Recent reviews by Problem Fox

IMO Sekiro is the pinnacle of FromSoft games, and given the high quality of every other Souls game they've made for me that says something.

The game is a win on just about every level. The combat is tight, satisfying, and challenging in all the right ways. The lack of alternative movesets and weapons means that all of the moves you can do are perfectly implemented, and lower emphasis on stats and levelling up means that when you have to learn to use all of the mechanics effectively to progress and improve. In a way unlike all the other Soulsborne games, you progressing really is you actually mastering the mechanics more than you optimising your build.

This is combined with a gorgeous, interconnected world map, excellent enemy and visual design and an engrossing setting created by a team that is intimately familiar with the inspirations that lead to it. For me, Sekiro is one of the best games ever made.

10/10 i love this game 10000000%

THIS GAME HAS MANY REPORTS OF POOR PERFORMANCE AND DUBIOUS CONTROLLER COMPATIBILITY
IF YOU USE MULTIPLE MONITORS YOU WILL NEED 3RD PARTY SOFTWARE FOR THIS GAME TO RUN REASONABLY
I'm running GTX 1080, i7 6700k, 16gb DDR4 ram and on my first run I was getting 5-10 FPS.
Was also unable to use controller. Many have reported similar issues with this game.
After doing research installed "Flawless Widescreen" which has specific plugin for DR2:OTR. This fixed all issues immediately, including controller support. I reccomend that you make sure this program is accessible if you use multiple monitors and otherwise be aware of potential performance issues. Now for the actual review

This game is a reimagining of DR2, which is already a good game. The main difference is a new protagonist, Frank West, who also brings with him a new main storyline more in the vein of the first game, and a variety of new/changed encounters and bossfights. Engine imrpovements are good, more zombies on screen and the additional content really finishes up the experience.

For those who havent played DR2 or any other DR game, DR2:OTR is vaguely action-RPG mostly about time management. You are put in a mall (leisure resort thing with casinos, theme park, etc) and there are many zombies, and you must survive. You can use most objects of scenery as weapons, although most are fairly ineffective. There are a variety of wacky and fun items but they tend to be least effective as weapons as a trade off for being gruesome or silly. Items can be combined into better weapons, but again the entertaining ones (rocket powered wheelchair) tend to be barely effective in terms of gameplay. Things like Knifegloves or Fire-axe-Sledgehammer will be your go-to. Weapons degrade over time which encourages you to seek out good weaponry or be forced to use impromptu scenery in a pinch.

The game is on a time limit, and while you can just survive till it runs out, you'll be given a variety of calls and objectives to go rescue survivors and uncover the conspiracy behind the game. This is the funnest part of the game; getting 2-3 calls on opposite ends of the mall and then dashing between them with survivors in tow to try and get everything done before the calls (and the game) times out. There is a degree of inventory management too, as the best weapons can be hard to produce, and healing items and magazines which provide buffs will take up precious space for weapons.

Bossfights are varied and challenging, and show up in just the right numbers to prevent the game from getting boring. Bosses have patterns that must be learned and also vulnerabilities, some of which require getting creative (flamethrower boss can be easily beaten by water which stops his guns, or by cooking oil that sets him alight, or marbles that make him fall over, etc). Bosses also have interesting, if gimmicky characters to them too which can be entertaining or terrifiying.

Dead Rising does not take itself overly seriously. Although there are a lot of nasty events, it tends to be weaved with a dark humour throughout most of them. There are some genuinely disturbing scenes (Randy, for instance) but even those tend to be with some sort of wacky scenario.

Controls are generally tight but sometimes can be a bit awkward. Unlockable moves have difficult commands on controller (LT, RT, B held for 3 seconds while unequipped) and there is only one attack button (press for standard move, hold for strong attack) which can lead to missed inputs. Attacks tend to auto target enemies too which can lead to missed attacks or accidentally attacking survivors. First person aiming for throwing and ranged weapons can be difficult to use also.

Zombies are slow and shambling; no special infected or anything. They are very basic and after a while barely threatening, but the theme of the game is how Frank develops to become a master of improvised zombie fighting, so if anything that is actually really appropriate. Frank will level up from kills, and by taking photographs of zombies, psychopaths and survivors, and by also just completing missions and such. This unlocks new abilites, moves, inventory slots and health slots.

Also Online Co-op, although i havent had the oppurtunity to play with a friend recently. It worked very well when the game first came out btu I've heard reports of bad connectivity post-steamworks integration. No promises.

Overall, Dead Rising 2 and Off the Record are games close to my heart. They are not like any other game series I can think of, with a very unique gameplay formula that makes them hard to define as a particular genre: action-RPG is a very vague title, I will admit. It is absolutely an RPG and it's easy to put many hours into it, trying to come up with new weapon combos or optimise your times from one area to another. Despite the performance issues (which I have shown how to resolve) the game is fantastic and I can see myself replaying it once or twice in the coming weeks, and then probably some more way off into the future.

You will like DR2:OTR if :
you like hectic gameplay against the clock
you like rpg-based gameplay
you enjoy wiping out tons of zombies
you fancy trying out lots of wacky weapon combos
you want a game you can (and will probably have to) replay at least once or twice