History Headscratchers / DeadRising2

* (WARNING, SPOILERS BE HERE!) Ending S in Dead rising 2 just bugs me. How the hell does [[spoiler: TK]] free himself from the handcuffs and kidnap Stacey and Katey without any other survivor noticing it? Did he just teleport them to the arena?
** Presumably [[spoiler:Sullivan]] removed the restraints/handcuffs in preparation for his escape from the bunker (as he was increasingly unsettled by Chucks findings) - either because they were both contractors for the company behind the outbreak, or to cause a distraction for Chuck as he attempted to escape. As for the survivors (lacking a leader, as Chuck was absent) - if you were told that you had five minutes to reach the helicopter or be left behind to be firebombed, would doing a headcount be a top priority before hauling ass to the heli? I don't think so.
** That's probably about right, since it's likely what happened when [[spoiler: the bunker is breached]] a few hours before.
** still doesn't make sense because even after [[spoiler:Sullivan]] leaves he is still there and only leaves after you come back.

* In Dead Rising 2 why on earth do you need to wait until the right times until giving [[spoiler:Katey zombrex?]] It seems perfectly fine to tell Forsythe to administer it at the right times, or Chuck could at least trust her to take it on time. It just seems odd that Chuck would be like "Gee, I have five doses of Zombrex on me, but it's not safe to just drop it off at the saferoom now, so I'll just carry it with me while fighting thousands of murderous eating machines and crazed survivors!" If the player wants to find three doses and just hide in the saferoom until the military arrives, so be it. Make it an ending.
** While your first complaint about not being able to just give the zombrex to Stacey is legit, your second complaint about the ending is not. There is actually an ending for that. It´s called ending C.

** It didn't really bother me. It seems abrupt out of context, but when the rest of the cases are completed, it would seem that ending C was sudden due to Chuck's lack of knowledge on just how tied up in conspiracy everything was. Although I do think it would have been more appropriate if it just ended in Chuck getting hauled off to Gitmo or something, rather than [[spoiler: everyone getting massacred in a "military failure".]]

