Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

If you've ever heard of zombie based games whether it be the zombie's mode from Call of Duty or the left for dead games or any other one out there on the market Dead Island is yet another entry into the market. However unlike other zombie games out there Dead Island is a different kind of zombie game with a focus on first person melee combat and with RPG like elements thrown into the mix. The story of Dead Island finds you taking on the role of 1 of 4 unique characters. However all of these characters all start off as guests on what is supposed to be a luxury resort island with their end goal being to get heck out of dodge after a zombie outbreak. Dead Island takes strides in that it asks a simple question. What if the zombie outbreak happened tomorrow and you didn't have access to a gun right away? This premise is a nice break from the normal blast the zombies' heads off with your gun of choice routine.

On the graphics side Dead Island is for the most part pretty darn good but it does have its hiccups along the way. For Starters some areas look fantastic with loads of detail and lots and lots of blood everywhere. Heck even zombies arms and heads can be cut off in grizzly fashion. However on the downside textures and alike sometimes take a few seconds to pop in and not all the character models could be considered best in class.

As for gameplay Dead Island is pretty good with a focus on melee combat. The melee combat system works pretty well in that it is fairly basic as you have to take into account your weapons range as to get close but not too close so that the zombies can deal damage to you. If you're feeling like you're in a bit of a pinch or there's too many for you take on one at a time then you can always just throw your melee weapon at them. As you progress you'll level up and earn skill points that you can use to spec out your character as you see fit. However by the time guns are introduced they're going to be against non zombie foes. Other survivors if you will that are simply going by the law of jungle so to speak. The shooting itself is pretty generic with the reload button feeling a bit out of the norm but not enough to be a hindrance. At the same time the Island itself is big and over the course of your adventure you visit various regions of it.

Dead Island's multiplayer is unfortunately limited to just co-op with no player VS player. However if you just want to play single player without anyone else you can turn off the function from the character menu under play from the main menu.

On a side note if you choose to get Dead Island you should be aware that it comes in two versions. Your standard issue version and a game of the year edition which includes all the DLC released on the disc. Furthermore the game of the year edition does not need to download any updates as it comes preloaded with all updates already on the game disc.

Overall Dead Island is a unique first person game that tries something new with the zombie formula and its result is an experience that really helps separate itself from the other zombie games out there on the market.