Dead Island totally slipped under my radar. I'm a huge co-op fan (Borderlands and L4D being among my recent faves) and I've been wishing for an open world, mature approach to the zombie survival genre for some time. In fact, a few weeks back I was talking to a friend about how I thought Rock Star's next deviation from Grand Theft Auto should be an open world zombie game. Imagine one done with the play style, emotional drama, and social commentary the likes of the stellar Red Dead Redemption! Little did I know a game offering much of what I was dreaming of was already out.
When I first became aware of Dead Island it looked like just-another-typical-first-person-shooter that spun the wheel of "what setting and protagonist combination hasn't been used yet" and came up with zombies on a tropical island. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Certainly, Dead Island is forcing twists on expected standards; zombies in a tropical paradise? A first person shooter that's mostly all melee combat? The important thing to note, however, is that the game doesn't do these things as a gimmick (as I originally mistook it). Dead Island is clearly a game that started from a strong conception and then was executed with a precision that is remarkable for such a little known developer. Ultimately, what appears to be a game trying to reinvent the wheel turns out to be one that's refreshingly grounded in tradition.
It wasn't until I played Dead Island that I realized that it was every other zombie game that was skirting tradition. Even amazing games like Left 4 Dead which do a great job in selling you the idea that they are recreating a classic zombie film experience really are more of an arcade action shootfest. Dead Island captures the essence of that last-man-on-earth and it's-only-a-matter-of-time-before-the-zombies-eventually-get-us feeling made famous by George Romero's genre defining films, and it feels uninhibited in it's mature, horrific presentation.
It's hard to defend any game focused on melee combat using the first person shooter format, but even as part of me struggles with it, Dead Island warrants a defense. Dead Island is all about immersion, and no format accomplishes that the way first person shooters do. Then let's not forget that the classic zombie genre is not about combat. It's staying away from zombies. It's about surviving. Sometimes you can't keep the zombies away. Sometimes you have to fight to survive. Most of the time, it's better to run away. Killing zombies does nothing in the greater picture of surviving the zombie apocalypse; their hordes are never ending. The only thing that can truly be done is to gather people (survivors), places, food, and supplies. In that respect, Dead Island is dead on.
In Dead Island, you play as one of four different characters all brought to the island for various reasons. For all intents and purposes, you are just a regular schmoe. You aren't some Rambo-like super soldier. The only thing special about you is that for some reason, you are immune to the infection turning everyone else into zombies. Because you can survive a bite and not become infected, it's up to you to venture forth and gather supplies and scout new locations for survivors to hole up.
In game terms, this translates into exploring, questing, and looting. During your journies you'll be scavenging everything you can find, not just for needy quest givers, but for yourself. That seemingly useless junk you are looting from suitcases and trashcans transforms into highly sought after treasure once you realize you can use it to turn your weapons into glorious, spectacular, death dealing contraptions. Your characters may start off as schmoes, but as you gain experience and level up, you will get to choose new skills to learn which you'll need to survive new, more dangerous threats. The world outside could not be more hostile. Zombies are literally everywhere, and true to form they cannot be eradicated. What few survivors are out there are mostly trying to kill you as well, and the rare ones that are friendly serve to be more of a liability than anything else.
If you want help in Dead Island, you gotta find some friends in the real world. While Dead Island is a fine example of a tense, zombie, survival horror when played solo, it just begs to be played with co-op partners. Like you'd expect (and hopefully want), players need to work together. Dead Island isn't like so many other so-called co-op games where players can all do whatever they want to do independent of each other. Adding more players doesn't make the game easier. It makes it harder. To compensate, players need to truly cooperate.
Dead Island isn't without flaws. It can tend to be tedious, especially in single player which requires a slower pace due to not having anyone to watch your back. Travelling across a zombie filled city is hard but thrilling. The first time. The 20th time is a chore. There is also the loot. It's just not exciting. The type of items isn't the problem, it's the quality. The rare drops are just way too rare and the common vendor trash is just way too common. Finally, there are the technical issues such as glitches and freezing. None of this however changes the fact that Dead Island is a great zombie game and it's a great co-op game. If you're a fan of either type, it begs your consideration. If you are a fan of both, it's a no-brainer purchase.