So, zombie games are everywhere now and more on the way right? It seems so. Most of my zombie game time had been spent playing the left 4 dead series and that was some epicness everyone should have a try at. Other than that, the other super popular zombie game (coop style) is the add on game type for the Call of Duty game series. I did play this game mode for WAW, but it didn’t have the same appeal as L4D. I did try out Dead Rising once, but it was after I had tried L4D games and it just had no appeal at that point. I explain all this because I want to give a slight background on how I came into playing Dead Island and what my expectations were for this game.
After spending massive hours in left 4 dead, not only for the fun, but because I was also adamant on chasing down 100% achievement completion in both games, I figured I was done w/ zombie games. What else can be made for us to play that generates that sense of appeal and coop? I had seen the amazing trailer for Dead Island, and wow, that was a great way to me my attention focused on the game’s release. Later I was able to see live gameplay at PAX in Seattle, but….it didn’t really impress me. At first glance, the first person view of 2 hands showing on screen and then the rigid mechanical motion of swinging at zombies turned me off a bit. This style was highly used in the Fallout games, and I think it even persists to Skryim. I’m not a fan of it as I think we can build smoother more attractive animation motions in game now (ie: BF3 characters jumping over obstacles) I hope all this makes sense to readers. The game, Dead Island, also released to a slew of hate spam because of game glitches and issues. That did not help the games reputation out of the gate.
HOWEVER, I still had interest in the game itself and after hearing how a friend really enjoyed it, I decided to rent a copy from my local Redbox and see how it went. I’ll just say it now, Wow, this game is great. It does start off a bit slow as you play a character and they realize the circumstances they are in and what is going on around them, but once you’re familiar with all that and start your quests, this game just takes off.
I cannot relate this game to anything else I’ve played in the past except…possibly Dead Space. The ambiance (visual and audio) really make this game have an amazingly creepy lonesome feel to it. (I can't stress enough in my game play experience how well designed audio can make or break the experience of a game.) Yes, you can play the game in coop, but on your own, it’s a totally different experience to me. You do not have a barrage of guns and unlimited ammo, it’s just your natural attack (kick or punch) and any possible weapon you can find and pick up, typically some blunt melee or sharp slicing object. The motion mechanics are a bit clunky, but you get over that REAL fast once you come face to face with your first zombie. Whether you get surprise attacked by a zombie or you see it coming, this is no cut and dry combat. These zombies are built tough. They take a few whacks and they will fight back. Most zombies are typical peons and can be swatted around fairly easily on an individual basis, but when a group clusters up near you, it’s best to just run away or set up the fight to your advantage (use in game obstacles to bottleneck them). The real fun to me is running into the “brute” zombies. You can typically hear them roaring in the distance, so you know they are coming up soon. When you find them, their gait reminds me of a gorilla, tall lurking hulks that move deceptively slowly, but if you get close they will crush you with 1 swing of their arms. They do not instantly kill you, but will really put you in pain to the point that you have to decide to continue the risk of dealing with them or moving on. You get big XP bonuses for finishing them off though.
As the game progresses you move into new areas of the island. You can also build a sense of how this game relates to past gaming experiences. My best summation is that Dead Island has the RPG elements of Fallout, you scavenge the hell out of everything you come across, it includes the open world that you can choose to explore any way you like, and also adds a small flare of GTA type stuff to it too. You can drive vehicles you find; these help you get around faster but can also let you crash through zombies to take them out if they are in your way. The addition to play in coop is awesome. When you add up to 3 friends, or other random players in game, it quickly changes your experience but depends on how you perceive the game. In coop, it’s a ton of fun to work as a pack and move through areas. If you happen upon zombies, the coop bashing on them is hilariously fun. However, the drawback I found to the game is that sometimes it seems like I do not receive credit for some quests, either because I’ve not unlocked them yet, I’m not leveled up enough, or I just don’t know how to indicate in game that I want to complete a task specifically in my menu. This is likely an ignorance on my part and in no way takes away from the gameplay and fun. At worst it just means I may need to replay some quests to keep the XP and completion status. Also, in coop, I lose the sense of immediate danger since the pace of the game changes with more people. Sometimes it feels too rushed that we don't have the sense of fear anymore and we just try to plow through everything.
A few drawbacks to the game, in my personal opinion, are that the game goes for realism, however the design of pick up items is easily predictable. When you explore you can find that an item you picked up earlier is replaced by a new item, or the same, in the exact same spot. I do understand that this is to help players, but to be completely immersive, I would rather have this be more real such that if I really run out of stuff, then I have to deal with these consequences. On this same note, there are a few places in game where vehicles always spawn brand new for you. If I took that car earlier in game and ruined it and left it elsewhere, I can count on it respawning at its home location each time. I would have preferred them be 1 time use only just for the realism.
Some good pluses though are actually in combat. As you melee enemies, or even shoot them, it’s great seeing the blood fly, and hear the crack or slash of body parts. If you’re using blunt weapons and hammering on a brute zombie, you’ll hear a bone break then notice that the arm is now dangling by its side and is no longer useful to it. If you’ve got a cutting weapon you can aim your hacks and slice off appendages for fun or just go for the kill and take off the head. It’s the small things that count and they do them well in this game. The pro’s and experience overall for this game GREATLY outweigh any negative design elements or bugs for this game.
Zombies have been a bit played out these days. The Walking Dead is in full swing of season 2 and even though this show has gone mainstream, I find it very enjoyable and watching an episodes gives me the urge to play Dead Island right after so I can wander around and use my imagination to vicariously live the adventure as my own fantasy.
I’m only half way through the game and I look forward to it every time I put in the disc. I’m spending a lot of my time on side missions mixing it up w/ random exploring and sometimes just being the mood to battle a posse of zombies wandering the streets. I’m taking my immersive experience that Battlefield has done so well, and when I take that mindset into this game I get the same gratification.
Overall, I picked up this game during a holiday sale and paid about $40 for it. DEFINITELY worth it for this price or less. It may even be worth full price if you love zombies and plan to replay the game with each of the 4 characters. Each character brings their own special abilities, but the story won’t change in replay. Maybe one day we can get a game just like this but is more dynamic in events and missions to keep the lasting appeal going.
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