Official Xbox Magazine has shared the first screenshot and details for Dead Island: Riptide.
The screenshot above shows a two characters escaping some zombies on a motorboat, a new transportation mode available in the sequel. This motorboat acts as a weapon as well, with the ability to dice up zombie bodies whilst travelling through the water. A bit like running them over in the cars available in the first game. Dead Island: Riptide will be set in a different part of the tropical island setting of Banoi that we saw in the previous game. Also, all four characters in the first game will be back once again. Players will be able to import their character from Dead Island into Riptide, so perhaps all weapon customisations and stats will be available too? As well as this, Riptide will include new zombies and weapons. Gameplay is going to be much of the same melee-focused combat of the first game. Dead Island: Riptide's release date has not been announced as of yet.
Techland and Deep Silver announced today that their first proper story-base DLC for Dead Island will be released on the 1st February 2012.
The "Ryder White" DLC allows gamers to play as Dead Island's antagonist, Ryder White in a single player campaign. The DLC promises to explain the reasons behind his aims, and why he chose to take the path he eventually did. Players will also apparently see White as a military man and doting husband.
Ryder White will also add a new playable character, a new story and two new weapons blueprints. The DLC will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 and £7.99 on the Playstation 3. Check out one of the screens below.
Deep Silver announced a special Christmas surprise for all fans of Dead Island-a zombie advent calendar.From the 1st December, the Dead Island calendar can be opened every day until Christmas, with a new surprise awaiting the visitor each day. Through a bunch of contests, players can explore the world of Dead Island, putting their skills and zombie knowledge to the test.
If players take part in the contest every Sunday throughout December, they will not only be able to win exclusive prizes but will also be able to earn clues for the games competition final on the 25th, where the winner will earn a one week trip for two to a tropical island, worth $6,000.
Players can win a huge plethora of prizes ranging from blue-ray bundles, custom consoles and HD-TVs. So if you are a Dead Island fan, I would suggest taking part.
Whilst Dead Island was a brilliant game, there was no denying that it was riddled with it's fair share of bugs. Thankfully, Techland have apologised for their mistakes with a large game update, which will be available to download on the 10th November.
Tweaks and total changes have been made to the gameplay, the network's stability, controls, and much more. Many of the additions allow players to have greater control during zombie slaying time, so the frustrations felt by players before the patch (issues with Purna's ammo capacity being one) have been patched up.
Xbox360achievements.org announced the complete list of fixes contained in the patch, which you can see below.
Gameplay improvements
Level cap raised to 60
New blueprints for weapon mods added
Infected damage reduced
Infected no longer interrupt player attacks
A series of improvements to subsequent playthroughs implemented
Quest XP rewards adjusted
XP rewards for challenges adjusted
in subsequent playthroughs XP is awarded for all quests completed in co-op
Purna’s ammo carrying capacity increased by 50%
Character state from a save game can now be loaded when using the Start from Chapter option
New balancing option added: enemy levels can now be adjusted independently for each co-op player
Players respawn with more health
Picklock skill level required to open a lock is now clearly indicated
Improved rewards in weapon crates
All weapon crates now contain rewards
Kick ability balanced, now requires stamina
Items can now be picked up instantly; this is reflected in adjusted animations
Fixes and interface improvements
Fix: players are no longer left without a weapon after dropping the equipped item and healing with a medkit
Fix: equipped items no longer swap mysteriously after drinking an energy drink
Tweak: healing with medkits from inventory works better, makes smarter choices of medkits
Fix: loot from dead enemies is now always identical for all co-op players
Fix: Purna no longer finishes her Fury with fists equipped
Fix: map tracking after death
Fix: zone info in the quarantine zone (City of Moresby)
Tweak: respawn point selection is now smarter
General
Improved stability and network performance in co-op
After releasing a rather excellent debut trailer, Dead Island rapidly built up a surge of hype for it's September release date. With promises of 4 player co-op, combined with an idyllic island setting and plenty of gruesome zombies, there was already enough reasons for players to get excited about it. The trailer may have already successfully heightened expectations, but now that the game has been here for a few weeks now, was this hype justified?
Well, to put it shortly, mostly. Whilst the majority of the game is excellent, it just does not feel completely polished. Dead Island follows the same fun co-operative gameplay that has been seen in Borderlands and Left 4 Dead respectively, but thankfully, it is not a straight forward copy. Sure, inspiration has definitely been drawn from other RPG titles, but Dead Island thrives frantic survival element. Combine this with great combat, and a variety of intriguing missions, and you've got a well-packaged game here.
The storyline is simple enough. A zombie outbreak has hastily spread through the idyllic island of Banoi, leaving a trail of distraction in it's wake. Many of the inhabitants have joined the hoard of walking dead, but thankfully there are some who were lucky enough to avoid the virus. You play as one of the four key survivors, who, somehow, is immune from this infectious disease. The game follows your chosen character as he or she help out the fellow survivors, whilst searching for a way off of the island. The story is prone to predictability at times, but the story is not what matters here. What matters is the gameplay itself.
