Dead Island

Zombie games are zombie games these days, right? Mysterious plague, few survivors, fighting for their lives, slowly killed off one by one. Job done. But the makers of Dead Island want to give a little more heart to the genre (before it’s violently ripped out). Taking place on an idyllic holiday island, in the midst of a family vacation, the game, is a heavily multiplayer-driven experience.

Centering around four key characters, each with fairly tragic backstories and specific story arcs to tackle in the midst of the zombie apocalypse, the game, much like its popular cousin Left 4 Dead, is all about getting through a massively destructible and interactive environment with all your limbs and faculties intact, all while customizing your weapons of choice and collecting key objects. Unlike L4D, however, the game is heavily story focused, and instead of massive swarms of foes, places far more importance on scare-the-pants-off-you scary bits like flashlight-only sections and wild vehicular zombiecide, along with character-focused story elements.

It’s definitely a more gritty, sober take on zombies, and the combat reflects that. There are very few guns on the island, so much of your fighting is done up close and personal, with knives, baseball bats, and the environment being your primary weapons. Oddly, the new tone, fewer but more melee zombies, and real feeling characters really makes this feel like a solid game, but as with any multiplayer experience, everything depends on just what kind of survivors you’ve got with you.