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DEAD ISLAND
september 6, 2011
Epic Original Trailer
Synopsis
The island of Banoi is a lush, tropical paradise in the South Pacific where its flagship Royal Palms Resort serves as the ultimate getaway for vacationers with money to burn. However, all good things must soon come to an end – and the picturesque resort falls into madness, carnage and chaos after a mysterious and contagious zombie outbreak claims its once peaceful atmosphere. Cut off from the rest of the world, only four individuals who strangely find themselves immune to zombification have the power to protect the remaining survivors from the horrors of the island, to discover what’s really going on and find a way to escape before their own fatal ends.
(first open review, IGN)
Dead Island is Fallout 3 with zombies. Plenty of people are going to compare it to Dead Rising (as you can create weapons) and Left 4 Dead (as the action is first-person and good for four players online), but when I finally got past the game's obtuse opening and less than stellar cutscenes, I found a world rife with quests, interesting environments, and a character progression system that had me begging for more hours in the day. In short, Dead Island's a rough around the edges role-playing game, and I dug it.
On a small island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the dead walk. The story didn't set my hair on fire, but everything else makes up for it. When you sit down to play, you'll choose one of four characters and for the next 20 to 30-some hours roam massive maps, take on interesting side quests, and chop the heads off hundreds of ghouls.
But Dead Island doesn't succeed because of its gore (though I liked the dismemberment). Dead Island's strength is in the world it creates. I crept into and through each environment I came to, from beaches to sewers to jail cells. I listened for the screams of the infected or the roar of a damage sponge known as a "Thug." From that perspective, I was on the island; not my character. In the beginning, I'd slaughter every zombie I saw, but by the time I got to the city and found tight alleyways overrun with monsters, I began to just run from objective to objective. No longer was I playing a game -- I was focusing on survival as if I were the one running from Point A to Point B.
Objectively speaking -- like, right now from my keyboard and not playing the actual game -- that's a stupid thing to say. Dead Island doesn't really punish you for dying. If you croak, you wait five seconds and respawn with less money. Any damage you inflicted before heading to the great beyond remains. But I say that using hindsight. When I sprinted away from a zombie and heard its growls directly behind me, my heart pounded in my chest. I didn't think "Oh, I'll just let him get me and restart back there."
You rarely feel safe in Dead Island, and that's how a zombie game should be. You have a limited stamina bar, so you can't run or swing your weapon forever. Med kits were few and far between in my experience, so scavenging for energy drinks and fruit -- which have to be used at that moment and can't be stored -- became part of the experience. Weapons degrade as you use them, so finding a "legendary" weapon was exciting, but not as exciting as finding a workbench to keep weapons in tip-top shape.
Dead Island made me my character. I chose the weapons, the enemies to attack, and the side quests to take. When I leveled up, I chose in which skill tree to invest my new point in -- so even if you joined my game as the same knives expert I play as, we wouldn't necessarily have the same abilities.
Thankfully, joining games is easy. When you're playing, a pop-up message will notify you if a player is close to you and joinable. If I see you sign on, I can invite you in. Of course, experience levels play into this. Players can only join the games of people who are equal or lesser levels. I can't be level 31 and about to win the game and have a level 1 player join me. It might sound depressing, but there are tons of character slots, so having a character for different sessions shouldn't be too tough. Plus, you can always switch your game to single-player if you just want to be left alone. Sadly, there is no local co-op.
Is Dead Island perfect? No. Far from it. As much as I lauded it, Dead Island is rough around the edges and that's sure to turn a lot of people off. First-person melee combat doesn't feel natural right away. Sometimes textures take their time loading in, I'd describe every cutscene as "stiff," and the visual flaws like hands going through doors and weird mini-game meters made me laugh. Still, presentation doesn't make a game, experiences do. And they are packed into Dead Island.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Dead Island probably won't win any game of the year awards. It's got visual bugs, the controls take a bit to feel normal, and the presentation in general isn't up to snuff. But the game gets a lot right. There is a huge world to explore, thousands of zombies to kill, and tons of side quests to take. Here on the other side of a 25-hour playthrough -- where I skipped a lot of side quests after Act 1 -- I'm anxious to get back into Dead Island, and despite the game's flaws, that's not something I say often.
