Too busy to devote 12+ hours a day to your gaming habit? Here's a review that's sensitive to your needs: Short and focused on just the things that a busy gamer like you really needs to know.
Reviewed On: Xbox 360. Also available for PC and PS3.
In a Nutshell: Slather on some sunscreen and grab a machete - it's time to play: ZOMBIES! IN! PARADISE!
The game is a first-person shooter/basher with role-playing elements set in Banoi, an island just off the coast of Papua New Guinea that's home to sandy beaches, lush jungles and a whole lot of people who tend to get bite-y around those with heartbeats and BRAIINNZZZ.
Learning Curve: There are four playable characters in the game: two women, two men. All have the same basic dialogue, quests and interactions with the locals, both alive and undead. The only difference is the voice and the initial strength and talents of each individual. The voice acting is universally bad, sure, but it has a certain B movie charm to it.
Everyone begins the adventure by awaking in a ritzy hotel room, unaware of what's happened. This innocence makes the natural tendency to loot almost laughable. I'd like to think most people don't just walk up to luggage racks and help themselves to the deodorant, wires and gears we all take on vacation.
After a brief training run - which literally ends with the character fleeing for his/her life - the real fun begins. From here, it becomes a classic open-world RPG, albeit one riddled with zombies. You will inevitably run into survivors (or clues from survivors) leading to quests that somehow you and only you can handle. Wander too far off course, and some upper-level zombies will put you back in your place. Like most RPGs, it's best to complete some low-level tasks early, level up, and then begin wandering in earnest. And you will want to wander. The island is simply beautiful, with plenty of areas to explore and doors to break down. Vehicle driving is very satisfying once you get the hang of the right-hand steering wheel, and even the rare escort mission proves to be pretty fun.
The game is exclusively melee for the first few chapters, at which time a gun is provided. If you have strong melee skills, you will have little trouble with the early game. The guns come with extremely limited ammo - in one case, I had a single bullet - which makes mastering firearms almost impossible at first.
Figuring out what to do in each quest is almost insultingly easy. A map guides you directly to your selected destination in most cases and quest lines are updated regularly with what to do. There are some exceptions, however. A few quest lines are given to you without map points (see the airplane), while other side quests rely on you to take personal notes. For example, SOS calls that can be heard in certain locations around the island.
The main quest is relatively predictable, but the side missions provide a level of quirkiness that keeps the game interesting. They can also be maddening. Just plug in the term "where is the plane" to any search engine and you'll see what I mean. (By the way, where IS the damn plane?!)
The level tree provides some tough choices for novice players. Those who already know their preferred style (e.g., guns versus melee) will be able to get a feel for where to spend points relatively quickly though. I recommend investing in the Health perk that reduces the cost of resurrection - dying becomes increasingly common, and more expensive, later in the game.
The Save Game: The game auto-saves on a pretty regular basis: when entering new locations, accepting missions, and completing quests. You cannot save on demand, and there will inevitably be times when you think that you just saved but find you've lost some progress the next time you reload. Given the extremely gory nature of the game and the unpredictability of the save system, it may be best to reserve this one for times you don't expect to be interrupted by small children.
Family Factor: Zero. This is a very violent, scary game. Adults only need apply.
Buy, Rent or Skip? A definite buy for hard-core zombie fans! Others may want to rent to get a sense of gameplay first. You can easily complete a chapter (or two) in a reasonable rental period, at which point you will be able to determine if this is something you wish to continue. Hint: It really starts to get good in Chapter 3!
On a Personal Note:
Like Dead Rising, odds are you will either love Dead Island or hate it. As a huge Dead Rising fan, it's hard for me to judge how others will approach it. To me, the game is about finding new and bizarre ways to hack away at zombies while exploring. Many of the missions have been over-the-top easy, making me appreciate the difficult ones even more. A solid quest system has consistently and accurately rated missions (Easy to Very Difficult) while also giving me a quick rundown of what's involved and the reward, making it easy to determine what I want to do and when.
The actual missions vary wildly in enjoyment, but all have been do-able to some extent. Unlike some games, this one has not made me want to throw my controller at the television. While that's not the strongest endorsement ever, it does say a lot about a game that could have easily turned into Dead Rising: Club Med.
You may have noticed, I love survival horror games and zombie games in general. The Dead Island teaser video released earlier this year was the first time I was emotionally touched by a story told within the genre, however. I have read that the family is buried (so to speak) somewhere in the game, but have not yet found them.
I'm not sure how I will react if I do trip over them. I do know one thing, however.
I will not be giving the zombie girl a piggyback ride.
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