Dead Island - Coming September

Dhruin

SasqWatch
Joined
August 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
Falchor writes that if we follow Borderlands /2, we should also follow Dead Island. I don't think there's any doubt it's not actually an RPG but an open-world zombie game with RPG elements (and 4-player co-op) might be worth a look for some. Details at the official site and here's an old preview from Eurogamer:
And Dead Island revealed itself to have a hunger for stats as voracious as any of its stumbling horde's taste for flesh. Alongside being an open-world, first-person adventure and a four-player survival game, it's also a loot-happy RPG. In fact, it's unfair to call it a zombie game at all: Dead Island's more of a Frankenstein's monster, sewn together from ideas from the undead genre's prolonged flourish and brought to life with a little spark of Techland's own.
Its debt to Valve is told from the character selection onwards. Four playable characters are available, all drawn from crude clichés, endearingly patched together. There's Sam B, the former rapper who wakes drowsily from a heavy night to scenes of carnage at the game's outset, Xian Mei, a receptionist on the island, ex-pro footballer Logan and finally Pruna, the fourth character of which little has been revealed.
They're more than just colourful re-skins, and Dead Island's RPG credentials seep through each character's abilities. Sam B's the tank, able to soak up more damage but conversely attracting more of it, with more of that coveted flesh hanging off of his bulky frame, while Xian Mei is fleet-footed but more prone to damage. Logan, meanwhile, is an all-rounder, with Pruna a firearms expert.
More information.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
11,842
Location
Sydney, Australia
I actually pre-ordered the other day, but I have a zombie fetish. When is Dead State coming out? :p

I'm hoping Dead Island is alright, but it doesn't look like too much of an RPG. But also, thankfully, not too much of a shooter. 1st person melee, primarily, with a few guns with rare ammo, they say. I've read you play as one of four people, two male and two female, trapped in a really crappy tropical holiday — each of whom represents a different "class," or style of fighting. Think I read they each have three or four skill trees for character development. Haven't seen any player dialogue, just NPcs taking to you and you accepting or declining quests. Supposed to be an open world with vehicles to make zombies go splat in generous showers of infected wetness.

I'm hoping it will feed my zombie jones until Dead State blows my addled mind away. :p
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
4,813
This one is on my "get later for cheaper" list because I am assuming it is coop focused and thus the singleplayer will be lacking, like Borderlands.
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
1,830
At first it looked promising but then I noticed that they introduced "super zombies ala Left 4 Dead". A no-go for me. They should have stayed true to the zombie genre.

Btw, the first trailer was amazing. Much better than most movie trailers in fact.
 
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
999
Location
The Great White North
Yeah, I know what you mean about the "special attack" zombies. They were a pretty big disappointment to me, too, but it wasn't enough to overcome the zombie fetish. The regular shamblers are so much better, and I even liked the hard-charging runners. Despite my zombie fetish, I couldn't be bothered with Left 4 Dead. Also disappointing for me were the workbenches in Dead Island to make the sillier weapons, like a baseball bat with a circular saw on the end. A bat with nails I can live with, but I wish they had stuck to the idea of picking up random items, like cinder blocks and oars, which I guess you can still do.

The endless pandering to console kiddies is really getting on my nerves these days. Those damn kids better stay off my lawn, too, or I swear I'll turn the hose on them...

And, yes, that trailer is quite possibly the best game trailer I've seen. For those who might have missed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ialZcLaI17Y

These guys have some style, anyway. Hope it comes through in the game. That's what I dug about Troika. They always brought the style. Not to say these guys are Troika, but how I miss Troika. But I digress...

Cheers, folks. And please, for all our sakes, don't let your daughters be bitten by zombies...
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
4,813
I agree to an extent about the "super zombies". In the original L4D, while they were indeed there, they were used with some restraint. The frantic waves of track star zombies were a change from the shufflers, but it did indeed pump up the suspense and I think was ultimately a good thing. Then the super zombies would hit the scene, and it was a nice little challenge. I played the hell out of that game and liked it.

Left 4 Dead 2 was praised to the max, and while I initially liked it - it soon turned sour when every 5 seconds one of the super zombies were jumping out of nowhere and decimating the crew. It was just too much in my opinion.

We'll see how this game handles it tho, they could be on the right track if the super zombies are used well.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
I agree with DoctorNarrative. I'm going to buy this game when it's in the bargain bin. I also bought the cheap Goty version of Borderlands. It looked promising in the beginning, but losed its charm rapidly after a while. One thing the game did right is monster's levels are tied to the places. So you can't go anywhere you want.

According to the 20 minute video I watched on Youtube, Dead Island seems a decent action RPG. And this game looks more open in terms of world than Borderlands, which is a plus for me.

I also think variety in monsters are always good with a game like this that emphasise on killing things.
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
1,181
Location
Sigil
This one is on my "get later for cheaper" list because I am assuming it is coop focused and thus the singleplayer will be lacking, like Borderlands.

I love the singleplayer in Borderlands. I'm not a multiplayer gamer so I can't say anything about the co-op experience, but even though Borderlands SP definitely isn't for everyone (and the first 10-15 hours or so are less compelling than they should be), I think it's important to note that some of us really like the offline gameplay and overall structure of that game exactly for what it is.

As for Dead Island, I'm likewise on the "get for cheap later" team for now. I suspect DI's big problem could be its relative linearity compared to a game like Borderlands, since a less open-ended experience requires (among other things) much stronger level design, interesting dialogue/character interaction and more elaborate set pieces, and I'm not sure a decidedly B-level developer such as Techland can pull something like that off.

And the RPGness is not very strong in this game. I've been playing a bit of (the similarily themed) Dead Rising 2 lately and for all intents and purposes that's a proper roguelike (except with much less randomness), but Dead Island only seems to have marginally stronger RPG elements than a game like L4D.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
72
Location
Sweden
It gives the same type of 'RPG' feel a title like Boilingpoint had.

It feels similar to that title in other ways too.

My initial reaction is to also wait for it to be in the bargain bin, but it all depends on how soon I'm finished with Deus Ex:Human Resources (pun intended). It's pretty much the only title from September that I'm interested in.

I'm also catching up on some old adventure games so I might go for those instead to fill the gap between DE:HR and Rage.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
409
@xSamhainx
the hunter which jumped out of nowhere was still in left for dead 1 as was the smoker. the jockey is new but in my view is much less of a threat. also both games have always had the "siren call" rush of zombies that come running or the same when you set off a car alarm i believe is what you are talking about. otherwise most zombies do indeed just lurch around the game world. but honestly 1st person shooters kind of mean that you have to give zombies better tactics, although i hate it in the movies, as we are a far cry from the original resident evil games where restricted cameras and controls were a zombies best ally. i'm not a huge fan of either game but they are fun every once in a while, and with no commitment to character development in any way its easy to play it for an hour or so when the mood suits and just as easy to go play something else.

i imagine the 2 games will have little in common despite the obvious, with one having character development and being open world and the other "on-rails"
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
1,386
Location
California
Well, as often seen in The Walking Dead comics and other zombie media the biggest threat are other humans. Zombies are just the ever present threat that drives humans to act uncivilized and forget the rules/values of modern society. From what I've read Dead State will get this right. If you stick to that then you don't need "super zombies".
 
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
999
Location
The Great White North
Curious - I know that the constant threat of the Hunter and such were there in L4D original as well as sequel, but in the sequel they just seemed far more frequent to me.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
Back
Top Bottom