Dead Rising 2: Off The Record

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record brings back Frank West (in a good way) for a non-canonical spin-off of Dead Rising 2ǃ

Unused Items#

Multiple items from Case West were planned to return in Off The Record, but ended up being scrapped.

• Canned Drinks. Lacks a sound file and an icon, as it reuses the 2x4 icon.
• Flash Grenade. Completely functional and finished.
• Microscope. Missing its model, sound file and icon, so that only the code remains.
• Wheel Barrow. Leftover from Dead Rising 2, it also went unused there.

Unused Character#

Adrian Lee, a survivor in Dead Rising 2 but cut in Off The Record, has a copy and paste version of him titled "redshirt". This survivor appears nowhere in-game. It is unknown what he was used for, if at all.

Unused Cutscene#

Watch on YouTubeA cutscene named "dc_sandbox_intro" exists in Off The Record's files. It's a choppy, early and clearly unfinished version of Off The Record's sandbox mode intro.

Unused Models#

Under the Uranus Zone map, there's a model for a possible cut ride titled "Zone 16".

Unused Audio#

A 3 minute song titled "Protomen".

"Theramin" seems to be some sort of radio broadcast. It sends conflicting messages about what the radio broadcast is supposed to be.

A placeholder call for the Scoop "People Like Us"

A placeholder call for a case, seemingly used for the beginning of a case where you head back to the safehouse.

The voice actors of these calls are different from Stacey's voice actor.

Unused Areas#

Watch on YouTubeThe Yucatan Rooftop is still present and can be accessed through mods like Off the Record plus. However, unlike Dead Rising 2, there are no zombies to be found (or Sullivan either), but it is otherwise fully functional. Oddly, the mirror in the elevator was removed for reasons unknown which can be seen in 2 normally. It can also be accessed if the elevator doors are otherwise just removed.

Oddities#

• Almost every Instance of Chuck and Greene is replaced with Frank and West, causing Katey to be called "Katey West" in the game's text files, as well as making Frank seem like Chuck.
• If Frank manages to get to the inaccessible roof from the Royal Flush rooftop (usually with a well-timed jump with a skateboard), the player can find out that it has much more collision than in Dead Rising 2 for whatever reason. Almost all of the Silver and Platinum Strip can be explored. Oddly, the door leading to the Palisades Mall isn't present, so attempting to walk through it will let the player fall out of bounds, respawning Frank back to the regular area.
• The jock zombie that appears at the start of the game has a name, "Fotbal". It is most likely a shortened spelling of "Football", as there is currently no evidence of anyone ever being called "Fotbal".
• Multiple times throughout the file for all the game's missions, Uranus Zone is referred to as "Western Park". Due to this fact, originally it was going to want a Wild West-themed park with saloons and shooting galleries. Until the devs heard about alien abduction culture in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada it shifted into the final theme of becoming a Sci-fi park.¹
• If hacks are used to give Frank health during the opening battle in Terror is Reality and Frank dies, the game will end prematurely. This is normally impossible because Frank is set to always gain health during this state to prevent him from dying in the tutorial.

References#