Producing a one-of-a-kind trailer for an upcoming video game is a smart idea, but it can also come back and bite you in the ass if said product doesn’t live up to the hype. This was a concern for us when we first saw the opening for Dead Island for the first time (not counting the trailer 5 years ago, which is how long some version of this game has been in development), showcasing a family that eventually came to pieces (literally) at the hands of a zombie attack. We were sitting around the office wondering, “So…what if the game doesn’t live up to the hype?” Well, now that it’s arrived, that collective sigh of relief is settling in. This game is damn good, and more than lives up to the hype. Rather than featuring said family, the game instead focuses on four characters that have survived the first zombie onslaught on the tropical island of Banoi. Each of them has a small back story and specialize in some technique, whether it’s handling a melee weapon or showcasing their skill in firearms. Over the course of the game, you can improve your skills in a number of ways through a tree improvement system, eventually getting to the point that you can rip heads off using melee attacks, or become a master of throwing the most lethal boomerangs you’ve ever gotten your hands on.
In Dead Island, literally anything you can get your hands on is a weapon. Whether it’s a boat oar that breaks apart as it becomes covered in zombie goop, or a machete that can lop off limbs with ease, these weapons become essential for survival. And like any good zombie game, you can boost their performance by modifying them on a work bench. We know this idea’s been done before with Dead Rising 2, but Techland, the game’s developer, somehow makes the concept better with Dead Island’s first-person perspective. There’s something satisfying about being right there when you use a flaming baseball bat to knock off a zombie’s head, then watch it smash into a group of his friends and set them ablaze a little bit. Talk about hitting a home run. Dead Island has a huge reliance on melee combat. There are going to be times when you simply don’t have your hands on a weapon, and you’ll need to adjust to punching a zombie to death. You’ll need to be careful on two accounts. The first is stamina. Use up too much of your stamina and you’ll be weakened, to the point that your health starts to pay the price. The second is a mini-game where a zombie manages to get past your attacks and grabs you, and you need to perform a mini-game in order to shake free. Miss out on this and you’ll lose precious energy.
It can get repetitive at first, but as you increase skills and pick up more creative weaponry, the game really starts to get good. Then the new zombie types, like the near unstoppable Ram, show up and add some much-needed variety, and the fight for survival becomes that much more enjoyable. Something should also be said for the throwing system. You lock on to a zombie by holding down a trigger, and then pressing the other trigger to lob the object directing at them. This is a pretty cool system, but you’ll want to make sure you’re throwing something useful, such as a knife or a broken object. Getting rid of a custom weapon, for instance, could be a HUGE loss, as it sometimes can’t be retrieved after you lob it at a zombie. Other objects, like a huge boat oar, have little to no effect when being thrown from a distance – though if you can hit a gas canister to make it explode, it does serve its purpose. Overall, though, it’s an excellent game mechanic. There’s a main quest involving getting off the island that will take you a few hours, but don’t be afraid to take on some of the game’s side quests, as they’ll introduce you to some great new characters and interesting parts of the island that are worth exploring. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a fancy pool covered in blood, it almost tempts you to jump in just to see how eerie it gets (which you can by the way). One of the best aspects of Dead Island is the setting, the entire resort is just freaky and creates an atmosphere that can only be matched by games like Alan Wake and Uncharted - it's that good.
This feature review continues on the next page, please click Page 2 below to read our final thoughts on Dead Island.
