It's October once again, which means Halloween is just around the corner. And what better way to kick things off than facing off against hordes of the undead once again, courtesy of Capcom and Blue Castle Games' latest survival horror game, Dead Rising 2, available now for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. So is this sequel just a shambling corpse of a once great game? Or is there enough life in it to carry the franchise on as a survivor into future potential outbreaks?

If you ever made it through the first Dead Rising, one of the first things you'll notice is that Frank West, freelance journalist and hero of the game, is nowhere to be seen. Dead Rising 2 takes place sometime after Frank's exploits first made the public aware of the existence of the undead. Stepping in for Frank this time around is former motocross champion, Chuck Greene. Chuck's world came crashing down during a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, which left his wife dead and his little girl infected but not yet turned. To save his daughter, Chuck is forced to head into nearby Fortune City and compete on the extreme game show, Terror Is Reality, earning enough money for his daughter's daily dose of the drug Zombrex, which is the one thing that can keep her from eventually becoming one of the undead. After Chuck's most recent outing, though, things go horribly wrong. Zombies take over Fortune City and Chuck is blamed for the catastrophe. Now, Chuck has just 72 hours to keep his daughter alive, save any survivors he finds, discover the truth behind the outbreak, and clear his name. With a city full of zombies and no hope for escape, if Chuck's going make it through the next three days, he's going to have to get creative.

Dead Rising 2 is a great example of how a sequel should be done. For starters, the game fixes a lot of the issues people had with the original Dead rising. In the first game, rescuing people was a major headache sometimes, as those survivors weren't all too bright. It was imperative to pick 'em up and drop 'em off in the safe house as fast as possible before they were turned into Zombie Jerky. In Dead Rising 2, though, survivors do a pretty good job of defending themselves. In fact, it's actually helpful to arm them with weapons and keep a group with you for a while before dropping them off. Also, the restrooms, which serve as save points once again, are nowhere near as few and far between as they were in the first game.

Dead Rising 2 isn't just about fixing things that were wrong in the first game. The game also takes most of what was good about the first game and cranks it up to eleven. You thought fighting through upwards of 500 zombies at a time was bad in Dead Rising? The sequel doubles that, capable of putting more than 1000 undead between Chuck and his goals at any given time. One of the best things about the first game was the wide variety of weapons available to Frank for taking out zombie. In DR2, Chuck can add even more to his arsenal by taking items to a maintenance room and duct taping two items together. Trust me when I say there's nothing like wielding a canoe paddle with a pair of chainsaws taped to the ends, or using a cement saw to launch dishes at the undead and slice them in half.

As much fun as it is to face the zombie apocalypse alone, it gets even better with friends. Dead Rising 2 adds multiplayer to ghoul bashing fun with two player co-op and four player competitive modes. Players can hop into their friends' at any time (with an invite, of course), and earn money and experience while helping their buddies progress through the story. Competitive multiplayer matches take place under the backdrop of the Terror Is Reality game show, pitting four players against each other in four rounds of outrageous zombie themed minigames. Players earn cash just for playing the TIR show, which can then be used in the main game to buy all sorts of new goodies.

It's inevitable that a zombie apocalypse is just around the corner, and Dead Rising 2 is a perfect little simulator to see just how long you might last in a full blown outbreak. Whether you're alone or with friends, it's all about finding creative new ways to survive and having a plan. And thanks to Dead Rising 2 I've got at least 37 zombie plans and a roll of duct tape ready to go. Do you?

Final Score: A