7.0 Presentation
The story is a bit flat. It's easy enough to upgrade your weapons and such, but there's no flair to the menus.
7.0 Graphics
Environments and zombies look good, but clipping and texture loading are issues. Cutscenes are stiff.
8.0 Sound
Every time I came to a new area, I'd listen for zombie action. I don't think I'll forget the cries of a zombie chasing me anytime soon. Sound cuts out every so often on PS3.
8.0 Gameplay
There are tons of quests to take, you build out your version of the character, and weapon mods keep combat interesting. The melee fighting is fun but takes getting used to.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
If you can get over the game's stumbles and appreciate what it does right, you have a long campaign with online options to try out.
overall - 8.0
On a small island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, the dead walk. The story didn't set my hair on fire, but everything else makes up for it. When you sit down to play, you'll choose one of four characters and for the next 20 to 30-some hours roam massive maps, take on interesting side quests, and chop the heads off hundreds of ghouls.
But Dead Island doesn't succeed because of its gore (though I liked the dismemberment). Dead Island's strength is in the world it creates. I crept into and through each environment I came to, from beaches to sewers to jail cells. I listened for the screams of the infected or the roar of a damage sponge known as a "Thug." From that perspective, I was on the island; not my character. In the beginning, I'd slaughter every zombie I saw, but by the time I got to the city and found tight alleyways overrun with monsters, I began to just run from objective to objective. No longer was I playing a game -- I was focusing on survival as if I were the one running from Point A to Point B.
Objectively speaking -- like, right now from my keyboard and not playing the actual game -- that's a stupid thing to say. Dead Island doesn't really punish you for dying. If you croak, you wait five seconds and respawn with less money. Any damage you inflicted before heading to the great beyond remains. But I say that using hindsight. When I sprinted away from a zombie and heard its growls directly behind me, my heart pounded in my chest. I didn't think "Oh, I'll just let him get me and restart back there."
You rarely feel safe in Dead Island, and that's how a zombie game should be. You have a limited stamina bar, so you can't run or swing your weapon forever. Med kits were few and far between in my experience, so scavenging for energy drinks and fruit -- which have to be used at that moment and can't be stored -- became part of the experience. Weapons degrade as you use them, so finding a "legendary" weapon was exciting, but not as exciting as finding a workbench to keep weapons in tip-top shape.
Dead Island made me my character. I chose the weapons, the enemies to attack, and the side quests to take. When I leveled up, I chose in which skill tree to invest my new point in -- so even if you joined my game as the same knives expert I play as, we wouldn't necessarily have the same abilities.
Thankfully, joining games is easy. When you're playing, a pop-up message will notify you if a player is close to you and joinable. If I see you sign on, I can invite you in. Of course, experience levels play into this. Players can only join the games of people who are equal or lesser levels. I can't be level 31 and about to win the game and have a level 1 player join me. It might sound depressing, but there are tons of character slots, so having a character for different sessions shouldn't be too tough. Plus, you can always switch your game to single-player if you just want to be left alone. Sadly, there is no local co-op.
Is Dead Island perfect? No. Far from it. As much as I lauded it, Dead Island is rough around the edges and that's sure to turn a lot of people off. First-person melee combat doesn't feel natural right away. Sometimes textures take their time loading in, I'd describe every cutscene as "stiff," and the visual flaws like hands going through doors and weird mini-game meters made me laugh. Still, presentation doesn't make a game, experiences do. And they are packed into Dead Island.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Dead Island probably won't win any game of the year awards. It's got visual bugs, the controls take a bit to feel normal, and the presentation in general isn't up to snuff. But the game gets a lot right. There is a huge world to explore, thousands of zombies to kill, and tons of side quests to take. Here on the other side of a 25-hour playthrough -- where I skipped a lot of side quests after Act 1 -- I'm anxious to get back into Dead Island, and despite the game's flaws, that's not something I say often.
7.0 Presentation
The story is a bit flat. It's easy enough to upgrade your weapons and such, but there's no flair to the menus.
7.0 Graphics
Environments and zombies look good, but clipping and texture loading are issues. Cutscenes are stiff.
