Dead Island Riptide Previews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on March 18th, 2013

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In this way the majority of combat is melee-based, yet developers Techland are keen to stress that gunplay will play a larger part in the action. To this end we're promised a revamped targeting system, more durable weapons and more plentiful ammo. New character John is a soldier and the existing survivors are now better versed in combat, all of which lends itself to the sense of ramped up violence of the game.

Despite this, however, our short demo had little in the way of gunplay. Indeed, the nearest we got was using a flare gun to explode some oil barrels, destroying a bridge from which hordes of zombies were flooding into the survivor's camp.

This explosive set-piece came towards the end of a section in which we were asked to hold off against waves of attackers; fighting off enemies, rescuing friends and patching up the camp's defences. These '˜hub defence' sections promise to be scattered throughout the game, an attempt to offer a little gameplay variation.

The combat has had its own additional spit and polish, with melee combat still front and centre. You'll see your favourite electricity and heat-based mods returning, mixed in with fresh twists like the Barbecue mod's blowtorch augmented blade everyone loves the smell of burning zombie flesh.

One of the biggest changes to combat is the overhaul which guns are getting. Previously ammo was too scarce, the variety in weaponry too small, and I personally found the guns a bit weak compared to a good stab in the eye socket, but all of these elements should be boosted quite a bit in Riptide.

I got to briefly muck about with fun new guns like the nail gun and flare gun, the former with retrievable nails, and the latter naturally setting zombies alight. Gun play should definitely be a more valid and appealing option, even as the game keeps a firm focus on the melee.

Riptide's world is large but its drive is still pretty linear. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot more open than most shooters and linearity isn't always bad, but the gap between destinations isn't quite big enough to hide the fact that you're still moving from A and B.

Taking place directly after the prologue, what I played was very early on so that may change. However, on the evidence of the later portion of the game we were shown it may not.

In chapter 8 the player (or players) must clear out a small town so a ground of survivors can move through. It's here that we see some of the better improvements made to Riptide.

The first thing that's noticeable is that the environments are more vertical. Up on the rooftops zombies are few and far between, giving an almost eerie silence that hangs in the air. Below is a different affair, it's where the hoard lurks, but it's also where the best booty is to be found.

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