And rightly so, because as long-term followers of the 360 will happily recall, the original was a masterclass in zombie-slaying brilliance. Arriving on the back of 2006’s harsh summer gaming drought, Dead Rising really upped the ante for zombie games by giving you a whole horde of the buggers to kill using whatever you could lay your hands on. That it was set in a shopping mall helped immeasurably, of course; with a plethora of different stores offering everything from bats, guns and knives to toys and gardening tools, gamers were given near-endless scope for carnage as they sent the undead army back to Hell.

And given how many people bought it (1.5 million, so Capcom reckons) it seems we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed it – which brings us on conveniently to Dead Rising 2. Although Capcom has shown but a few fleeting glimpses of the zombie extravaganza that awaits, what has been shown looks promising so far. The events of Dead Rising 2 take place a couple of years after those of the first game. The virus that sparked the infamous zombie invasion of Willamette was not contained and as a result, it has now spread throughout the good ol’ US of A. With zombie outbreaks a regular thing now, the second game picks up the story in Fortune City, which – as it’s name suggests – bears a striking resemblance to the home of sin and vice that is Las Vegas. Not only does this mean a different location, it also means you’ll encounter a change of weapons as well. Although such staples as your trusty baseball bat remain, you’ll also be able to cave in zombie skulls with such things as guitars, oversized mobile telephones and even roulette wheels, along with anything else that isn’t nailed down.

That said; the fundamental principle looks set to stay the same. Capcom is promising tens of thousands of zombies to hack, slash, bash and pummel your way through, and it looks set to retain the same dark sense of humour that was such a vital element of the original. Admittedly, there are some grounds for concern. Rather than developing the sequel in-house (as it did with Dead Rising), Capcom has opted to outsource the work to Canadian developer Blue Castle Games – a recently launched studio whose other games include a few baseball sims. On the plus side, Capcom will still be keeping a watchful eye over it, with developer legend and Capcom’s head of R&D Keiji Inafune once again producing. So while the studio itself may be largely unheard of, hopefully the finished product will live up to expectation.

This predicament hasn’t been made any easier by what Capcom has – or more to the point, hasn’t – shown of Dead Rising 2. Aside from these early details and shots (and a rather short trailer), Capcom has been reluctant to spill the beans thus far. With all the major trade shows still to come, we firmly expect that to change over the coming months – but those hoping for such basic details as a release date are in for a wait. That said though, we have a funny feeling it’ll be worth it.