As Capcom experiments with offshoots of the Resident Evil franchise (like the team-based Raccoon City), Dead Rising has slowly become its zombie-killing mainstay, spanning four standalone games in 14 months. Is that a good thing? After our Off the Record slaughterfest, we’re not so sure.

In the game’s defense, it never claims to be anything more than a retelling of Dead Rising 2’s story, with Dead Rising fan-favorite photog Frank West replacing caustic motocross champ Chuck Greene. The developers have added a new section to Fortune City, with the theme-park Uranus Zone offering some creative ways to obliterate the undead, but on the whole, it’s crazy how much content was recycled. Roughly 90 percent of the survivors, psychopaths, and item locations are exactly the same as they were in Dead Rising 2. A good portion of the cutscenes play out identically, too, with Frank substituting quips for Chuck while the weirdos spout the same dialogue. However, when the game does deviate from the script — particularly in two new psychopath fights — it sets up some clever twists that should please series fans.

Unless you played Dead Rising 2 to death, the new dialogue and the tweaks to the story should make the campaign fresh enough to hop into. The game now creates a checkpoint each time you enter a new area, which — along with faster loading times — makes death less frustrating. Meanwhile, photography is back to Dead Rising’s level of robustness, with the annoyance of depleted batteries removed from the equation.

Dead Rising 2’s tepid Terror Is Reality multiplayer mode has been replaced with the more replayable Sandbox mode, providing a more stress-free tour of Fortune City as you tackle quick-hit objectives that give you a couple of minutes to kill dozens of zombies or reach a far-away ledge. It’s a great way to explore the game’s locales at your leisure, but can become a bit of a slog when you need to slay hundreds of undead to unlock the next objective. You can play co-op in either mode (bringing Chuck back into the mix) and it’s tons of fun, but as in Dead Rising 2, the progression won’t carry over when player two goes offline.

Even at $40, it’s tough to recommend the meager additions Off the Record delivers. Diehard Dead Rising fans will like the callbacks, and series newcomers won’t mind the recycling, but everyone in the middle will wish the new material was more abundant.

Publisher: Capcom • Developer: Capcom Vancouver • ESRB: Mature • Multiplayer: 2-player co-op (online only) • Achievements: 20G each...yawn • Cost: $40

On Xbox 360

+ Twists to the Dead Rising 2 story add great fan service; new theme-park area is fun to explore/slay in.

+ Slight tweaks make the main campaign less irritating; Sandbox mode is a fun new way to explore.

– Most survivors, psychopaths, and item locations are recycled from Dead Rising 2.

? Why is coffee creamer (still) one of the strongest healing items?

6.5