Dead Island Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on September 11th, 2011

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Dead Island is a decent game with a great premise behind it: A huge, Zombie-filled, open-world with a tropical island setting, that you're able to explore with friends. Throw in an endless supply of Zombies aiming to kill you at every moment, and the devs would have had to really fuck things up for the game not to be fun. However, technical issues and some repetitiveness keep it from being labeled as great.

Dead Island is a game that tries to do too much and pays the price in the end for not doing anything exceptionally well. Resources that were spread far and wide across the game's many systems and nuances, probably could have been better used to focus on at least one aspect of the game in which Techland could hang its hat. Sadly, this is not the case. Busted systems, questionable combat, and a storyline that can lull you to sleep times, left me wanting more from the game. That's not to say there isn't some level of enjoyment to be had with Dead Island. The character progression and the creative aspects of the game do offer some reprieve from the monotony, it's just not enough to overcome some of the game's glaring deficiencies.

To paint Dead Island as some kind of digital equivalent to a charismatic B-movie would be too kind. Its shortcomings are not kitsch or charming, and this hammy dialogue will certainly not grant it cult status, but the fact remains that the gameplay itself, backed up by a tidy quests structure, is highly entertaining. Proceed with caution then, but don't write Dead Island off altogether as a destination for escapism.

While Dead Island isn't a flawless experience, I still had a lot of fun with it. It's pretty much the zombie game I had been hoping for, and I'm glad that somebody tackled this open world setting for this particular horror sub-genre. I wish it exuded just a little more polish, and I'll end up raging pretty bad if I ever lose my save like a few other unfortunate souls, but as of now I'm having a good time with it. It was certainly worth the $60 I paid (no review copy on this one), and I'd suggest it to anyone that enjoys either zombie flicks or open world adventure. It mixes a lot of the best elements between the two, and I hope to see more games like it with just a little more refinement in the future.

Dead Island is yet another example of a great concept gone awry.

What was a game with limitless potential ended up being a title bogged down under poor design while having a plethora of technical issues, weightless writing and ungratifying gameplay.

Dead Island is a game that you buy for half price during the Steam sales and thoroughly enjoy; paying full price for this game is only recommended for those who enjoy wasting money.

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