Combining the typical elements of an RPG (levelling up, looting items, etc) with the type of frantic and intense game play found in other zombie games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Island's gameplay is incredibly fun. Bashing in decomposing zombie brains is satisfying, to say the least. What works the most is the feeling of survival being held constantly by a tether. Weapons constantly break, leaving players searching for more, first aid kits (which are very similiar to Fallout 3's Stimpacks) are at times very sparse, and other factors definitely add to the "fight or flight" format that is being adopted here. This survival element is what makes Dead Island so appealing. It adds a touch of realism, as even though your chosen character is immune, this does not stop them from being taken down by the intense infected.
Players are free to explore the island as they wish, and the map adds a little structure for this exploration. The game is broken up into a series of maps, which divide the island into different explorable areas, such as the resort, city and jungle. Each area allows the player to discover new survivors, who, for the most part, have a few missions for you to complete. Players can stick to the structured storyline only if they wish, but the real fun comes in the exploration. Several surprises lie in exploring, so missing this opportunity seems like a real shame.
Missions range from the typical collecting quests which so many RPG's have dealt with before, to clearing zombies in particular areas, helping the survivors to rig up explosives or communicative devices, and then, unfortunately, there are a few escort missions. I for one have never been a fan of escorting missions, and I know there are many that agree with me here. The escort missions provide a few frustrating moments in the game which tarnished the experience a little for me at times. NPCs have a habit of getting stuck during journeys at times, and refuse to follow the player as they are guiding them to their destination. I had to restart a mission due to one of the characters I was supposed to be guiding refusing to climb a flight of stairs, for no particular reason. Upon researching this, it appears that the escort missions seem to provide the same frustrations to many people.
Dead Island's combat is primarily melee based, which forces the player to get up close and personal to the undead. Melee weapons are found all over the island, and there is a large variety to choose from. Players will start with the more basic weapons of paddles and broomsticks, but they will gain the ability to combine or create weapons as more objects are collected. The challenge comes in the constant need to repair or replace melee weapons. You cannot go through the whole game holding the same broomstick you picked up at the very beginning. Due to this, players will constantly be on the lookout for new weapons. Weapons breaking during a fight with a bunch of zombies creates an incredibly intense, and at times, scary game.
Those who are used to blasting zombies away in games such as Left 4 Dead will be surprised to see that firearms are overshadowed by melee weapons here. Guns and ammo are available, but they are much more sparse, and tend to deal damage much slower than most of the melee weapons do anyway. Taking on the role of a blades specialist, I found the game to be much easier when relying on knives and sharp melee weapons than the handguns and shotguns found later on in the game.
Unfortunately, where Dead Island suffers a little is in the single player mode. It is evident that this game is aimed more towards co-op players. The missions seem far more challenging when played alone than when completed with a friend or two. Also, the fun gets a little stale after a while when beating it solo. This lack of split-screen single console co-op is also a downer, as playing it on the same TV screen as a room-mate, friend, partner, etc, would have been excellent.
As previously mentioned, there is a feeling of Dead Island not being completely polished. The graphics can at times be a little poor, especially during the cut-scenes, where the characters look expressionless, somewhat lifeless. Zombies or NPCs often get stuck on scenery (something which makes completely certain quests a complete challenge at times). It is hard to ignore the glitches when they hinder the completion of a quest. I had to reload my game several times over the course of the game in order to complete a quest. The game also suffers from an anti-climatic ending, which is a little disappointing, especially as the game builds up to what should have been an action-packed crescendo.
Dead Island can be fully completed (achievements and all) in around 30 to 40 hours. Playing it solo may be a little boring by the time these hours rack up, so it's definitely recommended to find a friend or two to plow through it with. There is no denying that Dead Island was designed as a multiplayer game first and foremost, which successfully manages to be an enjoyable and satisfying experience. The mission related glitches sour the experience somewhat, so I only hope that these are patched up soon enough, but overall, the game is a joy to complete.
I am currently reading the Dead Island novel. Stay tuned for a review soon!
There are plenty of zombie games available on the market, such as the Resident Evil series, or Left 4 Dead. September 2011 marks the release of Dead Island, an open-world game focusing on an island of the undead.
Dead Island will be played from a first person perspective, but it also combines melee combat, RPG elements such as an experience system, and four-player co-operative play. Dead Island is set in Palms Resort, an island promising tranquillity and relaxation, but nothing is as perfect as it seems. Soon after your chosen character has arrived on the island, a zombie outbreak has occurred. From here on in, the game becomes a fight for survival on an island swarmed with the living dead. The player must use a multitude of weaponry to tackle the zombie hoard.
As well as the main storyline, there are side-quests to complete, which can also be completed with another player. Zombies will range from the normal types to the "special infected", and these encounters will be randomly generated through the levels. Details on who these enemies are specifically have not been fully released as of yet. The exploration element of RPG's is present here, and players can often be rewarded for their exploration with weapons, or new objects for crafting.
Upon reading the information and viewing the trailer, Dead Island sounds very much like zombie slaying Left 4 Dead and it's sequel. A four player first person co-op, with special infected and tons of melee kills? It does seem like a case of "we've been here before" with this one, but the RPG elements should hopefully make this a much deeper and involved game than the Left 4 Dead games were. I look forward to having some first-hand Dead Island experience when the game hits the stores on the 9th September 2012.