* Hello, this is a question about one of the final bosses and his motivations. [[spoiler: Once Sullivan explains Phenotran's plan to you at the end of the game, so many of their previous actions become contradictory and confusing. If Sullivan's goal was to kill all the survivors in the shelter, why did he let any inside in the first place? All he had to do was head there beforehand and seal the doors. The remainder would have eventually been killed by the zombies or in the firebombing. If Phenotran's sole motive was money, why were they upset that TK was trying to rob the vaults? Why wouldn't they help him? The firebombing would cover your tracks regardless. If the green gas encourages the growth of the queens they need, why not use it on the TIR zombies and just harvest ''them''? If Chuck and Stacey were their fall guys, why didn't Sullivan just shoot them during the many opportunities he had? It's not like anyone would have questioned his motives considering that Chuck was now considered worse than Osama bin Laden.]]
** 1. [[spoiler:He had to allow survivors in because he needed the military to know that there ''were'' survivors to attempt a rescue.]] 2. [[spoiler:Sullivan was trying to downplay his involvement, just in case somebody ''did'' manage to get in, those survivors would probably kill him because he was a bastard in not letting him in.]] 3. [[spoiler:Just because Fortune City is firebombed, it doesn't mean that there won't be any debris. We aren't talking about a nuclear option here. There would be signs that ''SOMEBODY'' with a good portion of hardware managed to rob all of the casino's vaults. And Phenotrans wasn't so upset that TK was trying to steal the money, so much as he would have raised a lot of eyebrows, especially considering the original plan was for TK and his crew to make a "miraculous escape" from the outbreak.]] 4. [[spoiler:TIR does ''NOT'' have a large supply of zombies. I believe that Tape It Or Die states that they have to get the zombies from outside sources, which wouldn't be enough. Contrast to infecting Fortune City, where there was approximately 77,000 people in town for the show. You do the math.]] 5. [[spoiler:Sullivan didn't shoot Chuck because he still needed to keep up his appearance of the Bunker Guard, so he allowed Chuck to go out and get more survivors.]]
*** 1. [[spoiler: As long as he's in the bunker, there's a survivor. Also, the bunker doesn't seem to have any means of contact with the outside world, so the military would have to physically come in to the city to check it out. Even if it does have a long range radio, Sullivan can claim there are survivors inside when there aren't. Allowing survivors in just increases the chance that they'll bring the infection in with them or that they'll figure out what's actually going on. Which is what happens.]] 2. [[spoiler: How would they have gotten in? All he had to do at the beginning was re-open the outer doors while all the humans were waiting in the little airlock thing. They would have been trapped and quickly slaughtered.]] 3. [[spoiler: There were packs of looters mere hours after the outbreak and Phenotrans already had two fall guys, Chuck and CURE. Blame it on them.]] 4. [[spoiler: That makes sense.]] 5. [[spoiler: But he didn't shoot Chuck after he had blown his cover by murdering Rebecca either. He just ran away.]]
*** [[spoiler: Because Sullivan was not a black and white villain, and part of him really believed he was working for the greater good, as shown by his rationalizations when confronted on the Yucatan roof. If people can be saved without it throwing a wrench into any of his plans, he seems affable enough to let it happen; he wasn't a Machiavellian mastermind with cunning and cruelty, he was a man with a sense of duty that probably figured TK had the bases covered enough that Chuck was the only civilian that would have to be sacrificed once the bulk of the zombies were created for harvest.]]
*** [[spoiler: The Queen harvest was only half of Phenotrans' plan though: The other half was to lure the Army into a bloodbath, forcing them to firebomb Fortune City, in order to create a panic that would drive up Phenotrans' profits. The civilians in the shelter were never intended to survive. In a way, Sullivan is even more callous in that he stays in the shelter the entire time, hanging around with people he intends to abandon to die in the fire.]]
*** It's really not a bad plan overall. [[spoiler: Sullivan is in place during "Terror is Reality" with TK on the payroll. We can comfortably assume that Sullivan's the one who stole Chuck's racing suit and planted the bomb from the security tape, since they're about the same size in the final boss fight. In the confusion after the zombies escape, Sullivan trades up for a Fortune City security uniform, assassinates the security personnel who survived the initial outbreak, and gets to the bunker. He can't turn the handful of survivors away because it'd break his cover (or worse, jeopardize his own safety when they break into the bunker with a truck or something), so he settles in to wait out the four days until rescue. Snag #1 is Rebecca still being in Fortune City; snag #2 is Chuck making it to the bunker alive; snag #3 is Chuck having enough balls to leave the bunker; and snag #4 is TK bringing in a bunch of outside help to rob the casinos. Even then, all Sullivan has to do is wait out the clock, and doing anything other than helping Chuck in the least helpful way possible would also jeopardize his cover. He sits back and plays the role of the slightly cowardly, by-the-book security guard to the hilt, right up until it starts to look like Chuck and Rebecca will actually get close to what's going on. At that point, Sullivan quietly switches into damage control mode; he ensures he spends a lot of time alone with TK, then opens the bunker's doors and frees TK during the confusion. That backfires again when TK gets bit, but even then, Sullivan just has to wait it out. His plan at that point is either to hitch a ride out with the survivors and quietly disappear or to call for a personal evac when the military rescue fails, but Chuck surviving his run into the Phenotrans bunker forces Sullivan to show his hand.]]
*** [[spoiler: This also carries with it a subtle bit of fridge brilliance; I had always gotten the impression that Sullivan really was a reservist who was retired ex-military gone merc for Phenotrans, but the way he kept saying "standard operating procedure" always struck me as a little awkward, which was accentuated when Stacey called him on it and threw the over-used words back at him... unless you consider that he replaced the guard in the bunker and is simply working off of the military's known script. He's not really confident in understanding the methods in place as an outsider to the military organization as much as simply knowing what they are, so he keeps throwing the words out as reinforcement of something he can't justify beyond "this is what they do".]]

*** Kowalski being involved would certainly explain why there are already combined itens scattered throughout the casinos.

* 20 points for EVERY achievement?! Even the damn-near impossible ones? Really, Capcom, REALLY?
** [[StopHavingFunGuy You make it sound like the only reason to play games is to get gamerpoints.]]
** When I spend the time murdering 50,000+ enemies I think a little compensation is in order.
** It's really kind of brilliant. It puts all the Achievements on equal footing.
** Not really. Many of the bronze trophies (or whatever the Xbox equivalent score of those are) seem like things that would be at least silvers. Dead Rising 2 does have some really skewered trophies in terms of the work needed to be done for it.

