Dead Island

[MikDaTv]

Pretty good game. I recomend it.

It's sort of a cross between Left 4 Dead and Diablo. The focus is on melee combat and there are 4 playable characters. each character has a skill tree which you can customize with skill points every time you level up.

the guy i picked, Logan, is an expert in throwing weapons so while i can be like everyone else and bash zombies in the head with my rowing oar i might also opt to hurl it like a spear at the charging zombie.

the weapons you pick up are not made of adamantium. as you smash skulls in with them they get bent out of shape or busted up and will eventually break completely. You need to keep them repaired at various work benches placed around the island. You can also modify weapons, like put nails into a baseball bat, or hook a tazer up to your machette so it shocks people when you slash them with it.

Just like diablo there are common weapons and then there are rare, very rare, and unique weapons that are more and more useful. So far the best weapon i've found is a heavy pipe which i use as a club and a divers knife which i throw.

probably my favorite feature is the kick button. left bumper triggers your character to kick wolfenstien style. you can hit a zombie in the face with a thrown hammer to unbalance him and then kick him in the chest to knock him over. finish him off by stomping on his face until dead.

i only played it for a few hours but i enjoy it and i recomend it to everyone. i'll post more as i play more.

[MikDaTv]

turns out you can add that electricity mod to just about any melee weapon, so i'll be putting it on a hammer.

that way when i get attacked i can yell "SOULESS UNDEAD! HOW DARE YOU BITE THE SON OF ODAN!!!!." and then throw my lightning hammer at the zombie.

[Gamov]

^Hahahaha!

While that does sound like a great time, I have to respectfully disagree with your review here, Mik. I picked this game up myself yesterday and played it for a few hours last night.

What I found was a poorly done combat system that is clunky and a bit awkward to use. The in game tips claim that the "Analog" fighting style is more precise and offers a greater degree of control. I found this to be the exact opposite. Moving the right thumb stick just to punch a zombie in the gut is neither precise nor fun. Not to mention that while the particular control style is enabled, you can't turn your head to face a new zombie without releasing the left trigger (as trying to turn just means you are aimlessly swinging your fists in the air). It is very easy to get outnumbered and overrun with the Analog settings enabled. In this regard, I wish the developers had kept it simple and given me a Left 4 Dead styled fighting system (aim at zombie, pull right trigger, kill zombie). It irritates me at times when developers think they can improve on what is already a proven system. No use in fixing what isn't broke in my opinion. Now, obviously I realize that the "Analog" fighting style isn't the only way to play, but when the combat system isn't all that great to begin with, I don't find any joy in even the default settings.

This is all not to mention that I found moving my character around the map is about as precise as trying to wade through a waist deep pool of custard. The only saving grace to this is that you spend most of you time running along the beach from place to place, so there isn't much to impede your mad dash to safety. But trying to evade zombies in rooms or hallways is almost impossible. Thankfully, I found "health" to be in abundant supply inside buildings (almost as if the developers knew you would sustain near fatal injuries every time you had to fight a zombie inside a building because of their wonky controls).

Beyond the funky controls, the pacing of the game seems a bit slow to me and the objectives aren't that clearly defined (save for main story objectives which are marked out for you). After the prologue sequence, I had no idea what to do. It took me a few minutes before I figured out who I needed to talk to in order to advance. Now, I gave the game the benefit of the doubt, hoping it would get a bit better as I went on. But sadly, I didn't find this to be the case. Even after completing the first mission, I found myself frustrated by the control and feel of the game.

That's not to say I haven't found some positives to it. I like the Borderlands inspired leveling system that is specific to each character. Additionally, I found the inventory screens intuitive and easy to navigate, with a set up similar to what I had become use to in playing Fallout 3. I also like the weapon customization options (another Fallout 3 similarity that I enjoy taking advantage of). The world itself is also expansive and well crafted, reminiscent of the Far Cry games, but running rampant with zombies instead.

In all, I felt this game had potential (and based on what I have experienced so far, it did). However, the overall execution and feel of the game leave me wishing for something better. I could be acting overly critical here, basing my opinion on about 2 whole hours worth of game play, but after a time I realized I had more entertaining choices in my gaming library.

[MikDaTv]

don't know what to tell you gam. for me, i just get within melee range and pull the right trigger to swing my heavy pipe. doesn't get more left 4 dead then that. Seems to hurt them just fine.

and for throwing you just hold left trigger, aim and then pull right trigger and Logan sends my knife/hammer/axe/broomstick/ore sailing into the guy i aimed at.

haven't even bothered with the analog fighting stuff yet.

As for movement inside, there are some issues with that. Like chairs and desks and other objects have a force field around them so you can't get as close as you'd think you would be able to but Left 4 Dead had that same problem.