8.0 Sound
Every time I came to a new area, I'd listen for zombie action. I don't think I'll forget the cries of a zombie chasing me anytime soon. Sound cuts out every so often on PS3.
8.0 Gameplay
There are tons of quests to take, you build out your version of the character, and weapon mods keep combat interesting. The melee fighting is fun but takes getting used to.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
If you can get over the game's stumbles and appreciate what it does right, you have a long campaign with online options to try out.
overall - 8.0
Techland? Where did these guys come from? If you haven’t done your homework, Techland is the developer behind the Call of Juarez titles. If you never played those games (like me), then you only need to know one thing about Dead Island, it features zombies! Zombies coming out of all orifices in an open world environment that shares similarities with two well known zombie titles, Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, and also brings along some addictive RPG qualities. It’s surprising with all of the open world games that have come out over the years, no one has ever come up with a title quite like this.
Dead Island starts out in a blur as your character (four to select from) tries to make sense of what’s going on after a crazy night of drinking and partying when the S hits the F sooner rather than later and you’re knee deep in zombo guts. Before you know it, you become Mr. Errand Boy or Girl and start hopping from one quest to another all while trying to find out the origin of this virus and get the hell out of dodge. Your backdrop is the beautiful island of Banoi and all of its splendors. Unfortunately for you, vacation is over. Does Techland deliver and bring us one hell of a zombie paradise, or are these zombos faking the funk?
What’s Good
Left 4 Dead Rising Warcraft - There’s no doubt that Dead Island shares a lot of similarities to both Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, and even an MMO like World of Warcraft. Like Dead Rising, weapons can be repaired, upgraded, and modified using plans that you can find throughout the game or given to you as quest rewards. Modifications like a baseball bat with nails might be a bit simplistic, but wait until you get your hands on a diver’s knife with a bomb attached to it (boom goes the dynamite) or a buzzsaw attached to a bat. Unlike Dead Rising however, these zombies are fierce and are more of the Left 4 Dead rendition. Zombies run at you, and I do mean run – like track and field runners. These suckers can be fast and relentless, often coming from all directions backing you into a corner. Some of the special types of zombies even share similarities to Left 4 Dead’s spitter and boomer.
Unlike these other zombie bashing games however, Dead Island differs in one unique way, it’s an open world title that shares some MMO qualities. Items are color coded to determine their rarity, and their names give a description on how good they are (flimsy, wicked, strong etc…). A plethora of side quests are available and are given by NPCs that are normally located at a convenient quest giving hub like we often see in MMOs. Since quests are your main method of gaining XP, you’ll be doing plenty of them to level up your character and using the skill points in one of three skill trees. Each tree focuses on different aspects of your character: Fury (your character’s special ability), Combat (both range and hand), and Survival (stamina, inventory, lockpicking). Finally, getting around the island can be done by either taking the leisurely route of walking, finding a truck to drive (and subsequently playing my favorite game: zombies ate my fender), or by fast traveling from specific safe locations you’ve already visited.
Visceral zombie hunting - While Dead Island shares a lot in common with Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, the one thing it does better than those games is portray such a realistic feeling on the up close and personal aspect. Zombies are in your face and while the option for firearms is available but sparse, you’ll spend most of you time with knives, oars, hammers, wrenches, and anything you can get your hand on. Hitting a zombie in the face with a sledgehammer or slicing off a limb with precision has never felt so satisfying; you can actually start to see zombie limbs suffer damage and get ready to break off and weapons start to deteriorate. While Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising are fun in their own right, there’s something about Dead Island that makes the combat so entertaining. I could throw machetes at the incoming undead for hours upon hours. Listening to the thud of my bat crack a zombie in the face also sounds pretty realistic; not that I would know what that sounds like in real life or anything…
What’s Bad
It takes two - Those without a zombie hunting crew should be wary, this game can get both hard and frustrating. Much like Left 4 Dead, this is a game that’s better played with other people. Going alone does heighten the sense of doom and solidarity (a la Resident Evil), but there will be plenty of times when your back is exposed. Zombies like nothing more than to come out of nowhere and start chewing on your skull. Thankfully if you die you’re only penalized a percentage of money and are restarted near your moment of expiration. This isn’t exactly a negative, but I would definitely say that you’re missing out on extra fun if you play Dead Island by your lonesome.