** [[spoiler: When you confront Sullivan on the roof, he admits Phenotrans caused the Las Vegas outbreak. Still Creek was overrun by infectees escaping Vegas and presumably turning when stopped at the checkpoint.]]
*** [[spoiler: Actually, [[AllThereInTheManual The Official Comic reveals that Phenotrans was directly responsible for that one too]], as [[TheBrute Singh]] and his [[{{Mook}} Mooks]] passed through the town on the way to Vegas, and unleashed a swarm of Queens (the super-wasps transmitting the zombie virus) on the town as well.]]
* [[spoiler: Why does TK knock you out to strip you of weapons before his boss fight, and then leave power drills and lead pipes scattered around the arena?]]

* So according to Case West, ending [[spoiler: A]] is canon? But that doesn't explain [[spoiler: where Katey and Stacey are... one would think that'd be a higher priority then following around some reporter guy.]]

* Okay. [[spoiler:Phenotrans]] has set it up pretty good. They sell [[spoiler:Zombrex]] at outrageous prices to people who can´t do much else then pay. I understand that. But then, why in the mother of hell would they unveil a [[spoiler:Zombrex]] that lasts twice as long? (Remember, in Case Zero [[spoiler:Zombrex only worked twelve hours.]] That doesn´t make any sense! And if you argue "It´s to keep up their credibility" I counter argue that they don´t need credibility. I mean, what are people gonna do? Stop using it?
** They have to balance profitability against the loss of customers and, of course, the threat of apocalypse. Making the dosage more easily to take keeps your customers alive and coming back for more. If they turn, they may infect more people but they may also kill off thousands more or overrun cities. Also, we don't know how they price the 12/24 hour doses, because we only ever buy it from profiteers in the middle of an outbreak. If they double the effectiveness but also double the cost, then they maintain the same revenue while halving their shipping costs[[note]] Okay not exactly, but you get my meaning.[[/note]]. Also, [[spoiler: Sullivan]] tells you that powerful people are infected and using Zombrex, so they may have been under behind the scenes pressure too.
** I kind of get it now. But the point about "Balancing profitability against the loss of customers and threat of an apocalypse" doesn´t. More outbreaks means more people get scared into buying more Zombrex "Just in case" which in turn negates the loss of customers. And remember, more outbreaks = more people infected = $$$! And an apocalypse is ridiculous. The military in this game is so ruthless that the zombies wouldn´t stand a chance. But that about double the cost and powerful people makes sense.

*** Also zombrex isn't a pill that people can take and deal with their disease it is a shot that apparently burns like hell. You tell somebody that they will have to take a shot every twelve hours and will have to pay through the nose for every dose there will be patients who will tell you exactly where you can shove your "cure" and leave their family with their life savings. However you tell those people that you only need to take the shot once every day suddenly the cure isn't such a curse and you get more patients who are willing to give you their life savings.

** Keep in mind that the soldiers were dealing with ''zombies'', as in, slow, shambling, dumb creatures. They weren't heavily armed or armored or anything, most of them were infected civilians, and even those that were officers are just as weak as the rest. Some heavily armed soldiers could be able to deal with hordes easily. Of course, [[spoiler: they didn't expect the gas zombies.]]

* Overtime Mode is [[spoiler: non-canon]], so there's no continuity error there, It's just a [[spoiler: what-if ending]]. But even if Ending [[spoiler: A]] is the canon ending, there is still a continuity error. In [[spoiler: Ending A, Chuck is bitten by zombie TK]], yet in Case West, he is not [[spoiler: bitten]].

