Dhruin
SasqWatch
Here's are three more Dead Island reviews. The scores seem to have settled a little but "fun" is still a common term.
Jim Sterling at Destructoid, with 7/10:
Jim Sterling at Destructoid, with 7/10:
More information.In stark contrast to the game's marketing, Dead Island isn't much for exposition. Although there's a somewhat basic story, punctuated with occasional cutscenes, the vast majority of time revolves around a single motivation -- you're trapped on a resort island full of zombies, and you have to kill them all, while completing inane quests and looking for a way off the rock. Every now and then, Dead Island will try to tug at the heartstrings with an "emotional" moment, but the characters are so one-dimensional and the dialog so forced that these serious sequences are laughable at best. Those looking for a decent story will have to go elsewhere because Dead Island's writers make only the most token of efforts.
What we're left with is a game that is, essentially, Borderlands with zombies. The class-based leveling system, implementation of upgrades, mission structure and level exploration are ripped wholesale from Gearbox's critically acclaimed game. It's a strange experience that attempts to blend realism and roleplaying together. On the one hand, your characters have low defense and are forced to fight with weapons that easily break. On the other, you're ransacking treasure chests for loot and creating axes wreathed in flame or rifles that shoot toxic bullets.