Most Effective Way(s) to Gain Levels in Dead Rising 2

Question

What is the most effective way, considering time, to gain Prestige Points (PP) in Dead Rising 2?

I played Dead Rising, and I loved it, but until I got near the top tier of levels, the game was just too hard for my style of play to allow me to make it very far. A general rule of thumb (backed up by PP per game hour estimates) of the general order of events is suggested.

Is it more effective to keep as close to the storyline as possible? Or is it more effective to ditch the story and save as many survivors, and find as many in-game bonuses as possible?

Any particular combo weapons that are easy to get at the start of the game that seem very time effective? The Drill Bucket is undoubtedly faster than the Spiked Bat, and I have yet to find any other high PP gaining, fast, weapon.

I'm looking at this from the standpoint of beginning the game... repeatedly ( :( ), so essentially, a timeline of at least the first 24 hours of the game's start from after you give Katey her very first dose of Zombrex, because that's when you meaningfully have a choice of what you could do in the game.

Note that I tagged this xbox 360, but I'm fairly sure no other system will vary. If they do, I would appreciate such being noted for completeness reasons.

Answer 1

You are going to have to play through most of the story line a few times, I actually found that I played through a few times and then gave up on the story line to do a bit of leveling up without the storyline getting in the way. This is not only quite fun, but lets you explore a bit and find stuff that you wouldn't normally have time, or inclination, to find when running around having to save people.

In short, I found the best way is this:

1. Start off and get all the toys for Katey - this will give you around 10,000pp per stuffed toy and the same for the others (marbles, horse etc)
2. If you grab the Magazine: Rescue from the Arena Security office, all the survivors you rescue will give you a 25% PP boost, helping you rapidly gain levels.
3. grabbing a Magazine: Combat will add 10% PP from everything you kill with weapons. You can carry up to 3 of the Combat Magazines as well. They are useful for passively gaining extra PP.
4. Get a chainsaw (there's one above the stage outside) and go attach it to the bike. You easily rank up the points whilst mowing down zombies in the central strip.

and this guide I found to be really useful, it'll give you a complete run through with some excellent advice on psychos, magazines, strategy etc. Good luck and have fun! :)