Polish off those machetes - Dead Island could use a little sprucing up. A few bugs and oddities like hitting zombies through closed doors (and vice versa), losing ALL of my weapons, clipping issues, and certain quests just not working properly provided me with a bit of frustration during my play through. I will note however, that a day one patch is in the works and will hopefully fix some of these issues. Regardless, these imperfections are worth mentioning.
Things don’t go bump in the night - While Dead Island can be a pretty creepy game, especially playing alone, it could have been a whole lot scarier if there was some sort of day/night cycle. Think about it, hunting zombies under the cover of darkness could have provided for a whole different type of atmosphere. I’m talking Night of the Living Dead stuff! Unfortunately, Dead Island doesn’t do this and from a technical standpoint there isn’t really a whole lot of weather effects to get excited about. My hopes about slicing zombo heads in the moonlight will have to go unsatisfied. The island of Banoi is actually quite beautiful and serene, it’s just a shame Techland didn’t get a little fancy and spice things up from time to time.
Worth Remembering
By the time I got to around level 20 I became a marksman with bladed weapons. I was throwing a knife at one zombie, lopping the head off another, only to pull out another blade and fling it towards a third zombie. Bludgeoning a zombie’s head in is always a good time, but cutting one off is even better. The combat is memorable, entertaining, and sets the bar for future games featuring the undead.
Worth Forgetting
While some of the bugs were incredibly frustrating (especially one where I lost all my weapons), the biggest issue I had with Dead Island is that the game’s challenge was made with multiplayer in mind. Playing by yourself isn’t a huge issue until half way through when zombies become tougher, faster, and seem to appear from every freaking nook and cranny. I died about six times at the final boss because there was no one else to grab his attention. As I mentioned above, dying isn’t punishing at all, but it can be frustrating nonetheless. After getting my fark handed to me so many times during the campaign, I could use a little TLC from some fellow zombo hunters.
Dead Island is a title that includes a huge amount of satisfying zombie hunting in a unique location that offers plenty of variety. While it could use a little polish at times, most of the blemishes are more annoying than real show stoppers. With plenty of quests to partake, a huge island to get lost in, and a main campaign that will last you about 15-20 hours to complete, your money will be well invested. Even after you’re done playing the game all the way through, you can always go back as a different character or hop into a game with a few friends. This is one zombie experience worth playing all the way through. Just be sure to sharpen those blades and aim for the head.
Dead Island starts out in a blur as your character (four to select from) tries to make sense of what’s going on after a crazy night of drinking and partying when the S hits the F sooner rather than later and you’re knee deep in zombo guts. Before you know it, you become Mr. Errand Boy or Girl and start hopping from one quest to another all while trying to find out the origin of this virus and get the hell out of dodge. Your backdrop is the beautiful island of Banoi and all of its splendors. Unfortunately for you, vacation is over. Does Techland deliver and bring us one hell of a zombie paradise, or are these zombos faking the funk?
What’s Good
Left 4 Dead Rising Warcraft - There’s no doubt that Dead Island shares a lot of similarities to both Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, and even an MMO like World of Warcraft. Like Dead Rising, weapons can be repaired, upgraded, and modified using plans that you can find throughout the game or given to you as quest rewards. Modifications like a baseball bat with nails might be a bit simplistic, but wait until you get your hands on a diver’s knife with a bomb attached to it (boom goes the dynamite) or a buzzsaw attached to a bat. Unlike Dead Rising however, these zombies are fierce and are more of the Left 4 Dead rendition. Zombies run at you, and I do mean run – like track and field runners. These suckers can be fast and relentless, often coming from all directions backing you into a corner. Some of the special types of zombies even share similarities to Left 4 Dead’s spitter and boomer.
Unlike these other zombie bashing games however, Dead Island differs in one unique way, it’s an open world title that shares some MMO qualities. Items are color coded to determine their rarity, and their names give a description on how good they are (flimsy, wicked, strong etc…). A plethora of side quests are available and are given by NPCs that are normally located at a convenient quest giving hub like we often see in MMOs. Since quests are your main method of gaining XP, you’ll be doing plenty of them to level up your character and using the skill points in one of three skill trees. Each tree focuses on different aspects of your character: Fury (your character’s special ability), Combat (both range and hand), and Survival (stamina, inventory, lockpicking). Finally, getting around the island can be done by either taking the leisurely route of walking, finding a truck to drive (and subsequently playing my favorite game: zombies ate my fender), or by fast traveling from specific safe locations you’ve already visited.
