Time is always against you in Dead Rising 2. The military is set to arrive in just a handful of days, and anyone who is not present within the confines of the Safe House will be lost at that time—including Chuck, the overburdened hero.
The clock is always ticking, forcing you to plan your actions carefully if you wish to rescue all of the city’s stranded survivors.
These are the only three instances in which time does not pass:
1. During cinematics.
2. While you view the map.
3. While you view the Pause menu and its submenus.
All missions have a certain “shelf life” in DR2—a brief window during which they can be completed. The amount of time remaining in any given mission is denoted by a white bar that runs beneath the mission’s title.
As time dwindles away, the bar begins to shrink, eventually becoming yellow and then red when it’s almost gone.
Completing missions is the primary way to level Chuck up, so it’s important to complete as many as possible. Follow our walkthrough to discover the ideal mission path through the game.
Missions are listed in order of priority at the map screen’s message list. Even if all timer bars are full, tasks at the top of the list will have less time remaining than those farther down.
When a mission’s time is running out, its title and timer bar appear on the upper-right side of the game screen to alert you.
The exceptions are Case Files; these mandatory missions always appear at the top of the message list and are always present on the game screen while playing.
TIME-SAVERS
Running around Fortune City gets you where you’re going, but it isn’t the fastest way to travel. With time being a constant factor, you must find ways to reduce your travel time. There are several ways to do so.
PUSHABLE OBJECTS
Anything Chuck can push makes him move faster than normal. This includes wheelchairs, dollies, lawn mowers, utility carts, and more. Stand behind such an object to receive the “push” command option. Chuck plows right through zombies while pushing objects!
SKATEBOARDS
Skateboards help Chuck move quickly and they can be conveniently stored in his inventory for use at any time.
Find skateboards at the in the Closet store, located in royal Flush Plaza. You’ll also find skateboards in sporting goods shops, such as Palisades Mall’s Kokonutz Sports Town.
VEHICLES
Vehicles such as cars, motorbikes, and 4x4s are among the fastest methods of travel. Chuck can drive any 4x4 he finds, but he needs to locate special keys to start up most cars and bikes. The following table lists where you’ll fnd them.
VEHICLE KEY LOCATIONS
| Key | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|
|
Bike Key |
Starts Chuck’s motorbike |
Encounter Leon (psychopath) during “Meet the Contestants” side mission. |
|
Sports Car Key |
Starts the sports car located at the Royal Flush Plaza |
Purchase from the Royal Flush Plaza’s second-floor pawnshop for $500,000. |
|
Chopper Key |
Starts the chopper motorcycle located at the Yucatan Casino |
Purchase from Palisades Mail’s second-floor pawnshop for $1,000,000. |
|
SUV Key |
Starts the SUV located at te Silver Strip’s Shamrock Casino |
Purchase from the Silver Strip’s pawnshop for $2,000,000. |
SHORTCUTS
Shortcuts exist in Fortune City as well, but these welcome time-savers can’t be accessed until you unlock them. Some shortcuts are better than others; Linette’s is one of the best. Here’s a list of every shortcut in the city:
Shortcut 1: Linette’s Passage ; Complete the “Wilted Flower” and subsequent “linette’s Passage” side missions to unlock this most useful shortcut, which allows you to move from the royal Flush Plaza’s frst-foor restroom to Palisades mall’s second-foor clothing shop, “Brand New U.”
Shortcut 2: Bank Job ; After completing Case 3-2, a large hole remains in the wall of the Atlantica Casino where the mercenaries’ getaway van was parked. You may exploit this opening to travel between the Atlantica Casino and Fortune Park a bit faster than normal.
Shortcut 3: Naughty Hallway ; This is the only shortcut that’s available from the start of the adventure. Explore the back room of the Silver Strip’s Hot excitorama shop to locate a passage that leads to Palisades mall’s first foor.
Shortcut 4: Car Tunnel ; This shortcut becomes available after Case 6-1. Motor to the Silver Strip’s north alley to access the underground tunnels through the now-opened gate.
THE QUICK STEP
Increase Chuck’s normal pace by consuming Quick Steps—special juice drinks concocted by using blenders.
These handy drinks restore six units of Chuck’s health and greatly increase his movement speed for about 30 seconds. Chuck can carry several Quick Steps, so these are ideal for fast travel.
The blender at Americana Casino’s central bar, Shots & Awe, is the one that’s closest to the Safe House. Get in the habit of mixing up Quick Steps here by blending two bottles of wine together. Conveniently, there’s an endless supply of wine at the bar.
After you unlock Linette’s Shortcut, you can easily create Quick Steps at Palisades Mall’s Grotto Bar, which is sometimes more convenient.
Swipe coffees and coffee creamers from The Dark Bean on your way to the Royal Flush Plaza’s restroom, bringing these beverages to the Grotto Bar’s blender to mix up Quick Steps after you emerge from the passage.