Dead Rising 2: Off the Record

But, apparently, people complained more about Dead Rising 2's save system than any other feature. "The checkpoint system offers one more layer of protection for the user," Leigh explains. "So if you end up dying you never have to go too far back before you're able to progress the story." Can you turn off Off the Record's new save system? That's undecided, Leigh says.

Other changes, however, are guaranteed to please. The camera system from Dead Rising is back, although this time West uses a digital camera rather than a film camera. After his turn on TIR, West stumbles upon TK and one of his cronies discussing some nefarious goings on. From a high vantage point West takes picture after picture – recording the conspiratorial event like the photo journalist he was born to be, and commenting on his own handiwork in typically cocky fashion.

With the return of the camera comes the return of the special PP sticker moments and the PP category system. A snap of a poster of two big jugs – actual jugs – falls under the "Erotica" category. A picture of a child's discarded backpack and what looks like a Game Boy falls under the "Drama" category. A snap of a head grinder ticks the "Horror" category box. In short, West's camera looks like it will offer just as lovely a distraction in Off the Record as it did in Dead Rising.

After taking some quality snaps of TK and his chum, West is caught in the act. Three "toughened up" thugs trigger a scrap. We see them sway and dodge in a way Dead Rising 2 enemies didn't. But West is tougher still, using those Zangief lariat and Guile flash kick moves to polish them off. "Yeah, still got it," he remarks.

At this point the outbreak from Dead Rising 2 begins. Alarms ring, screams deafen and zombies lurch about, chewing flesh. What does Leigh do? He takes pictures, of course. Off the Record's higher zombie density offers a prime opportunity for quality PP-earning pictures.

The electric guitar is a good starting weapon here. We see Frank wield it, triggering the same animations he displayed in the first game. Leigh says the zombies have been made more aggressive, although it's hard to tell from this early stage.

Certainly there seems to be more of them than before. Behind a grating someone dies – the unfortunate victim of the undead horde. But next to him we see something we haven't seen before – a man who shoots himself in the head. Previous Dead Rising games have been grim, of course, with gory zombie-on-human and even human-on-human action. But suicide? This is new.

Off the Record still seems to retain the series' sense of humour. There is a new move which sees Frank grab a zombie and take a one-handed tourist-style snap of the pair, complete with cheesy grin. It gets a big laugh from the crowd.

And that's it, for now. The first 15 minutes of Off the Record is over. We've seen plenty, but Leigh outlines further changes just to hammer home his point.

Load times are being improved (a "significant improvement" is promised). There are new weapons, several new combo weapons, additional psychos, an entire new area in Fortune City and, "Perhaps biggest of all," an entire new mode Leigh refuses to discuss.

Off the Record, then, is a larger game than Dead Rising 2. And co-op multiplayer is included, this time with Frank West and Chuck Greene as the second player.

The game's origin is noteworthy, too. When working on Dead Rising 2, Blue Castle had plans for a director's cut. But then came the fan reaction to the announcement of Chuck Greene as the lead character. Leigh says all the questions about Frank West's whereabouts created "an extremely interesting opportunity".

"Rather than do a director's cut," he explains, "what would happen if we re-imaged the Fortune City outbreak with Frank West in the title role?" The development team, once presented with the idea, ran with it. The result is not a director's cut, but a "fan's version" of Dead Rising 2.

Despite all this, despite Leigh's claim to the contrary and despite the very different first 15 minutes, many will dismiss Off the Record as a cynical cash-in. It's an understandable reaction from gamers wise to the wily ways of publishers. Why bother? Why not just release it as DLC? And, where's Dead Rising 3?

But we're more excited about Off the Record than any of the other games shown at Captivate. It's an odd realisation: here we have a game that's instantly familiar, but fresh. A game that feels old yet new. A game that changes Dead Rising 2 for the better – and maybe for the worse.

Will it shut all the haters up? Perhaps not. But it should make them think again.