aspect and just made Chuck a hilariously over-the-top hero, as ridiculous as the weapons he uses. Anyone who knows who Bruce Campbell is should know exactly what I wish the game's character was like. Fortunately, this has a nice trade-off with the psychopaths who are, most definitely, the over-the-top characters that the game needed, as well as a few lovable survivors. For the most part, though, Dead Rising 2's story feels the same way Dead Rising 1's did: it's like the people who made the game and wrote the story weren't even in the same room, one was making "Sixth Sense", and the other was making "Shawn of the Dead".
Lastly, a few PC-specific notes:
The biggest reason to buy this game for PC is the price tag. Recently, Capcom has started getting in on the idea of inexpensive high-quality ports for PC (a trend I wish more companies would take with their ports). At release Dead Rising 2 for PC was $20 cheaper than any other version.
The quality of the PC experience seems to be mixed. There were a lot of people who had trouble with bugs and the usual gripes about the Games for Windows Live client.
However, my experience was pretty flawless. The graphic quality was extremely good on a mid-high range, older system. Slowdowns were non-existent, even with the most heavily zombified moments. Graphically, I didn't see any advantage of the counsels over the PC. Controls were surprisingly good with mouse and keyboard, as well, other than some rather touchy steering with the game's vehicles. I did not have an opportunity to hook up my 360 controller to it, but I didn't really feel the need to, either.
Overall, I'm giving Dead Rising 2 a "not for everyone" 8.5. Those who an take the game for what it is will find a lot to be happy about, while those who can't see past its flaws would probably do better somewhere else.