Dead Island Previews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on July 12th, 2011

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For anyone that has not seen anything of Dead Island since that trailer, the most important thing to take away is that this is not the straight action game many originally believed it to be. At its core this is a stat-heavy RPG with an emphasis on teamwork, optional questing and levelling up. Anyone looking for the next Left 4 Dead should look away now; anyone looking for something closer to Fallout: Zombies should continue full steam ahead.

There's no more of an obvious hint towards the game's true nature than the '˜workbench.' The workbench allows you to repair, upgrade and forge new weapons, just like in Fallout. Dead Island's creatable arsenal is somewhat less fantastical than that which can be crafted on the work surfaces of the Wasteland but, no less creative and satisfyingly rooted in inflicting the maximum amount of pain.

Given Logan's talent for throwing things at high speed with Robin Hood grade accuracy, our first course of action is to create a healthy number of explosive knives which blow-up after a short delay upon contact with an enemy. Because we couldn't help ourselves, we also crafted a '˜Shock Mod' for our machete (Machete + Wire + Battery + Duct Tape) with which we could stun the enemy and sneak ourselves a few seconds respite from their hunger driven onslaught. Before you can create weapons you need to be in possession of the blueprints, so scouting areas thoroughly is a must for any budding DIY weaponsmiths.

Weapons come equipped with their own damage, force, durability, handling and (for guns) rounds per minute stats. Upgrading and customising weapons alters these stats, so it's important to keep an eye on what you're doing in terms of upgrading their performance rather than just their visuals and/or abilities (for example, electric shocks may be nice but your money might be better spent on improving your machete's damage rating). It's also worth noting that players can exchange weapons and items at any time between one another, removing any tedious need to leave pick-ups on the ground for your friends to find.

The Skill Tree If you've played Borderlands, think that system but with more options and move on. If you've never played Borderlands, then there are three categories (Fury, Combat, and Survival) which match up to strength, weapon efficiency and health bonuses. Every time you kill an enemy, it contributes towards an achievement, complete an objective or mission and pick a lock, you get XP which helps you level up and build up your Skill Tree as you see fit. It's one of the strongest RPG elements in the game and I think it's long overdue in a zombie-based survival game.

The Playable Characters We've already mentioned that each character has different skill possibilities and different special attacks, but the one that caught me off guard was that the zombies react differently to every playable character. For example, I was randomly selected to be '˜Sam B' who apparently is the most favoured between the zombies because he is big and well built and therefore looks like a T-Bone steak on legs to them. Some of the smaller, female characters however will be happily thrown aside by standard zombies to get their bloody hands on my sweet tender-loin of a right bicep. I found that a beautiful little touch because it not only adds a tiny bit of depth to each character but throws in another strategic element in as well when you're playing with some buddies. Speaking of which: buddies of the future I play this game with I am NOT, EVER, being Sam B.

Weapons Vague title, no? However a game mechanic which I definitely feel is worth mentioning. Weapons appear on the map, are randomly generated for both stats and weapon type, and are even named based on how awesome they are compared to other weapons you have available. Hence why, out of seemingly nowhere, I ended up with an axe with the power of Mjolnir called '˜Weak Ultimate Viking Lancer Axe,' or words to that effect. This made me really, really happy and proud to hold in my virtual hands.

The mission that we played from the game's eighth chapter and entitled '˜No Good Deed' involved the four of us having to place a small handful of posters around town to inform a bearded man's missing family who'd only recently vanished that their father was alright and where he could be found. Waypoint markers helpfully explain where each board is located, and although there are multiple pathways to each objective, straying from the waypoint line (your HUD map can be switched off if you're feeling really ballsy) is even less advisable than straying from your teammates.

Each of the four characters have very different attributes; and one character can basically be used as a zombie magnet when the situation demands. Some (but not all) of the zombies tend to be more attracted to one of your number than the rest of you, and this gifts the game with some very enjoyable moments where synergy is absolutely mandatory. To take down a rushing, Tank-like behemoth whose speciality involved running at our partner at full speed, we stood back whilst our teammate used the side-step move (which intuitively utilises the standard jump button) to grant us access to his assailant's back.

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