‘Dead Rising” was an early example of what the then-new Xbox 360 hardware could do. Running through vast crowds of zombies in a mall was wish fulfillment for a generation of people raised on George Romero movies, and slaughtering them wholesale with improvised weaponry was blood-red icing on the cake. A finicky save-game system and terrible AI created two outspoken camps those who couldn’t stand the game, and an equally vocal group of apologists. For the sequel, Blue Castle Games and Capcom took a long, hard look at the first game and addressed nearly all of its major annoyances. The end result is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played this year.

Former motocross champ Chuck Greene’s wife was killed in a zombie attack in Las Vegas — the same attack that left his daughter Katey infected with the deadly virus. To get doses of the expensive Zombrex drug, which keeps her infection in check, Chuck has had to do some unsavory things. That path has led him to Fortune City, Nev., where he hopes to cash in on the gruesome show Terror is Reality.

The most dramatic improvement Blue Castle Games made is in the way that players interact with other survivors. Let’s face it, escort missions are rarely fun. When the people you’re escorting have no regard for their safety and a complete indifference for avoiding obstacles, it can make you want to throw a controller. Guiding survivors to the safe house in Fortune City is a big part of the game, though it’s much less annoying than it was in the first one.

Non-player characters follow Chuck at the press of a button, and they can be guided to a specific place by adding a trigger pull. I never had a problem with survivor AI, even during points when I had a train of six followers. They kept pace with me wherever I went, navigating stairs and other potential obstructions with ease. I never felt comfortable having the AI shadowing me in the first game, but there were points in “Dead Rising 2” when I was bummed to say goodbye to them.

Chuck can combine specific objects at special stations to create super weapons. If you think a fire axe and sledgehammer are effective against zombies, you’ll be impressed with what they can do when they’re duct-taped together. Building new weapons is addicting. Players can use trial and error to discover new combinations, but more obscure ones such as combining a wheelchair with a car battery to make the “electric chair” are more likely to be discovered through combo cards. Players receive these for helping certain survivors or completing battles against Fortune City’s psychopaths.

As in the first “Dead Rising,” the zombie attacks completely derail some folks who were probably a bit unhinged to begin with. They’re not undead, but they’re no less deadly. Some are gross and silly, like a memorable run-in with a cannibal chef, though other encounters have a poignancy one might not expect from a game about killing zombies. I felt guilty fighting more than a couple of these sad sacks.

Certain aspects of “Dead Rising 2” are bound to be deal-breakers to some, but they shouldn’t be as polarizing as the problems in the first game. The sequel features save-game slots, so it’s not as easy to paint yourself into a zombie-infested corner. Time is still the ultimate enemy in “Dead Rising 2,” though it seems to have relaxed its hold a bit.

It’s still possible to claw your way into an exceptionally difficult position, though. The game is designed with replayability in mind, as character progression carries over between playthroughs. If you try to beat the game straight from beginning to end, it’s going to be tough, even with a co-op buddy. Earning cash by playing the excellent Terror is Reality online multiplayer mode, which features an entire game’s worth of silly zombie-themed minigames, is easy and enjoyable, too.

Even after playing for dozens of hours, you’ll still find new things in “Dead Rising 2.” I won’t spoil anything, but there’s a lot of variety to be found in the game beyond obvious things like the number of objects that can be used as bludgeons. This game is designed for multiple playthroughs, and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them.

— Gamespot.com

‘Dead Rising 2’

9.5 (out of 10)

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Blue Castle Games, Capcom

ESRB rating: M for Mature

New game releases

Top 10 on the Wii

The editors of Game Informer Magazine rank the top 10 Wii games for the month of October:

1. “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” (Warner Bros. Interactive)

2. “Guilty Party” (Disney Interactive Studios)

3. “Toy Story 3” (Disney Interactive Studios)

4. “Sin & Punishment: Star Successor” (Nintendo)

5. “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11” (EA Sports)

6. “LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4” (Warner Bros. Interactive)

7. “Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions” (Activision)

8. “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands” (Ubisoft)

9. “Green Day: Rock Band” (Electronic Arts)

10. “NHL Slapshot” (EA Sports)

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

New game releases

The following titles were scheduled for release the week of Oct. 3:

• “FIFA Soccer 11” (DS, Wii)

• “Dragon’s Lair Trilogy” (Wii)

• “Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley” (X360)

• “Hollywood Squares” (Wii)

• “Actual Crimes: Jack the Ripper” (PS3, PSP)

• “Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction” (PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2)

• “Def Jam Rapstar” (Wii, X360, PS3)

• “Sled Shred featuring the Jamaican Bobsled Team” (Wii)

• “NBA 2K11” (PS3, PC, X360, PS2, PSP)

• “EA Sports NBA Jam” (Wii, X360, PS3)

• “Enslaved: Odyssey to the West” (PS3, X360)

• “Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice” (X360)

• “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” (PS3, X360)

• “John Daly’s ProStroke Golf” (PS3)

Weekly download

‘Puzzle Agent’

For: iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows PC, Macintosh

From: Telltale Games

“Puzzle Agent” marks a pleasant change of pace for Telltale Games, which has done the vast majority of the heavy lifting responsible for the point-and-click adventure game revival. Low-key style, along with the color pencil-and-charcoals artwork style, are based on cartoonist Graham Annable’s comics and animated shorts. More importantly, though, “Agent” isn’t really a point-and-click adventure in the traditional sense. Players still tap on parts of the environment to help Detective Nelson Tethers navigate around the sleepy town of Scoggins, Minn., but the real action takes place through a series of brainteasers that, when solved, provide clues toward unraveling the greater mystery at hand. “Agent’s” riddles run the gamut, from deductions of logic to visual challenges straight out of a book of brainteasers. The amount of content here isn’t overwhelming, but the friendly price reflects that, and it’s a small tax to pay for a game that adds a distinctive energy to a genre that’s never looked healthier or more inviting than it currently does.

— Billy O’Keefe, McClatchy-Tribune News Service