Saturday, 29 September 2012

Dead Island

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Sun cream, ice bucket, baseball bat & nails

If you were to try to imagine a paradise island you would probably come up with Banoi, the setting for Dead Island, a survival horror by Techland that im currently wading through on Playstation 3. With crisp, blue waters, golden beaches, luxury resorts and near endless sunshine, it is truly a bit of Heaven right here on earth. If only it wasn't for the zombies hellbent on turning it into...well hell.
Dead Island is brilliant! A FPS (first person shooter for non gamers) which pits you against hoardes of the undead, eager to strip you of your tasty fleeeesssh! This game has had its critics but they are wrong I tell thee. They were probably expecting another Call Of Duty or Grand Theft Auto and more fool them if that was the case. The game looks stunning (I often put down my machete and take in the views) and gameplay is pretty sweet also. I particularly love the ability to create vicious homemade weapons such as Nail'd baseball bats (do I really have to draw a picture?) and double bladed knives. Sure you can find firearms but these are not nearly as fun as lopping some undead saps head off with a scythe and watching it bounce down the road. That my friends is extremely satisfying and is why I usually leave the guns to mortals. I like up close and personal death dealing. (Or is that udeath dealing?)
Im not a mahoosive fan of FPS (eventhough ive played more than my share) and when Dead Island first surfaced I was kinda hoping it would be played in third person like Resident Evil because im one of those weird people who find third person view more immersive than first person, but im happy to report that it hasn't spoilt my fun. Techland have even remembered to include the characters feet which is swell as one thing that ruins realism in FPS for me is the fact the hero always seems to be legless (and not the good kind!)
The only grumble I have with Dead Island is that it has to load inbetween the main areas (resort, city and jungle.) Why is this? Seems strange when in bigger games like Just Cause 2 the player can drive from one end to the other of a huge map without a single sniff of a loading screen. But as im in a mellow mood (and the fact this is not a game review) I can forgive this little annoyance, especially when the rest is such bloody (literally) fun.


Excuse the slurring. Hic!