Dead Island

Dead Island came out at a time when the whole world was going zombie crazy. Many at the time thought this was going to be a game like Left 4 Dead. Actually, when you really get into it, Dead Island is a game that has far more in common with a game like Fallout than it does Left 4 Dead.

Welcome To The Island

If I am being honest the overall story in Dead Island is not exactly going to blow you away. It is basically a story that is all about you just doing what you can to survive. What does really make Dead Island stand out though is the setting. The game takes place on a Papa Neu Guinea island that is a “tropical paradise” and you are there at the very wrong time! The world that they have created is pretty darn big and it is full of very different locations. There are these lovely beaches (covered in blood and body parts) a creep jail, a sewer and everything in between. Each location feels different and it makes you want to explore as best you can, but of course with hordes of the undead after you that is easier said than done.

Hey, You Got Blood On My RPG!!!!

One of the things that threw some people off with Dead Island is the fact that is way more of an RPG than it is a shooter. You will have to choose your weapons, use your skill points, decide what side quests are worth doing and also do some crafting. It has all the mechanics that you would expect in a game like Fallout, but everything is covered in blood in Dead Island!

Are You Scared???

One of the things that Dead Island does very well is make you scared pretty much the whole time you are playing the game. It does this by always throwing zombies at you and the game actually has a pretty good diverse number of zombies to chase you down. While I would class this as an RPG, it also has lots of survival horror elements in it a well. For example, health kits are not just all over the place so if you make a wrong move you can easily end up on the wrong end of a zombie’s teeth without any help. Also, you have to worry about your stamina. You are not able to just run as much as you like and you cannot just go swinging around your weapon as much as you like either as this also affects your stamina.

What About Playing With A Friend?

In all honesty, I cannot say for sure if you can still play Dead Island online, but I am sure there are some fan servers out there. You can play online with a buddy and go through zombie hell together. What is neat about this is the way you have progressed your character will probably be very different from the way that they have theirs. One thing I do wish that they did was to allow for split screen co-op as I feel that this would have suited Dead Island very well.

A Product Of Its Time

While Dead Island is a firm favorite of mine, this game is the better part of ten years old as I write this. As a result, the controls can feel a little stiff and the PC version does have a few graphical issues with texture popping in when you go to a new section.

Pros:

• The island setting is way more diverse than you would think
• It plays like an RPG
• The survival horror aspects are very well done
• It has buckets of blood!
• The way you play will be unique to you

Cons:

• Controls can sometimes feel a little clunky
• Texture pop-in can be annoying

It is kind of nuts to think that the original Dead Island is now the better part of a decade old at this point. Before the game was released, many people were thinking we had a Left 4 Dead clone on our hands. That turned out to not be the case at all as Dead Island is more of an RPG than a straight up first person shooter.

The Story

Some people say that the story in Dead Island is not that important and to be honest with you it is not going to blow you away However, I do like some of the characters that you deal with and think that the idea of the world going to hell, but in a tropical paradise is a pretty neat idea.

It is not going to win any prizes for originality, but I found that the story did keep me invested and like I said I did enjoy the characters. Actually, the characters must have made an impact as when the two spin-off games were released the fact that characters from this first game were in them was cool to me.

The Presentation

It is easy to look back at a game originally released in 2011 and say that it is rather ugly, but I do not really think that is the case with Dead Island. I really cannot think of another horror style game that had a tropical paradise for its setting. The game being on Papa Nui Guinea certainly is something that I think is cool.

Dead Island does have a fair bit of variety to the levels you will be exploring. You have the beaches and the lush, green environments you would expect from a place like this. However, hotels, a jail and the sewers help keep things fresh and each one has a very distinct style to it.

The Gameplay

If you try to play Dead Island as if it is a game like Left 4 Dead, you will hate it! This is really more of a survival horror/RPG game than anything else. You need to level up, spend your points wisely and you always need to watch your stamina! You cannot just run around like a maniac swinging your weapons. You need to conserve stamina and also watch the health of your weapons.

It makes getting into a situation with a lot of zombies at a time very tense. However, the progression of leveling up and getting skill points evens the playing field and drives you forward. While there is a lot of action in Dead Island, I like to think of it as the thinking person’s zombie game. The campaign is a solid length and it is rather challenging. It does take a while to get the hang of things and you have to keep in mind that this is not just a standard FPS game. You can play it with a buddy in online co-op, but may this would have been awesome with a friend sitting next to you.

As someone who played Dead Island back when it was first released, I am willing to overlook some of the flaws in the game. Playing it again recently it is a little rough around the edges and the controls in some places can feel a bit on the clunky side so there is certainly some perseverance you will have to do with the game.

Final Thoughts On Dead Island

I still think that Dead Island is a solid game. It is full of blood, violence and gross creatures. I love the RPG elements that the game has and it genuinely does make you sweat as you play it as it can be very tense. Just know that there is a bit of a learning curve here and you need to stick with it in order to see the best that it has to offer.

7.5/10

Pros:

• The setting is very cool
• Interesting characters that you do care about
• The RPG aspects of the game are interesting
• Lots of action
• Plenty of variety in the environments

Cons:

• It can be very challenging in some places
• The whole game is showing its age now