** I don't know what you're talking about, but there is nothing to assume that [[spoiler:Ending S & Overtime are noncanon]] to Case West.
*** The first cutscene in Case West features [[spoiler: zombie TK]], and Overtime mode and [[spoiler: zombie TK]] cannot co-exist, as for Overtime mode to take place you must [[spoiler: give TK the Zombrex, kill him, then walk away with Stacey and Katey]]...
*** Simple answer; [[spoiler: Zombrex stops working on death. The virus kicks in, reanimates TK, who heads to the elevator. As for why Katie and Stacey aren't in the elevator with you, maybe he sent them up first while he dealt with zombies, then took the second one.]] It requires a bit of WMD, but it's not implausable.
* At the opening to Case West, why does Chuck say he needs to find something to clear his name? Doesn't he already have [[spoiler: the laptop proving Phenotrans's involvement, which he got back after defeating Sullivan? Regardless of whether this follows Ending A or S, he should still have it, either on his person or on the chopper with Stacey and Katey.]]
** While that is true, [[spoiler: Chuck hasn't proved that he's personally did not release those Zombies. Oh sure, Phenotrans would be the ones behind it, and he'd have evidence, but he's got nothing that clears him from being the guy in the suit who blew the gates and started the Fortune City Outbreak. Phenotrans would most likely conjure up some evidence to make Chuck as their agent in Fortune City. For example, they were providing him with Zombrex for free for his daughter, in exchange he works for them. Then fabricate some story to have Chuck "act on his own" to release the Zombies and have Phenotrans as the businessmen making the best of a bad situation.]]

* In the final boss fight against [[spoiler: Sullivan]], who's AC-130 was that? It was either the Phenotrans or the US Governments, but it doesn't make sense in either case. If it was the governments, why was it helping Sullivan? And why does Sullivan say "Mission complete, preparing for evac" as a random combat line when you're not on the platform? And if it is the Phenotrans gunship, then where did a private medicine company get a gunship, and how come the U.S. Airforce didn't mind even though they're firebombing in like twelve hours?

* In ''Off The Record'', [[spoiler:Stacey turns out to be the BigBad.]] Really makes you think and wonder when players for whatever reason play the original ''Dead Rising 2''.

* Seriously, I'm the only one who think that the whole ''Off the Record'' is a huge cluster fuck? I mean, first they decide to give all the credit of an already seen story to Frank which (at least by my point of view) is far less heroic and sympathetic than Chuck. Then they [[spoiler: turn Chuck into a loony loser psychopath, the cold old bastard BigBad into a semi-heroic guy and one of the most morally straight character into the super evil bitch villainess that for some reason whip out a giant robot.]] No, seriously, did Capcom hired Trolls in their rank or something?
** ...Dude, calm the hell done. This is purely a "What If" scenario, IE ''noncanon''. And since its a WhatIf, of ''course'' some plot and character details will be different. And finally, given how Awesome the series has been since the beginning, [[spoiler:a giant robot]] was pretty much inevitable.
** What If scenario or not is still a dickish move nevertheless if you ask me.
** Nobody did.
* So, if Stacey is [[spoiler: a sadistically evil Phenotrans agent]] in ''Off the Record'', then why is it that [[spoiler: she seems to be genuinely putting in an honest effort to help Frank find and save survivors? It's indicated she helped Frank because she wanted Frank to track down and eliminate TK because TK's scheme wasn't part of her master plan. If she was really secretly a cold-hearted evil bitch planning to betray everyone, why wouldn't she simply not report the various survivors hijinks to Frank so he wouldn't be distracted from hunting down TK?]]
** Maybe she hoped that [[spoiler: Frank would be killed by the zombies or the Psychos while trying to save the survivors?]]
** She was probably trying to earn his trust, seeing as how [[spoiler:he was ready to attack her after watching the news report and finding out that a C.U.R.E. member was behind the outbreak]].
* Some people theorize that the fight with [[spoiler: Check Greene]] in ''Off the Record'' was all in Frank's head. If that were true though, how did Stacey see [[spoiler: Chuck]] on the monitors and report him to Frank?

* After you defeat [[spoiler: the twins, the one that's still alive at that moment]] says, "You'll all pay!" What did she mean by that? [[spoiler: Do all Phenotrans employees have ''that'' much disdain for the general populace]]?
** I write off the "you'll all pay!" as psychopathic babble. However, in regards to the spoiler question; I don't think they were even workers for Phenotrans. They may have been in on the loop, but they really weren't getting any real benefits aside from being next to Kanye Wesker and being catty to all TiR contestants.

