Dead Island Review

Dead Island Review:

Information

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (OS X, Windows)

Developer: Techland

Publisher: Deep Sliver

Type: Stand-Alone
Modes: Single Player, Co-Op Multiplayer
Genres/Perspective/Flow: Action, Role Playing Game, First Person Shooter, Zombies
Rating: "PEGI: 18", ESRB: M
Release Dates
NA: 6/09/11
PAL: 9/09/11
Series: Dead Island
Average Completion Time: 25 hours
Trophies/Achievements: 48 in stand alone + 10 in DLC
Other Editions: Game Of the Year Edition, Definitive Edition
Additional: Review was done Xbox 360 Version
Alternate Recommendations: Dead Rising & How to Survive

Review:

To start of the review the story of Dead Island follows 4 Playable as they try to find out what started the zombie apocalypse of the island of Bonai as well as how to escape from it as well, now this may sound pretty interesting but it's not as the story doesn't really start till half way through and even then it’s not that great and is extremely boring with it being one of the lowest points in the series while also being combined with boring, plain main and support characters who have no really interesting points. The characters can be separated by the roles which are main characters and supporting or Quest givers and are really plain and boring with no real personality aside from the main characters who at least have some back story and interesting dialogue but compared to supports who just sprout the same lines at you every time you pass them left we disappointed that they could have done a better job.

The gameplay can be described as a FPS Hack n Slash that is fun and enjoyable for the players as they scavenge weapons and make their own with the gameplay being Dead Island's highest point, with a flowing and fun combat system that has the player use a wide variety of options to each zombie encounter like do you want just wail on the zombie till it dies, or to you want break it limbs or simply cut them off or maybe for the more destructive you can set them on fire or electrocute them and listen to their cries as they die they choice is up to you. But all in all it plays like any other FPS will the ability to sprint, jump and move how you like but it does come with a twist that changes the gameplay: a stamina meter, which drains when you sprint, jump or use your melee weapon and will leave you defenceless when fully drained which can lead to you the player having to think of different ways to enter combat while fighting of a good range of zombie types and special infected similar to Left 4 Dead's as well as fighting against humans who can be challenging to beat but have stupid AI where they repeat moves and will eventually lead to them being easier to deal with.

Another feature of the game is it's RPG element which is very standard and has the very simple three skill trees set up that focuses on the elements that will help the player unlock new moves, weapon upgrades and other features; also to fit in with the RPG like mechanics the game can be broken down into quests that are fun and range in difficulty but also get more repetitive as time goes on. Another smaller element in Dead Island is its crafting interface in which you can make additions to your weapons from scavenged parts which will remind you of Dead Rising craft system except the weapons are more serious and less goofy like electrocuting a machete so that it can shock enemies when hit or crafting gun bullet as they are hard to come by but the amount of 'Mods' are limited and doesn't have a wide variety to choose from as well as having the same mod twice with one making the special feature more powerful than the previous.

Aside from this the game does have its share of problems like phasing issues like characters hand going through ladders when climbing and having the player do a stomping move of a zombie as its getting up so even though you’re hitting the ground its head will still explode as well as wooden animation which makes character look more like do models talking rather than people.

The graphics for Dead Island are amazing even for a 2011 game with amazing and diverse environments locations that the player fits in the game from a lush ocean resort to a dense like swamp jungle like make lovely eye candy but can all be ruined by the game texture popping issue where textures will not be loaded after leaving a building which can ruin the experience but will load within a few seconds. Aside from this the zombie models had incredible detail and looked like corpse that had rose up from the ground with skin with, muscle and bone exposed which made the game feel all the more real.

Sound:

Now the soundtrack can be summed up really quickly as I barely heard it when playing the game except in survivor camps where it fit well will a sad tone as you walk past a dozen depressing people but aside from this I don't remember the rest until listening to it separately, in which I found it amazing and fits the whole tone of the game extremely well done, As well when you can't hear the music the atmosphere of the show can make the game feel alive and amazing with the wind and rain that can make resorts and cities feel deserted with zombie howls in the background to keep players on edge as well as character voice work that fit the game's depressing feeling that bring the game to live.

Final Verdict:

Characters & Story: 4

Gameplay: 6

Visuals: 7

Sound: 7

Final Score: 5.3/10 (Mediocre)