Dead Island - Wrong Version Released and More

Dhruin

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There's quite a bit of Dead Island news about, not least is the admission that the wrong version was uploaded to Steam - it seems the current NA release is actually a dev build (for example, noclip is bound to the 'y' key). From Gamasutra:
Deep Silver has acknowledged that it accidentally released an "incorrect version" of apocalyptic zombie shooter Dead Island on the North American Steam service, pledging to patch the title as quickly as possible.

Early players and reviewers have reported widespread technical problems with the title, including game freezes and crashes, graphical issues, and odd in-game behavior such as the ability to walk through walls.

"We deeply regret that an incorrect version of Dead Island was inadvertently made available to players on Steam launch in North America," Deep Silver spokesperson Aubrey Norris told Gamasutra.
Apparently the correct version will be loaded up "asap" and the international launch on Friday will be correct. Separate to this is a release-day patch with 37 fixes (presumably meant to apply to the "correct" version).
Moving on, here are some reviews courtesy of Blue's.
GameSpot's score is 7/10 and here's an early excerpt:
Much like its once-idyllic location, Dead Island isn't as it first appears. It's got zombies in it, but it's not a survival horror game. It's played in a first-person perspective and has shooting, but it's not a first-person shooter. And whatever that slow-motion trailer would have you believe, it's not a stirring emotional experience. Dead Island is a schlocky, open-world action role-playing game that favours grisly melee combat above all things.
Dead Island's expansive sandbox setting spreads inland, beyond the Royal Palms Resort into city and jungle environments. Its RPG nature is clear in the prominence of quests, doled out by harrowed survivors in the makeshift shelters that form quest hubs. Similarly prominent are RPG staples such as talent trees and numbers, always the numbers: levels, weapon stats, damage, and experience point scores popping out of enemies as you hack away. There are also satisfyingly vicious weapons to be improvised, upgraded, and creatively modded, and a robust online system supports the four-player co-op in which the game is best enjoyed.
Moving on, IGN asks Is It Fallout or Borderlands?, although they just talk about the game in general:
Stephanie Lee: Yeah, the graphics are different, but Dead Island has a way of creating that sort of deceptively idyllic atmosphere and then drops a bunch of rabid zombies on your ass, making you fight for your life.

And, as I said, it's way more Borderlands than Fallout. Borderlands was a game about looting, and Dead Island feels similar. Lots and lots of looting normal items, and, of course, super-awesome weapons. And like Borderlands (and the games that inspired it), the weapons are color-coded based on rarity of the item. And THEN, you have the added depth of weapons durability, upgrading, and crafting a la Dead Rising.

Greg Miller: WHATEVER. Fallout was all about looting. I looted so many boxes. So much cola.
More information.
 
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Mine unlocked unexpectedly (AU - expected it Friday) and it certainly has quirks, rough edges and ordinary port written all over it - but I'm not seeing anything "broken" in the early parts of the game. What should I expect?
 
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Mine unlocked unexpectedly (AU - expected it Friday) and it certainly has quirks, rough edges and ordinary port written all over it - but I'm not seeing anything "broken" in the early parts of the game. What should I expect?

Quests tracking not to always work, possible clipping if you hit the wrong button, save games corrupted if you had them from before. I played a little last night after midnight, but am hesitant to play until the "actual" version is released on steam
 
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Also, the save games you create on this version may not work when we're able to download the actual version.
 
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I'm not sure if I've ever heard of this type of situation happening before… Does anyone remember another case of the 'wrong version' of a game being released? It's certainly very odd and a bit sloppy/unprofessional to say the least. I'd imagine that someone is going to be in a bit of trouble at the office.
 
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Ultima IX: Ascension.

Wasn't Ultima IX mostly just incomplete and bug-ridden though? I've never played it myself and don't know much else beyond the state of the game immediately after its initial release.
 
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I think hishadow was being a little sarcastic. :)

That's what i assumed, but since I don't know much about Ultima 9 aside from its poor reception and general bugginess, I had to double check :)
 
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...numbers, always the numbers: levels, weapon stats, damage, and experience point scores popping out of enemies as you hack away. There are also satisfyingly vicious weapons...

The state of the gaming press, in a nutshell
 
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Releasing the wrong version (and a "dev" version, at that) is about the worst thing a developer can do when publishing a digital copy to Steam. Unbelievable. I was quite looking forward to this game too, but I'll have to wait a bit for bug-squashing it seems. Gameplay-wise, it sounds like it has enough RPG elements and sandbox exploration to keep me interested. I just hope they are given a proper patching budget.
 
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Just to sum up, it looks like the 'final' release version is now available. They released 2 small patches (the largest was 76mb) which addressed a few issues and took out the developer no-clip mode and some other junk code. While I am sure there will be more patches (hopefully) the version you get now on Steam appears to be the intended release.

My impressions aren't quite as doom and gloom as some, although the developer was certainly disingenuous at best about this being a PC game. It is clearly a port from the XBOX version, right down to references to the controller, menus, etc.

Graphics are decent but don't expect too much. Textures in particular vary from okay to really bad. There are minimal settings available; however I was able to tweak the graphics to acceptable levels and performance using guides from the Steam forums. Many are unhappy with no FOV: I would prefer increasing it on my 1920x1200, but the 60 degree does add to the claustrophobic feel of gameplay so I can't fault it too much.

Combat is fun and hectic, particularly melee which is what you do most of. RPG elements are there, along the lines of 'Fallout 3 lite' maybe. Story is typical B-Movie Zombie fare, which is fitting.

Haven't tried multi-player, don't care much about it honestly.

Game is fun so far, but if you are on the fence I'd wait for a few patches before diving in. I'm enjoying it in small doses.
 
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