Dead Island: Review (No Spoilers)

Pros: Fun sandbox style environment to walk around, unique twist on the zombie hack and slash genre

Cons: Voice acting is “hit and miss”, some slight bugs.

Welcome to the Isle of Banoi. A quaint slice of paradise off the coast of Papua New Guinea, and also home of the luxurious Palms Resort. Enjoy a swim in the beautiful ocean, or even walk the lavish beaches. Check out the night life as well! Palms Resort offers a night club you can visit to dance the night away! Enjoy all of these provided amenities at your own pace…and pay no mind to the flesh eating zombies that want nothing more than to tear you apart limb by limb. Did I mention Palms Resort has several pools? 

Ok...so maybe the you should stay away from the pools...



When I first seen the trailer for this game, I was in awe. A little girl captivated our hearts…and ruined a nice pricey glass window pane. This teaser was the buzz of the gaming community for quite some time, and rightfully so…as it is STUNNING to say the least. As I continued to follow this game reading articles and watching videos from gaming press conferences, I kept wondering if a game could live up to such hype in a market that is overly saturated in this genre...and the developers delivered. Dead Island manages to separate itself by adding several RPG elements to a game that not fully a FPS, nor a survival-horror title. To put it simply…If Borderlands and L4D had relations, Dead Island would be the sick & twisted baby to result from it.



Hardcore flashlight tag? Just add zombies.



The main 4 characters of the game awake at the Palm Resort hotel to a complete hell on earth. As you progress not to long after starting, you learn that your character (and the other 3) is immune to becoming infected. Sounds sweet right? WRONG. Guess what? Since you are immune, you get to be the errand boy/girl for everyone you encounter that may need something done. Whether it’s something important like gathering supplies, or trying to calm down a grown woman who is clearly psychotic and wanting her teddy bear that she left in her bungalow. However, Dead Island manages to give you enough of a variety of tasks to keep it from becoming too repetitive. Plus getting from point A to point B is a tad more fun when hordes of zombies wait around every turn. Corpses lying on the ground that appear to be dispatched may jump to life, or you may hear a call for help on the way to a location which can trigger a side quest (if you’re curious enough to venture to the location). With 4 unique character to choose from (each with their own perks), this also provides chances for you to take a different approach to the game when you play through a second time or join a friend.

(Below are the videos to each characters biography to give you an idea of who they are)

Logan's Story
Xian's Story
Sam's Story
Pruna's Story

Graphics: 8.5

Dead Island was designed using the Chrome Engine which was developed by Techland (another game to feature this engine most recently was Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood). The engine allows for smooth mapping and layers to be added to skeletal frames. What does all this mean? Each zombie has several layers of muscles and tissues to hack through so the damage shows in real time as it is inflicted. A well placed lob of an axe can take off limbs and cripple your adversary, or a slash can leave a gash on your foes face or whatever the case may be.  The Island itself is heavily detailed as flora covers the mainland and makes for a breath taking visual element. Somewhat of a “Beauty and the Beast” factor is in effect as you traverse the gorgeous island only to encounter mutilated undead roaming and waiting for the chance to devour you. This changes later on…however, without spoiling the game, not much more can be said.



Clearly he did not want to be groped



Controls: 8.7

The controls of Dead Island are pretty straight forward with nothing too insanely complicated or hindering to the point of aggravation while playing. The only real issue I had playing was I kept hitting start instead of select to bring up my inventory screen…however that may be because I’m retarded. It’s subject to debate either way. Since I lack anything really important to say about the controls, lets simply move on to the game play

Boy...would you just look at that water...

Game play: 9.1

Game play is where Dead Island shines brilliantly. In the genre of zombie games, its typical to just run around and shoot constantly, pick up ammo, “oh god it’s a boss!”, end level, repeat. What the developers at Techland have done is incorporate hack and slash with customizable weapons, FPS elements (though why use a gun when you have a bat covered in nails?), Melee combat styles and vehicle combat elements all while maintaining the RPG feeling. You are given missions or quests and gain EXP and sometimes new weapons by completing them and furthering your game progress. Once enough EXP is gained, you may level your character up which allows you to work with the games perk/skill tree system. When selecting a new skill or perk it adds onto your current stats and increases things such as accuarcy, damage done, etc.



View of the skill tree



Unlike most zombie games out, Dead Island also gives you a fatigue meter. With every slash, jump, and sprint, your characters meter will drop. You can also kick your foe back (which oddly enough doesn’t drain your meter…).  Once depleted, your character is prone to being knocked down (not a good thing when you’re facing 5 or 6 zombies at once). When knocked down, it takes precious time to stand back, all while baddies are closing in on you…and trust me, not one of them is coming at you with the intention of helping you back up. To regain the meter faster you can crouch (basically taking a knee) to have a breather. The tension created while doing all this and haphazardly dodging foes is nothing like any other zombie game on the market and definitely gives the game an edge.

Judo KICK!

 

Scavenging for supplies is another huge part of the game. Items you find in luggage bags or lying around can often be used to enhance or upgrade weapons. When taking an item however, it costs money. Luckily for you, the island is scattered with tons of cash that the former tourists will no longer need (for obvious reasons…) and building a little nest egg is no troubling task. Weapons are littered all over the Island and range from paddles, knives, sticks, bats, hammers…and many, many more. Guns are available; however don’t take comfort in the presence of them. When wielding a gun, the game takes more of an FPS sort of approach and leaves a little more to be desired, especially when fighting against other survivors (though after spending so much time slicing away at zombies and beating them with blunt objects, this is to be expected). Keeping an eye on your weapons durability is also a key tactical skill that will help you avoid any unnecessary weapon dilemmas. As you use the weapon, its condition will deteriorate till it’s relatively useless. Workbenches are also located throughout the game and provide the opportunity to repair weapons & upgrade them for a nominal fee. Electric machete? Yes please.



Might just be me...but if I was him, every time I swung this thing I would yell "Piiikkaaachuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!"



Sound: 7.5

Dead Island has a good ambiance as far as water crashing, skin slashing, and door ramming. The only issue I found was the voice acting was beyond terrible at times. However, the lack of decent voice acting hardly takes away from the enjoyment of the game itself. All in all, it’s by far not the worst game as far as sound goes.

Blood? Nahh...thats...thats uhhh...something...else?

Wrap Up:

Over all, Dead Island is a great buy. Whether you’re looking to survive alone, or with a group of friends, this game offers enough to keep your busy for at least 20hrs if you run straight through it. Adding side quests and further leveling up your character will only add to the playtime and trying out to a new character enhances the replay value. For fans of L4D, this game packs what said title lacks. The RPG elements change up the standard hack and slash game and turn it into a more involving survival/strategy/free-for-all. I look forward to seeing where this franchise goes and I’m sure some DLC’s are in the works. Till the next game is released however…go to your local video game retailer, pick up a copy, and let the mayhem begin.

Overall Rating: 8.5