Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

I have been a fan of zombie genre games for years thanks to the fun times I had with the entire Resident Evil series. I wanted to see what made Dead Island different from all of the other survival horror games. The game is addictive and fun, but there are some things that hinder the overall quality of the game.

Graphics:

I love the detail in this game. The characters models look great and the environment looks outstanding. The resort look aesthetically beautiful, ugly, and creepy. The city is just down right morbid. And the jungle is full of lush greenery. The detail is just astounding.

Story:

The story is simple. Find survivors, supplies, weapons, and do whatever it takes to survive. The problem with the story is the fact that emotions and suspense seen in the early trailer is not really there. The facial expressions doesn't match the situations encountered. And the voice acting is mediocre. Don't expect much if you are looking for cut scenes that feature Hollywood like drama.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is what makes this game good. There is a lot going on with this game; because it has a mix of so many different elements. A lot of people say that the game is a fusion of Dead Rising 2, Fallout, Borderlands, and Left 4 Dead. And that really isn't too far off. Here is why I agree with them.

The weapon mods is similar to the weapon creation feature in Dead Rising 2. Just like in Fallout you can take on a ton of side quests by interacting with NPCs that you encounter. Like Borderlands, Dead Island uses RPG elements. Left 4 Dead allow four players to work together to take on the campaign.


Now lets go over how Dead Island works.

First off, the environment plays a major role in this game. The zombie screams will creep you out and let you know what is coming. Zombies can come from anywhere, so stay on your toes. The maps are so huge that exploration will result in really interesting rewards. There is fast travel options to save time and you can use vehicles to travel. You can even observe whats going on and shoot from vehicles if you are not driving. The environment has a lot to offer. Weapons and other useful items are scattered everywhere. And you can find really good weapons in special item boxes that sometimes require leveled up lock picking skills. There are plenty of hidden side quests that you can find by exploring. I encourage you to find and complete side quests, because you can get some really good Weapon Modification Blueprints by completing them.

Next, Dead Island uses an RPG Level Up system. There are three stats you can improve: Fury, Combat, and Survival. Each character has their own special fury attack, which causes high damage. Combat makes characters more effective in combat. And survival improves the ability to use med kits, health items, carry more items, and pick higher level locks.

The skills mentioned in the previous paragraph varies depending on what character you choose, because each character specializes in a specific skill. Xian, a female Asian who wants to be a great police officer, specializes in edge weapons. Purna, an African who is a former police officer, specializes in fire arms. Sam B, the one hit wonder rapper, specializes in heavy weapons. And Logan, a former NFL star, specializes in throwing weapons.

You can also trade weapons and items with other players. You can even heal others and revive down allies with the right equipment. This is a really cool feature; because it gives the game even more of a coop feel for those who really like to help out and become a true teammate and life saver. I just wish the game was more difficult in terms of recovery from death, because it takes away the feeling of urgency when you can respawn and just lose money. For instance, Left 4 Dead created a penalty box for dead allies by locking them in a bathroom after a minute and your team has to get you out in order for you to comeback. And if your team dies before they get you it is game over.

If RPG elements are confusing to you, then you don't have to worry. I say this because the menus and inventory screens is very user friendly.

Finally, lets go over the combat gameplay. The game uses the first person view. You can attack with melee weapons, use fire arms, kick, run, and jump. Just remember that your stamina meter will drop every time you fight, run, and jump. To regain stamina you can walk and stand still. If you run of meter, then you will be left vulnerable for a couple seconds. You will need every second you can get when you progress further.

The combat is fun. You don't get much gun ammo until later in the game, so use the time you have to get used to the melee combat. You can aim for any body part of the zombie, but aiming for the head always does the most damage. Throwing propane tanks at zombies and blowing them up with bullets and weapons is really deadly. Just make sure you and your teammates stay away from the blast, because the blast radius is pretty large. You can also make explosive weapons as well when you get the items needed to make them. Burning up zombies is crazy due to the ability to watch them decompose even more in front of your eyes.

The game is gory fun, because the damage detail is very good. Every hit you deal on a zombie leaves nasty cuts that get worse after every hit. There is a lot of blood and bone cracking in this game. And clean and brutal hits occasionally results in nice slow motion kills.

You can use almost anything as a weapon, however weapons can wear out with extended use. Therefore, make sure you repair and upgrade weapons you like in order to improve the stats of the weapon of choice. All weapons are level based, so make sure you keep track of the stats, because the zombies level up as you and your team levels up. Trust me, you don't want to fight level 30 zombies with a level 1 bat.

Zombie Types:

There are a variety of zombie types as well.

Walker: Slow moving zombie. Easy to kill.

Infected: Fast and even stronger zombie. And it can be really difficult to fight more than one of these types. Killing them from a distance is the better option.

Thug: This zombie is really slow, but extremely durable and powerful. Take out the legs to slow it down and use weapons that have more reach to avoid getting pummeled.

Ram: Even tougher and stronger. And it does have speed. Its main attack is a ram attack. It runs into you since that is all it can do. Guns and melee doesn't work. Use propane tanks, fire, and explosives. The zombie is strapped up in a heavy straight jacket. I have no idea how that is even possible, but I can assume the zombie came from a mental institution.

Floater: A zombie that absorbed too much water and became bloated. It has vomit projectiles and a slow, damaging melee attack.

Suicider: A zombie that explodes when it gets near you. Just take it down from a distance and stay out its blast radius.

Butcher: It is like an infected zombie, but has exposed sharp bones which it uses to stab you. Try to attack from a distance if you can.

Other enemies:

The humans are also a threat in this game. The humans use mostly guns; however there are humans who will swing a weapon at you.


Issues:

The game is great, but it has some setbacks that really hurts the overall quality of the game. The game uses an auto save feature to save all games, so if you are not careful you might find yourself in chapters you have already completed. For instance, I was on chapter 2, but when I started the game hours later I was somewhere in chapter 1. LOOK FOR THAT GAME SAVE MESSAGE BEFORE YOU LEAVE!

I noticed that on the PS3 version it takes a little more time for the textures the register than on the Xbox 360. It isn't a huge problem for me, but I thought it was worth noting.

Sometimes I encountered weird glitches. For instance, on an escort mission I took on the NPC I was guarding got stuck in a building and I couldn't continue the quest.

And sometimes I had to restart the game just to get to the game lobby and multiplayer option to work.

Final thoughts:

Pros:
A great coop experience.
Playing with friends and others makes this game an instant hit.
Plenty of things to do.
Plenty of weapons.
Weapon modifications are fun to use and find.
Trading items with others adds to the coop factor.
You can heal others.
User friendly menus.
RPG elements were well done.
Character classes adds variety.
The shooting is just as fun as the melee.

Cons:

The glitches in this game hinders the fun and quality.
Bad facial expressions.
Acting isn't all that good.
No serious punishment for death and failed objectives.


Techland really took a classic genre and put a new spin on it. This game is not your typical zombie game despite its setbacks. I just hope they create a patch to fix the problems that hinders the fun of the game.

I give this game a 8 out of 10. Well done guys.