Dead Island

Dead Island is an upcoming first person horror action-adventure video game by Techland. It is published on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. The video game is set to be released on the 6th September 2011 (NA) and 9th September 2011 (PAL).

The focus of this video game is to challenge the player to survive on a zombie-infested open world island with limited resources. Rather than allowing the player to simply go on a shooting spree, the game forces the player to rely on his or her wits (due to the limited ammunition available). He or she will have to decide whether the situation calls for the use of valuable ammunition or will melee combat be sufficient.

The game is played from a first person perspective and can be played solo or with up to 4 players in co-op mode. There are 4 playable characters for players to choose, namely Xian Mei, Sam B, Logan Carter and Purna.

There is said to be an experience and skill tree system in the game, where each character has their own set of skill tree. There is also a stamina bar implemented in the game. This means that the player cannot continually attack with a weapon. He or she will need to stop at times to regain their stamina.

Environment-wise, there are certain sections in the game which involve dark areas and night time. Players will need to use flashlights in these areas and with its limited view, adds suspense in the gameplay.

Zombies of Dead Island range from those which are fully fleshed to those in various stages of decay and decomposition. For some types of zombies, players will need to destroy their heads to kill them. Otherwise, their health bar will gradually replenish even when they have fallen.

The following is a 20 minute clip of the gameplay which can be found on youtube.

From the clip, the game seems no different from any fps games that you can find in the market. The player interacts with the NPCs and environmental objects in a similar fashion too. What sets it apart is most probably the RPG element where you get to create your own items via the "Workshop", the "Skill Tree" and the all familiar "Quests".

One annoying part that I've noticed in the clip is the constant comments you get from your character while fighting and killing the zombies. Although it is annoying, I believe that the developers added that for the sake of realism. If you were in your character's shoes, it wouldn't be unnatural to find yourself doing the same.

In my point of view, I feel that the game has gone a little overboard with the blood splattering and gory stuff though. I believe that no parent in the right mind would allow their children to play a game this gory. Even I myself have found this to be a bit disturbing.

Apart from the storyline, skill tree and experience system, there shouldn't be too much to look forward to in this video game. If you like playing "Resident Evil" and "Left 4 Dead" these kinds of video games, then I guess you could give Dead Island a try.

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