Dead Island - The Game We All Wanted to Play That Never Existed

Dhruin

SasqWatch
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Remember that haunting Dead Island trailer from months back? GameFront writes about the lost opportunity with Dead Island not actually being the game from the trailer:
I’ve had numerous discussions with people about Dead Island, in real life, on Twitter and in the comments on my mixed review of the game. Some people love it. Some find it a waste of money. But I think we can all agree that whatever it was that captured our imaginations in that trailer is not what Dead Island is. Long ago, Techland even admitted that the family from the trailer didn’t appear in the game, although the parents have a weak, nonsensical cameo in the final game (you can find them dead, almost holding hands as if they froze to death together on the Titanic, in their hotel room right at the beginning).
But the disparity between the Dead Island trailer and the story it told, and the game as shipped, highlights a colossal missed opportunity as well as, in my mind, a voracious appetite among gamers that simply is not being sated. The Dead Island trailer wasn’t even presenting us with gameplay — only with the promise of a harrowing experience and a (zombie) horror story that wouldn’t pull any punches and didn’t go for camp.
More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
That's a real shame (no matter how many times I read such a comment), as the trailer was surprisingly stunning. I should not be surprised, however, as I always tend to not like what Deep Silver puts out (with very few exceptions).
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
594
Location
NH
I am so glad I never saw that trailer. That would have been massive disappoinment.

That trailer was one of the most brilliant pieces of filmmaking ever done for an upcoming game. Eveything was just perfect.

But it looks like the game does not even come close to the promise of that trailer. On the positve side perhaps we can get the guys who made the trailer to make a real world war Z film.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
1,762
Location
Los Angeles area
Couple of my friends have been playing this solidly for days. They're using words like "open world", "character build", "scavanger crafting", "sandbox", "co-op play"....

I'm gonna check it out when i get a chance.
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
2,974
Location
Australia
Dead State needs to hire the director of that trailer. At least then the game might match the expectations.

I had never heard of Dead State before that trailer and when I saw it for the first time I got a bit misty. I couldn't believe a trailer conveyed in a very short period of time the loss and hardship of that family.

After that my expectations went through the roof. Here I thought a Dead State like game was being made and I knew nothing about it. A zombie horror game where it focused on content rather than the usual nonsense.

Of course, my expectations were lowered quite a bit once I started seeing actual gameplay from the game. I was disappointed, but at least they were still trying for a sandbox game that might have been similar to Borderlands. They fell a bit short of that goal as well, but not by much, imo. I still think it is ten times better than Left4Dead or even Dead Rising so I'm happy enough with the end product. I just wish their trailer had matched the game in terms of story and content.

Oh well, there is still Dead State. Unfortunately I don't expect to see that one for another couple of years.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
Ever read Walking Dead? Ever read what they are doing over at Dead State? Sorry, but my bar for a "zombie drama" has been risen quite a bit.

If they went for more of a Fallout: NV style game then I could easily seeing this being a great story driven game in a unique setting.

I had not heard about Dead Island before that trailer so I had no idea what kind of game it was. All I knew was that trailer was great so I can totally understand what Gamefront is talking about.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
5,347
Location
Taiwan
Could not disagree less with the statements, I personaly never heard before about Project Zomboid, but be pure luck reading about it from the Dungeons of Dredmor blogs that the game was hacked, the first time I played the demo I liked a lot, the writing and the drama music, having such a role of husband in a family made me emerge quick in its apocalyptic world.
 
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
168
It was a good trailer, but whoever expects a "zombie drama" with superb direction in the coop FPS genre; wow, you have some really out-of-this-world big expectations.


I did but the co-op part is what ruined the single player campaign and story.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
This is what I posted on another forum after I had seen the trailer:

OMMAGAWD I NEED THIS NOW!! Open-world zombie game on a tropical island with 4-player co-op support, focussing on melee combat!?! OMMAGAWD OMMAGAWD!! :D

Save to say I was a bit disappointed when the game came out. ;) Maybe I should try it first before I slam it (in co-op, of course).
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,915
Location
The Netherlands
How different is this game from say left4dead? As soon as I heard about coop single I pushed the cancel order putton.

