source: gamespot

There has been a lot of hype around this game ever since it’s dramatic teaser trailer was released in February. The Dead Island trailer went viral and garnered a lot of attention from both gamers and non-gamers alike. Ever since, the anticipation of what was hopefully to be the greatest zombie video game made in a long time has finally come to a head with the release of the game this month. So what did I think of this game? Read on to find out…

Before you are even brought to the main menu, you are presented with a short cinematic 1st person drunken experience where you are wobbling through the resort hitting on every hot chick in a bikini and starting fights with the main characters. Eventually you make your way back to your room, too drunk to realize that several people have been attacked by zombies right in front of you. You pass out, and then the fun begins.

You choose to play as one of 4 characters who seem to be immune to whatever is causing the zombie pandemic:

• Purna - Purna is a former officer of the Sydney Police department. After losing her career when she killed a child molester who could not be touched legally because of his wealth and connections, Purna then turned to working as a bodyguard for VIPs in dangerous places all over the world. She is hired not just for her skills but her looks as wealthy men did not mind showing up with Purna on their arm. Specialty: Guns
• Xian Mei - Xian Mei is an employee at the Royal Palm Resort. Born and raised in China, she chose an occupation that allowed her to leave her country of birth in order to experience different people and cultures – Banoi is her first placement outside of her homeland. She is a fast learner, intelligent, and also – as a passionate sportswoman – quick on her feet. Having just arrived at the island, Xian Mei was responsible for a myriad of menial tasks at the hotel, before starting work as a receptionist. This opportunity to meet and greet all the different nationalities that visited the hotel was ideal for Xian Mei, as it provided a perfect source of inspiration for her dreams of travelling the globe.  That is of course, before the world around her suddenly begins to crumble… Specialty: Sharp Weapons
• Sam B. - A one-hit-wonder rap star of fading fame, Sam B was booked by the Royal Palms Resort Hotel to perform his well known song “Who do You Voodoo?” at a high profile hotel party. He gladly took the chance to play this gig.
  Once strong, self-confident and proud, Sam B has had a troubled past and a history of drug and alcohol abuse, as his private life became caught in a haze of fake friends and bad advisors. Trying to pick up the pieces and earn some extra cash, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by a whole lot of different problems… Specialty: Blunt Weapons
• Logan Carter - A former American football star, spoiled by life and successful in every possible way, Logan’s ego finally put an end to his bright future. Taking part in a reckless street race with tragic consequences, Logan not only killed a young woman – his unfortunate passenger; he also fractured his knee, putting an end to his sports career. His fall from stardom inevitably followed and he plunged swiftly into a life of bitterness and despair. In an attempt to get away from the demons hunting him, he gladly takes the chance to experience the beauties and wonders of Banoi. Soon enough though the getaway he was dreaming about turns into a real life nightmare… Specialty: Throwable Weaponry

(Character Bio’s taken referenced from Official Dead Island website.)

Straight to the point – You awaken out of a drunken state to hear a voice on the intercom saying to evacuate the hotel and the sounds of screams in the distance. You make your way through the hotel slowly learning that something isn’t right, finding a couple of corpses along the way. You loot whatever luggage you can find looking for things that might help you later, until another voice comes in on the hotel intercom. The mysterious voice tells you that there is some sort of plague that has broke out on the island and tries to help you escape, but in your attempts to do so you are knocked out by a zombie. You wake up to find yourself in a hut full of survivors who tell you that a Lifeguard named Sinamoi saved your life, and is outside fighting zombies right now. Apparently, you are the only one who can save him, as the same voice that was trying to guide you earlier told these survivors that you are immune and cannot be turned even if bitten by a zombie.

From here on it is pretty much survival of the fittest. You spend your time trying to figure out what caused the zombie apocalypse you are currently faced with, scrounging for items to use as weapons and doing your best to survive. Along the way you will meet survivors who will ask you to go on quests for a number of reasons ranging from important to trivial. As you progress through the game, your character gains both physical strength and capabilities and will find plans for modifying weapons to make them stronger.

What I Like About Dead Island

Story

The plot is pretty good, though we have heard most of it before. There is a zombie apocalypse, you are a survivor trying to get answers to why this is happening and who (if anybody) is responsible.  A twist is that you are immune to whatever it is that is causing the undead revolution. What I really like about it is the setting on the island almost brings me back to watching Lost. While a totally different story, I just get the whole feeling I did while watching that series when I play Dead Island. You have survivors of a disaster banding together on an island trying to figure out a way off while staying alive. There is no time travel or black smoke on Dead Island, but you do have to deal with the zombies. Oh, and the gangs and people who have completely flipped out. Yeah…

Multiplayer & Audio/Visuals

I absolutely love playing this game with friends. Dead Island achieves a lot of things I have wanted to see in a multiplayer game for a long time, like being able to have multiple missions and being able to tackle them individually or together.  The game is far from linear, and the island is huge and wonderfully designed. It is amazing that you can be on one side of the island while a friend is on the other and there is virtually no lag during online multiplayer gameplay. You even have an idea of what they are doing in real time. The audio on this game is also great. The sounds of zombies breathing and groaning  and screaming keep me on the edge of my seat at all times. You never know when a zombie will attack. And the soundtrack is perfect and accompanies the game very nicely.

Another neat feature of multiplayer is the notification system that alerts you to when another person is playing and is at the same part of the story as you. It says, “John Doe is Nearby” and you are given the option to join them.

Multiplayer in this game is awesome because you really have to work as a team to survive. You can trade items you find with your friends, come up with strategies to complete missions, and explore the world together.