** Well, as an example, the UFC has multiple events per year. The ''DR'' comic, ''Road to Fortune'', reveals that [[spoiler: Frank's agent got the idea for Terror is Reality after having a heated conversation with him on the phone about how Frank's TV show was getting replaced by "real" reality TV, which he then passed on to TK,]] but that was two years after ''Dead Rising 1''. So overall, it's a very silly PlotHole oversight, but logically, in three years, ''[=TiR=]'' must have had at least six specials per year.

* Why is it Rebecca is such a moron? for context, she [[spoiler: goes ''alone'' to the yucatan to meet her source, who happens to be the freaking ''Bailey Twins'' known close associates of TK, who, at the point in the story is supposed to be the mastermind of the whole outbreak, Anyone with half a brain cell would know they would most likely be in cahoots with TK therefor meeting them alone and asking Chuck to turn up later would probably have gotten her killed if it wasn't for Chuck turning up at the right time.]]
* Rebecca's line "people aren't buying Zombrex like they used to" bugs me, people ''are'' buying Zombrex like they used to, because if they don't take it they end up turning into '''freaking zombies!''', if [[spoiler: Phenotrans were so worried about people not buying it enough, why in the hell did they release a 24 hour version?]] I'm pretty sure even then, every pharmacy in the world (or at least america) legally has to have some Zombrex in it's stock, in the third game that line would have made more sense seeing as infected people get chipped by government law, but saying it while they were still doing the $300 a dose treatment just sounds stupid [[spoiler: even if she is slightly wrong and the outbreaks were only to gather more queens to keep producing it.]]

** ...Dude, calm the hell done. This is purely a "What If" scenario, IE ''noncanon''. And since its a WhatIf, of ''course'' some plot and character details will be different. And finally, given how CrazyAwesome the series has been since the beginning, [[spoiler:a giant robot]] was pretty much inevitable.

* Why is Evan trying to go up to the truck for a cryo-bomb? If I'm not mistaken he has one more in his belt.

* Rebecca's line "people aren't buying Zombrex like they used to" bugs me, people ''are'' buying Zombrex like they used to, because if they don't take it they end up turning into '''freaking zombies!''', if [[spoiler: Phenotrans were so worried about people not buying it enough, why in the hell did they release a 24 hour version?]] I'm pretty sure even then, every pharmacy in the world (or at least america) legally has to have some Zombrex in it's stock, in the third game that line would have made more sense seeing as infected people get chipped by government law, but saying it while they were still doing the $300 a dose treatment just sounds stupid [[spoiler: even if she is slightly wrong and the outbreaks were only to gather more queens to keep producing it.]]

* Why is it Rebecca is such a moron? for context, she [[apoiler: goes ''alone'' to the yucatan to meet her source, who happens to be the freaking ''Bailey Twins'' known close associates of TK, who, at the point in the story is supposed to be the mastermind of the whole outbreak, Anyone with half a brain cell would know they would most likely be in cahoots with TK therefor meeting them alone and asking Chuck to turn up later would probably have gotten her killed if it wasn't for Chuck turning up at the right time.]]

* Rebecca's line "people aren't buying Zombrex like they used too" bugs me, people ''are'' buying Zombrex like they used too, because if they don't take it they end up turning into '''freaking zombies!''', if [[spoiler: Phenotrans were so worried about people not buying it enough, why in the hell did they release a 24 hour version?]] I'm pretty sure even then, every pharmacy in the world (or at least america) legally has to have some Zombrex in it's stock, in the third game that line would have made more sense seeing as infected people get chipped by government law, but saying it while they were still doing the $300 a dose treatment just sounds stupid [[spoiler: even if she is slightly wrong and the outbreaks were only to gather more queens to keep producing it.]]

* Why is it Rebecca is such a moron? for context, she [[goes ''alone'' to the yucatan to meet her source, who happens to be the freaking ''Bailey Twins'' known close associates of TK, who, at the point in the story is supposed to be the mastermind of the whole outbreak, Anyone with half a brain cell would know they would most likely be in cahoots with TK therefor meeting them alone and asking Chuck to turn up later would probably have gotten her killed if it wasn't for Chuck turning up at the right time.]]