Visceral zombie hunting - While Dead Island shares a lot in common with Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, the one thing it does better than those games is portray such a realistic feeling on the up close and personal aspect. Zombies are in your face and while the option for firearms is available but sparse, you’ll spend most of you time with knives, oars, hammers, wrenches, and anything you can get your hand on. Hitting a zombie in the face with a sledgehammer or slicing off a limb with precision has never felt so satisfying; you can actually start to see zombie limbs suffer damage and get ready to break off and weapons start to deteriorate. While Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising are fun in their own right, there’s something about Dead Island that makes the combat so entertaining. I could throw machetes at the incoming undead for hours upon hours. Listening to the thud of my bat crack a zombie in the face also sounds pretty realistic; not that I would know what that sounds like in real life or anything…
What’s Bad
It takes two - Those without a zombie hunting crew should be wary, this game can get both hard and frustrating. Much like Left 4 Dead, this is a game that’s better played with other people. Going alone does heighten the sense of doom and solidarity (a la Resident Evil), but there will be plenty of times when your back is exposed. Zombies like nothing more than to come out of nowhere and start chewing on your skull. Thankfully if you die you’re only penalized a percentage of money and are restarted near your moment of expiration. This isn’t exactly a negative, but I would definitely say that you’re missing out on extra fun if you play Dead Island by your lonesome.
Polish off those machetes - Dead Island could use a little sprucing up. A few bugs and oddities like hitting zombies through closed doors (and vice versa), losing ALL of my weapons, clipping issues, and certain quests just not working properly provided me with a bit of frustration during my play through. I will note however, that a day one patch is in the works and will hopefully fix some of these issues. Regardless, these imperfections are worth mentioning.
Things don’t go bump in the night - While Dead Island can be a pretty creepy game, especially playing alone, it could have been a whole lot scarier if there was some sort of day/night cycle. Think about it, hunting zombies under the cover of darkness could have provided for a whole different type of atmosphere. I’m talking Night of the Living Dead stuff! Unfortunately, Dead Island doesn’t do this and from a technical standpoint there isn’t really a whole lot of weather effects to get excited about. My hopes about slicing zombo heads in the moonlight will have to go unsatisfied. The island of Banoi is actually quite beautiful and serene, it’s just a shame Techland didn’t get a little fancy and spice things up from time to time.
Worth Remembering
By the time I got to around level 20 I became a marksman with bladed weapons. I was throwing a knife at one zombie, lopping the head off another, only to pull out another blade and fling it towards a third zombie. Bludgeoning a zombie’s head in is always a good time, but cutting one off is even better. The combat is memorable, entertaining, and sets the bar for future games featuring the undead.
Worth Forgetting
While some of the bugs were incredibly frustrating (especially one where I lost all my weapons), the biggest issue I had with Dead Island is that the game’s challenge was made with multiplayer in mind. Playing by yourself isn’t a huge issue until half way through when zombies become tougher, faster, and seem to appear from every freaking nook and cranny. I died about six times at the final boss because there was no one else to grab his attention. As I mentioned above, dying isn’t punishing at all, but it can be frustrating nonetheless. After getting my fark handed to me so many times during the campaign, I could use a little TLC from some fellow zombo hunters.
Dead Island is a title that includes a huge amount of satisfying zombie hunting in a unique location that offers plenty of variety. While it could use a little polish at times, most of the blemishes are more annoying than real show stoppers. With plenty of quests to partake, a huge island to get lost in, and a main campaign that will last you about 15-20 hours to complete, your money will be well invested. Even after you’re done playing the game all the way through, you can always go back as a different character or hop into a game with a few friends. This is one zombie experience worth playing all the way through. Just be sure to sharpen those blades and aim for the head.
Miscellaneous Videos
tv spot
character bios
co-op trailer
gameplay
family from original trailer
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