It's not really comparable to Left4Dead. The combat is mostly melee oriented, rather than the guns-only combat in L4D. It also features an open world instead of a series of maps. It's also not nearly as polished overall.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,129
Location
Florida, US
I was completely unimpressed by the trailer because imo it was a blatant attempt to be edgy and shocking. I am not one that is morally opposed to gore and violence in games. Actually, I don't like when FPS (yes I realize this is a hybrid)don't have blood. Ruins the immershun, I guess. I do not believe video games make people violent unless they are already suffering from some rather serious mental problems. But I think when you are depicting children being killed or maimed (as in the Dead Island trailer) -- no matter how fictional the situation is-- you're crossing the line and bad taste cheapens your efforts. This very issue with children in games and being able to hurt them has sparked some rather unsettling threads in various message boards, I'm hoping this board is the exception.

That said, I actually may buy the game because the setting intrigues me and I love zombie apocalypse themes. The mixed reviews say I should wait until it drops below the lofty $49.99 price tag.

This is about as preachy you'll ever see me get. I did think this way even before having a child of my own. Not trying to start anything, just my $0.02.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
491
Ever read Walking Dead? Ever read what they are doing over at Dead State?

I have. Have you ever played a coop FPS? I'm sorry but this game has always sounded like Borderlands mixed with L4D, the trailer didnt trick me into believing otherwise either. A helpful tip: watch in-game photage of games, almost no game in existance has lived up to its trailer. A trailer is an advertisement that says very little about the true nature of the product, i thought everyone knew that.

This could be a decent game if you could actually explore the entire island, instead you're greeted with a message that says you're leaving the playable area within a minute or two of exploring. Dear lazy, crap developers; if you set the game world on an island, let the water around it be the unplayable area, not parts of the island itself, duh.
 
Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
3,263
Location
The land of rape and honey
Just rewatched the trailer … and this is the game we got, instead of holding a little girl while the zombie horde creeps closer, you hold paddles/machetes/etc. Seems overblown to be pining for CGI bits that Techland left un/under-developed. Also seems overblown for everyone on the internet to hold this up as the game trailer equivalent to Citizen Kane.

The author of that article posted no real review, just expressed his disappoinment in the disconnect between the trailers release 8 months ago and the release this week.

I have 10:1 hours logged in DI over DXHR, so I may be biased.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
168
Location
PAC NW
Sorry, what's the game he wanted from the trailers? Throwing little girls out the window? Was it the emotional music? did he want it all backwards? In slow motion? cmooooon.

Sounds like he wanted to see THE MOVIE. I mean, what questions are left unanswered after the trailer anyway? How was the rest of the families holiday? How was the hotel? How did they enjoy the flight? Where did they send the kid when they wanted to do it? Wheres this lost opportunity!

Its a game about zombies not family life in a zombie apocalypse.
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
2,974
Location
Australia
The best monster movies are rarely about the monster. The monster is just a metaphor.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
6,027
The trailer was ok, but I'm not sure I get the hype and expectations based on it.

It was a typical zombie fest played in reverse with profound music. Maybe that was a nice touch, but something that's been done several times before in movies - and the subject matter isn't more profund because you set it to sad music.

I guess I just don't think too much of the whole zombie genre to begin with, and if I wanted to make a truly serious/tense game - I'd probably choose something slightly less ridiculous than the risen dead.

Not to say such a game couldn't work - and if done right, it would be a great subject matter. I've just not seen it done right as of yet.

The Walking Dead TV-series was ok, but people made too many seriously stupid mistakes - and the emphasis on gore doesn't appeal to me.
 
Back
Top Bottom