Dead Island Previews and Interview

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on June 10th, 2011

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The characters can be broken down into some basic class types. Logan is the "jack of all trades" and can support the team with stat boosting shouts. Xian Mei is the rogue, specializing in pointy weapons and can even gain a backstab ability later on. Sam B. is the tank and is designed to collect undead aggro. Finally, Purna is the "mage" or "hunter," the only character proficient in guns, who is supposed to stand back and pew-pew from afar.

I played as Sam B. during my preview. However, without messing around with the class tree or having any real knowledge that I was supposed to play the "tank" role, the whole experience felt more like Left 4 Dead. Our job was to leave the Church safehouse and put up some posters, but I was just a tag-a-long on the quest. In the end I think I completed the quest, but without actually interacting with the other three players verbally, I just followed the one person who grabbed the quest and pushed foward by punching, stabbing and beating any zombies that crossed our path.

It's pretty easy to tell that Dead Island will have less of that Left 4 Dead arcade experience and feel more like a Borderlands style RPG once you're playing with real friends, coordinating skill trees and actually having a care for the other members of the party.

Unlike some horror-themed videos games where co-op actually gets in the way of delivering terror and suspense since the threat of death (and being all alone) is significantly diminished, Dead Island's co-op actually boosts the number of zombie aggressors if you're playing the game with four people.

At one point I foolishly wandered far away from my fellow survivors and was instantly devoured a pack of zombies. This forces you to work together, and keep zombies off each other's backs.

Working together with your teammates works in your favor as you can do things like lure the beefier straightjacketed zombies with one player, while another player sinks their machete into its spine, which happens to be its weak spot.

Ever since its teaser trailer, people have been wondering just exactly what type of game Dead Island would be. The brief demo on the show floor didn't unveil all of the game's secrets, but we've played enough to know it's something special. In short, it's Dead Rising meets Fallout 3 on a scenic island. You take on missions (some optional, some required), savage items scattered about and beat the living hell out of zombies along your way. It's the game's tone and attention to detail that sets it apart, however.

The combat and focus on melee weapons is similar to Dead Rising. You pick up paddles, cleavers and other items you come across in the game's world and use them to defend yourself. You can kick zombies, as well as attack directly or by throwing your weapon (which you then have to retrieve). From the first encounter on, the fights against the game's undead are horrifying. The way they latch on you to made me squirm. They grab a hold and nibble on you, until you shake them off with the triggers. They occasionally knock you down with a heavy attack, giving an opportunity for more zombies to gather round. Instead of running through hordes and knowing them down, I often chose to evade and fight strategically. This was partly out of fear, but the game's fatigue system also factored in the decision.

With limited hands on time, there was only brief moments I was able to check out the character progression skill tree and quest system, similar to what you'd expect from an MMO or RPG. I did, however, take an ability, when leveling up, that progressed my female heroine's damage when wielding a bladed weapon. Lucky for me I found a cleaver and a hatchet that both gained damage bonuses. Zombie's heads went flying. Progression through gaining money for quests, unlocking power-ups and buying new items will keep your character growing stronger and more apt to survive the zombie onslaught, while staying in reason and keeping you cautious since once again you are only just a human.

It purports to offer a tantalising co-op experience, which is what's been showed off a little at this week's E3 Expo. Up to four players can drop in or drop out of the world, choosing whether to take on the same tasks co-operatively or go about their own business. It looks set to offer some added depth of play, but it's nothing hugely impressive in this day and age.

That's where it could all fall down. Dead Island may find itself suffering thanks to consumer backlash alone, but beneath that, at its heart, it's all old ideas and execution. No game sells because it's using the same design gimmicks proven in other successful releases; it's because there's something to it that we want to experience that we can't find elsewhere. Dead Island may offer something new, but it's put together from the same parts we've grown used to over years of gaming over several franchises.

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