Dead Island
By Techland, Deep Silver
Genre: First-person survival horror RPG
Multiplayer: up to 4 players!
Rating: Mature for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
The beautiful tropical island resort of Banoi has recently gotten a whole lot deadlier…
The relentless hordes of the undead have somehow cropped up here on this paradise, and as one of four survivors who are somehow immune to the infection, you are sent out to secure resources and eventually a way off the beleaguered island.
As a tropical resort usually doesn’t have firearms everywhere, you’ll have to find melee weapons with which to bash, slash and dismember your shambling, ravenous foes. They don’t last long with repeated strikes, but you can repair and upgrade them so they can do more damage, as well as make whole new ones out of existing materials with blueprints, usually given as rewards for quests.
And the quests! Many of them will be given, which send you all around the island, whether in vehicles you find or on foot, and they range from simple fetch quests, to rescue, to annihilation of a small segment of the zombie horde. You won’t lack for things to do, though, as simply exploring has its own rewards.
The people you deal with can sometimes be annoying; voice acting is not always up to par, and incomplete facial animation sometimes knocks the human NPCs right into the middle of the Uncanny Valley. But you can still get what you need to make your way around the island and put those poor souls down.
A word about the pre-release trailers for this game; the first one is probably the most poignant, tear-jerking piece of marketing for a game I’ve ever seen. It’s a good example of what happened on Banoi before you arrived, but I should warn you; if you’re easily depressed, please stay away from it. It involves a rather young girl’s “zombification” and her rampage before she’s thrown out a window; half of the video is in reverse slow motion, bringing a surreal quality that, I believe, carries over to the game nicely.
Fortunately, there are no minors in the game itself, but the graphics are simply amazing, truly evoking the splendor and restfulness of a peaceful beach resort; that is, until a zombie bears down on you with teeth bared and arms flailing. From palm trees, water reflections and detailed animations to the shockingly realistic gore on the zombies, this game delivers on all fronts.
There was an issue with multiplayer upon launch, and a rather embarrassing snafu with the PC version being the development version for a short time, but that’s all fixed now; and I highly recommend this game to everyone! Five out of five!