Not-so Dead Island

[Skunk_Giant]

So I was thinking, what can I review?
My answer, was nothing.
Until now, when I remembered that Dead Island is a new game... So, without further ado...

Dead Island on PC, isn't your average zombie game. With free roam, a technique not usually used in zombie games, and a number of sidequests, it definitely will take a while to complete everything. Even when you do, I hear there's a DLC on the way.
But what good is a long game, if it's no fun? Thankfully, we don't have to answer that question, as Dead Island is quite fun. I'm not going to discuss story in here, as I'm yet to complete it (in fact, I'm not even halfway through yet).
Let's get onto the gameplay.

Combat

This is one of the best aspects of Dead Island. With layers of gore to smack off, the zombies certainly fall apart well. They range in strength, and in groups, can prove to be quite dangerous. With a number of ways to kill the zombies, the combat can be quite fun. Take their legs away, take their arms away, or better yet - off with the head!
However, after a while, coming across them on your way to a quest can become quite annoying, and there have been times, where I've been so frustrated with the things, that I've found myself avoiding them, and running simply because I don't want to go through the sometimes mundane routine of whacking 5 heads off.
I think that this may have been foreseen though, as Dead Island has a number of solutions to this. With plenty of weapons to find, buy, create or upgrade to, the combat can quickly go from boring to fun again. Besides, there are times when no matter how boring it is, you just want to kill a zombie and see some blood splatter.
Which brings me to...

Graphics

I've never been one to put a game down because its graphics are bad. Of course, nice graphics are great, but I don't complain the second I play a game that isn't the best I've ever seen. So I didn't put Dead Island down instantly.
Despite it, no doubt, being better than a lot of free roam games, and definitely being better than most zombie games, the graphics in Dead Island are really revolutionary. The textures could be a bit better, but that may just be because I was playing this on and off with the Battlefield 3 Beta. The actual gore is a bit better than most games, in that smacking a zombie wont just give you a default change, but the gash in his arm will instead change based on how you hit him. So that's the visuals.
Now, let's take a look at...

Audio

The audio was disappointing in some parts. I'm Australian, so it overjoys me to see characters with Aussie accents in a game for once. However, there were so many, and they were all just the stereotypical accents... It got a bit annoying sometimes. As for the playable character, so far, the only time I've heard my character say a full sentence was during the bio at the start of the game when you choose your character. Whenever you accept or deny a quest, you just get a simple "Yeah," or "Naw man."
This guy's meant to be immune to the infection, he's meant to be helping all these people... But he says about five different words throughout his stay.
The nicest aspect of the audio was probably that of the zombies. They had quite a few nice screams or moans. Oh, and to contradict myself, I've just remembered that my character does scream something like "I'm dying here!" when he's knocked to the ground and put on low health. That line's nice, as it has a bit of fear in it.
But as for other emotions... well...

Emotions

The emotions in this game aren't too bad. I suppose this is more of a sub-section for audio. Some characters have a lot of emotion, while others sound like everything's normal. If you're expecting a lot of moments like the emotional announcement trailer, in which a family is torn apart, a daughter being thrown from her father's arms as she turned into a zombie... don't. It doesn't get too sad. Well, not yet anyway.
Having said that, there's some nice music when you're at survivor bases, and that, along with the moaning and muttering of survivors makes you feel apart of the event. It makes you feel like this is a sudden shock to everyone, rather than a simple set up game.

Overall

Dead Island's worth it. It's not too expensive, and you can jump into games with your friends quickly. There is a story, which is quite odd for a zombie game/movie, but it's definitely a nice addition to the zombie genre. There are times when you feel a bit out of the picture, but at other moments, you feel like you're right in the middle of this, doing your best to keep yourself and the survivors alive and well until help can arrive. With collectibles that tell their own side story, and a nice variety of enemies, the game will last you a while, and I can only hope the DLC does well too.

[ziggylord]

with that review im considering buying it :/ but i have no money and a terrible computer so YAY!

[Sir_Luke]

with that review im considering buying it :/ but i have no money and a terrible computer so YAY!

^ This.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

I was gonna get it, but then I found out there's no split screen co-op. Wanted to get it so I could play through it with my dad, like we did with the Resistance 2 co-op.

[Sir_Luke]

My Dad likes to do that with me too! I really am sick of all these "No campaign, all online!" Types of games.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

Yeah, me too. We do play a bit of split screen Black Ops though, which can quickly turn hilarious as we "steal" eachothers kills.

[Skunk_Giant]

I was gonna get it, but then I found out there's no split screen co-op. Wanted to get it so I could play through it with my dad, like we did with the Resistance 2 co-op.

Yeah, had it not been for that, I likely would have gotten it on Xbox.