** Probably some form of quarantine procedure, it takes time to set up things, like medical stations rallying/extraction points and the like, probably an "acceptable losses" sort of deal, they figure after 3 days most survivors will be inside a bunked, shortening the need to search for survivors so they can get on with dealing with the actual problem of zombies, also Fortune city is much, '''much''' larger than we see, the game takes place is the entertainment district of the City, the bit we see in game is waaay too small to be considered a city, so another theory is that the district is in the far end of the city and the three days are sweep and clear of each section with the entertainment district being the furthest section of the city from the rallying point.

* Why exactly does it take the military ''three whole days'' to respond to an outbreak in one city?

* This kinda bugs me. Chuck sees that the package Carl Schliff has a package of Zombrex, and realizes that he is willing to hand it over in return for anyone's signature. But, I don't know, maybe try using a name that ISN'T believed to be an terrorist. You think, by this point, Chuck would realize that he's not exactly "loved" around here..
* This isn't that big of a question, but it bugs me. Okay, so, at the beginning, after Chuck (or Frank) goes up the elevator, and it breaks and zombies are attacking and stuff, there's that blonde guy crying about how he got bit by somebody, he kneels over, stands back up, and suddenly his skin is all zombie-ish and bloodied and torn up. Why? I mean, unless he was bitten in the face, which I doubt, it makes no sense that his skin would change like that. Does the zombie virus also make your skin become similar to that of a zombie who's been dead for quite a long time? Sorry for the stupid question though, I just got off a Walking Dead marathon, and on that show recently infected people don't necessarily get all rotted within seconds of turning.
** Terror Is Reality being a show about zombies, so it's possible that he was wearing makeup. Kind of like how people paint their faces for wrestling matches, wear stuff like iconic sports team icons (viking helmets etc). Then he REALLY zombified and he already looked the part. He also looks a lot like Chuck Green which I think supports this idea further. That's my interpretation anyway.

** At least with DR2 I could see people doing stuff like that because they don't trust you. Just about everybody thinks Chuck is responsible for the zombie outbreak to begin with, and thus they suspect that you're a nutjob that really just wants to take them off to your murder room, but if you bend over backwards to get them to go with you then they figure you're probably sincere about wanting to help them. With OTR and Frank, you got me there.

*** Just double checked, and your right. If I had to guess an in-story reason, the military only wants to send in small, trained strike teams to keep casualties to a minimum. Meta reason? {{Capcom}} will never win an award in writing.

** Terror Is Reality being a show about zombies, so it's possible that he was wearing makeup. Kind of like how people paint their faces for wrestling matches, wear stuff like iconic sports team icons (viking helmets etc). Then he REALLY zombified and he already looked the part. That's my interpretation anyway.

* This isn't that big of a question, but it bugs me. Okay, so, at the beginning, after Chuck (or Frank) goes up the elevator, and it breaks and zombies are attacking and stuff, there's that blonde guy crying about how he got bit by somebody, he kneels over, stands back up, and suddenly his skin is all zombie-ish and bloodied and torn up. Why? I mean, unless he was bitten in the face, which I doubt, it makes no sense that his skin would change like that. Does the zombie virus also make your skin become similar to that of a zombie who's been dead for quite a long time? Sorry for the stupid question though, I just got off a Walking Dead marathon, and on that show recently infected people don't necessarily get all rotted within seconds of turning.

* This kinda bugs me. Chuck sees that the package Carl Schliff has a package of Zombrex, and realizes that he is willing to hand it over in return for anyone's signature. But, I don't know, maybe try using a name that ISN'T believed to be an terrorist. You think, by this point, Chuck would realize that he's not exactly "loved" around here..

* This kinda bugs me. Chuck sees that the package Carl Schliff has a package of Zombrex, and realizes that he is willing to hand it over in return for anyone's signature. But, I don't know, maybe try using a name that ISN'T believed to be an terrorist.
You think, by this point, Chuck would realize that he's not exactly "loved" around here..

** Chuck's estimation that Phenotrans wants to 'drive their stock prices up' must be true. The outbreak both creates more infected-but-alive people who will have to use Zombrex, and create a demand spike for Zombrex as even people who aren't infected buy it in preparation for another possible outbreak. As for avoiding PR disasters, it's apparently government procedure to firebomb infected zones if attempts to recover the area/rescue civilians through conventional force aren't successful. Phenotrans had a large team of mercenaries in Fortune City to ensure they were not successful, including their mole in the bunker.