When I first saw the trailer for this game, I knew I needed to get it. It’s a lot of what I’ve wanted from a zombie game, with things I didn’t know I wanted mixed in. Honestly the teaser trailer was the only one I saw for this game, and it kept me hyped right till the release day,

Honestly, coming into a really congested market, Dead Island did a lot better than most people though, even with its launch date issues. This game really shines when compared even to some well established titles. In Left 4 Dead, you have that feeling of desperation at times with huge hordes of zombies, but you always have your guns, and there’s always a good amount of ammo around, add to the fact that you have 3 competent allies throughout the whole game. In Dead Isle you can have allies (Co-op only), if you want. however to me, the solo experience is extremely satisfying, and really brutal. You can have strategies, and at the beginning they may work, but progressing through the game you start fighting stronger zombies in bigger groups.

You have 4 characters to choose from. I’ve only played with Xian Mei (Sharp weapons expert) and Sam B (Blunt weapons expert). While I found sharp weapons to be effective at cutting zombies to pieces, blunt weapons just do more damage, and last longer. One thing you really have to keep in mind is that most of the combat is melee based, you can find guns, but ammo can be really hard to come by. Aside from that the guns don’t do much damage to the zombies, even when you get head shots. I will rarely use guns against zombies.

It doesn’t really matter who you choose, you still wake up in the same hotel room, and the story seems to progress the same for all the characters, the only difference is your skill trees. You wake up hungover to discover that all hell broke loose on this tropical paradise. For some reason you decide to follow the instructions of a voice in the speaker system, which causes you to accidentally run into some zombies, you get attacked, and bitten. However you don’t turn, into a zombie at least. The only thing you turn into is every ones errand boy/girl, and most of those missions are just really annoying.

One thing the game captures really well is actually something that people don’t really think of when thinking about the zombie apocalypse. While some groups of people will try to band together and help each other in any ways necessary, there will always be a group of assholes out for personal gain, and they won’t care who’s in their way. The guns work wonders on these groups of assholes.

There is vehicular gameplay (that sounds dirty)! For one, its great because the Island of Banoi is huge, and there are a few different areas in the game, walking can get tiring. Another reason this is great, and it’s probably really obvious, running over zombies. Few things are more satisfying than plowing through hordes of the undead in a pickup. However, seeing as how all hell broke loose at the beginning, some streets are littered with crashed cars and can make it difficult to drive everywhere. Also when the zombies get stronger they don’t go splat as easily.

There is a big selection of weapons with something for everyong, and once you start modding them, it only makes it so much better. Honestly many of the weapons are the same, with different adjectives attached to them. Actually that’s basically like all the RPG’s you play, but the mods you can add are what makes some of the already good weapons, a lot better. Unfortunately you may find yourself spending most of your money on repairs, especially on your really good weapons. most weapons deteriorate fast enough, and some mods may make that worse. You can upgrade the weapons, but the deterioration speed is what keeps you from being insanely overpowered. The only weapons that don’t deteriorate are the guns.

Everything you pick up is extremely useful (aside from some weapons). You should only sell items if you know you wont have a use for them, other than that, you’ll need them once you start modding. If you want a recommendation, save all the deodorant and duct tape you can, 2 Deodorant + 1 Duct Tape = 1 Deo-Bomb. Basically a grenade, now there’s some useful math.

As much as I like the game, it’s not without its faults. You can only play in first person, me and KJ were talking about how cool it would be to play in 3rd person, but while traveling through the sewers I found out why it’s only 1st person. It adds a sense of horror and realness, especially because you need to watch your own back, and in 3rd person that would be way too easy. One thing that bothered me is the sound. Mostly in the city and the sewers,  you hear zombies all around you, even when there aren’t any around, it does a good job of keeping you alert, but it seems a bit much.There is a lot more I’d like to cover, but I’d like to get back to playing, I give

What’s Legit?
+Lots of Zombie action proportional to your level in the game
+Weapon Selection ensures fun for all, and mods just make them so much better

What’s Perpetrating?
-Story could use a bit more emotion (what happened to the emotion from the teaser?)
-Weapons deteriorate way too quickly.
-Guns are way too underpowered.

#DeadIsland @PlayLegit