You can also join your friends games who are either further in the story or just getting started with the same character you’ve been playing with, which is awesome if you want to go with your Level 28 character on a zombie-smashing killing spree with your level 1 just-getting-started friend. Good for you, probably not so good for your friend…(see below in “What I don’t Like”)

Gameplay and Mechanics

So, I really get a sense of satisfaction from demolishing zombies in this game. I like the skill tree that they have and it really helps you to customize your character to the strengths you want them to have. And there is nothing like getting behind the wheel and mowing down zombies that are in your path.

The weapons and their attributes  work well in this game. As you start to learn what certain weapons do and how modifying them makes them stronger/weaker, you start to learn what works best for your zombie-killing tactics.

I truly love the survival aspect of this game. You are in a zombie apocalypse afterall, so finding whatever is lying around and using it as a weapon is pretty awesome, and I’m glad they didn’t make it easy to find bullets for guns, because in reality bullets don’t just magically spawn in, rain from the sky or grow on trees.

Weapons degrade with use, and you can always find a repair station to either repair/upgrade/modify your arsenal. Blueprints (or Mods) can be found throughout the city or are given to you as rewards for some missions. It is cheaper to repair a good weapon every once in a while than to wait for it to run down all the way before repairing it. Also, upgrading and modifying can improve durability along with other attributes of the weapon.

Another thing I like is that they kept the original Dead Island logo (with the zombie hanging from the tree – Pictured here.) in the actual game itself. There was a bunch of drama over this a while back that was not justified and they changed the logo from a corpse hanging from a palm tree to a zombie walking. I won’t get into the finer details, but I think it’s ridiculous that someone always finds something to complain about…

What I Don’t Like

Gameplay

I absolutely hate the spawning system! Not so much the fact that you have to pay money every time you die, but more of the fact that the game seems to spawn you sometimes randomly on the other side of the map. This can be quite annoying at times, but really doesn’t happen that much. But the fact that it does happen causes some frustration.

Multiplayer

There are times where you are watching a cut-scene and it skips ahead for some reason. It has only happened a couple of times for me, but when you are as invested in the story as I am, you hate to miss any small part of it. I don’t know exactly if this is because of online play or if it happens when playing alone for sure, but I would attribute it to a sync issue.

Being able to join a friends game regardless of what part of the story they are on with a character you have spent hours leveling up is both good and bad. The bad part is that say you are ahead of your friend by a great margin, you will be making easy work of zombies you encounter, maybe even go back and finish some side missions you missed in the beginning, and get more stuff, but your friend will be frustrated and struggling because they aren’t getting out of it what you are. The same can be said if you are the one behind and you join a game that has progressed significantly from where you are, not only will it be extremely hard for you to kill zombies, but you’ll also not get credit for any of the quests you complete. As annoying as that sounds, I don’t think they should change this, because if you know this and still want to play, it’s on you if you have a bad expereince, not the game.

There are other times where multiplayer can seem a bit buggy, again I think this is due to a sync issue. They recently patched the game for the first time and I have noticed online gameplay has significantly improved.

Character Classes

So one downside to me is the character classes. To be honest, I really don’t like the fact that they don’t have a different story all together. It kind of feels like no matter who you play with, you are getting the same game. The facts are that it really doesn’t make sense to have classes in this game because you are trying to survive, which means picking up anything you can find and using it as a weapon. So having someone who specializes in firearms for example, is great, but what good is that when you can’t find a gun or ammo isn’t plentiful? And while being a specialist at sharp weaponry is cool, when the majority of what you find is blunt weapons…

Dead Island Reminds Me Of…

Dead Island to me is like a combination of several games I have played and series I have watched and fell in love with. If you took Fallout 3, Dead Rising (which is where I think they got the idea for the weapons), Lost, Left 4 Dead (hello Infected?) and combined them into one game, I think this is what you would get, which to me is totally awesome!

Final Thoughts

Ever since the trailer was released I have been in love with this game. Patiently waiting for its release, I was overjoyed when playing Dead Island for the first time all of my expectations where met. If you are into zombie survival horror games and the genre and want an experience that will leave you wanting more, I definitely recommend getting this game.

Check out new footage released of about 2.5 minutes of gameplay for the next installment of Battlefield. These graphics are incredible! People look and move realistically, stunning environments, intense gun battles…I foresee the downfall of COD and welcome it with open arms…

Over 60 major tech and gaming publications announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would be announced next week. The reports gave details of the exact date and time as well as speculation surrounding the storyline and possible characters involved.

The only problem with the reports is that Activision is claiming they were all false.

From Activision: “There seems to be a great deal of speculation about the next Call of Duty project. Let me be clear that we are not revealing yet. Anything indicating otherwise is a hoax.”

A website was launched at FindMakarov.com with a brief flash of an unknown military character (pictured above) and a countdown clock. That’s it. In conjunction with this, the hoaxers sent a pair of dog tags to several gaming publications. One contained the URL and the phrase “End the War.” The other was for Lieutenant General Shepard the mastermind villain revealed in Modern Warfare 2.

If Activision did not pull this publicity stunt, who did? It’s rather elaborate considering that the hoax would only last a few hours before Activision revealed the truth…

…or did they?

Conspiracy theory time: what if it really was Activision that released the website and started the gaming media frenzy, but there was a miscommunication between them and a PR firm commissioned to pull off the stunt? Even more compelling – what if the complications between Activision and developers has spilled over to a delay that wasn’t known until the site was launched and the dog tags mailed?

Or, what if it’s just a prank?

Source – Techi

Visceral Games has announced that they are releasing the Severed DLC pack for Dead Space 2 on March 1, 2011 for both the North American Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation 3.

The 2 Chapter DLC will cost you 560 Microsoft Points ($6.99).

Source: Joystiq