Dead Island

 PlayStation 3
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 464 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 224 out of 464
  2. Mixed: 154 out of 464
  3. Negative: 86 out of 464
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  1. thorninhisside
    Nov 17, 2011
    7
    If you are into zombies then you will probably complete the game. If zombies have little or no affect on you; then you will probably find the game extremely boring. Myself, I am into zombies, and completed the game, solely on the fact that they have an affect on me, even though I found the story line drag on far too long. The locations became quickly boring and almost depressing. TheIf you are into zombies then you will probably complete the game. If zombies have little or no affect on you; then you will probably find the game extremely boring. Myself, I am into zombies, and completed the game, solely on the fact that they have an affect on me, even though I found the story line drag on far too long. The locations became quickly boring and almost depressing. The graphics at time lagged. However, if zombies are your bag and you haven't found a game to fill a week or so of your time, this will do. It is enjoyable, but can bore you at times.… Expand
  2. ChewyG_LIVE
    Sep 22, 2011
    7
    My biggest gripe with Dead Island is the horrible save system. It seems to be broken in single player campaign. Gets boring really fast playing solo. I don't usually like playing co-op, but I must admit on this game it was fun, and alot easier when it's 4 players hacking & slashing, but to each his own when it comes to getting the loot. The only reason to use the worthless money isMy biggest gripe with Dead Island is the horrible save system. It seems to be broken in single player campaign. Gets boring really fast playing solo. I don't usually like playing co-op, but I must admit on this game it was fun, and alot easier when it's 4 players hacking & slashing, but to each his own when it comes to getting the loot. The only reason to use the worthless money is for the upgrades. Exploring the island was fun for a while, but there are still too many places off limits. Besides the zombie attacks, there's not much else to do in this game when you're out exploring new areas. I lenjoy reading all reviews, especially the negative ones--which I agree with some of the critics. Yes, the character models are ugly, the engine is dated, the save system seems broken, the combat doesn't feel powerful when you level up, and the weapons suck because most are melee weapons--but the slicing & cutting weapons do just fine. This game is better played with at least another player to help along with the zombie crowd control & to progress the story chapters along faster. Definitely needs more interaction in an open setting like this, and needs more varied & exciting quests than just the "fetch quests" and constant back & forth to the same places. Even after all the negatives reviews, I still like playing a game for myself instead of just going by reviews alone, and having played this game up to level 19--sure, it's no Borderlands or Fallout 3 (which I loved)--so, it's time to pick up my machete & start hack'n...lol:)… Expand
  3. Thornclay
    Oct 18, 2011
    7
    I have to admit I had expected more from this game. It was a very good game but it didn't have that feel to it you know like a game should have. The co-op I loved but I think what got me to but this at a 7/10 was probably the many times you have to fix your weapons I mean for me it was like one slash or swish and I had to repair my weapon again. I recommend you buy this game but at aI have to admit I had expected more from this game. It was a very good game but it didn't have that feel to it you know like a game should have. The co-op I loved but I think what got me to but this at a 7/10 was probably the many times you have to fix your weapons I mean for me it was like one slash or swish and I had to repair my weapon again. I recommend you buy this game but at a cheaper price than it is right now. Peace out yall. Stop haten and stop trollen… Expand
  4. TheHorrorAnthem
    Apr 17, 2012
    7
    Dead Island is a unique game. Not in such a way that you have never seen or experienced anything like it, because well, there really isn't an original bone in its metaphorical body. In Dead Island's case unique says a little more about its playability than its complete experience. See, the game is flawed, very flawed, extremely flawed, yet I could not put it down, and would play it again.Dead Island is a unique game. Not in such a way that you have never seen or experienced anything like it, because well, there really isn't an original bone in its metaphorical body. In Dead Island's case unique says a little more about its playability than its complete experience. See, the game is flawed, very flawed, extremely flawed, yet I could not put it down, and would play it again. Let us go back in time, to a time where the dead had not taken over the island of Banoi, but were merely threatening to, to the time of a certain promising looking trailer. What has not been said about the contrast of Dead Island the trailer and Dead Island the game? Not much I would say, so I will be brief. By now you most likely know the game has little to do with the emotion captured in that deceptive three minutes of footage that reviled to us a family (literally) torn apart in what was only moments all while on a nice warm vacation. Gamers cheered and anticipated the bloodied drama we were about to have unleashed upon us, but oh no, it was not meant to be. Instead we have a game that delivers the blood yes, and lots of it, but not an ounce of drama, well it tries, but doesn't succeed. Dead Island came to be a game more about action and sticking it to the infected more so than fearing them or a heart ache chaser in that gin 'n' survival horror tonic. Bottom line, the game in the trailer does not exist, but a game called Dead Island does. Now, the review. The game is fun, yes, very fun and addictive at that. It took me forever to get to playing it simply because I was disappointing by the way it turned out but after enough price dropping I picked it up and am glad I did. Now, the closest thing I can compare this to is Fallout 3, but do not let that fool you, I don't want my words ending up like the trailer. By comparing this to Fallout I only mean in its general delivery, picked up items, storing them, selling them, traveling and speaking to the community only to be sent miles away across dangerous terrain to fetch something which may or may not have any importance to you. Typical yes, but what did I say before? the F word, fun, and that's what it always is. It is unlike Fallout though in its depth, attention to detail and development and of course the fact that in Fallout you can often care about someone. In this game people are just there to be there, pieces of meat with limited character. You cannot speak back to them except when excepting or declining a quest which your characters musters out an "uh huh" or "cant do it." This is not a game for those wanting a deep and rich role playing journey. It is a game for people wanting to spend hours bashing in zombies brains and watching them bleed, and that you will get in spades. Dead Island gets a lot right in its limited gameplay. Zombies check, tension check, violence check, fun factor check. atmosphere check it but not in ink. Atmospherically the game has you convinced everyone is in trouble, and you will feel the need to press on surviving but at no real cost, and with no true emotions on the line. Graphically, aside from issues such as slow loading textures ect. its great, especially the island itself. The trees, water, fog, sounds of animals that you never get to see are all great and honestly have more life than half the NPC's. The story, well there really isnt one, there is a loose plot yet its really a graveyard of plot holes, and the flow and pace is the equivalent of thumbing through a spiral notebook of video game ideas and blue prints. But if your analyzing this game then your playing it wrong. Its an RPG and a good one even, you level up, upgrade, mod, side quest and co-op your way through a decent sized world of tropical zombie goodness. The gameplay though showing its disappointments here and there often is usually interesting and makes up for the flimsy story. You will choose one of four characters and then be thrown head first into the apocalypse. And though you seem to be traveling alone, you really aren't, the characters you didn't choose will be by you in most cutscenes, which kills the single player illusion but is easily forgiven in this game. Which brings me full circle to the beginning of this review, it is unique. Amongst the flaws, issues, and sheer lack of inspiration, the game is worth your time. Depending on your preference this game can be worth nearly any price you will find it for, though I recommend maybe $40 and less for the average gamer. Never before have I played a game so drastically different than what was expected and then so flawed on top of that yet didn't mind so much once I got into it. I like Dead Island, honestly. I never hated it, not once. If your doubtful I say just try it, don't think too hard, find your favorite weapon to silence the undead with, and become a mother loving hero on Banoi Island. For zombie lovers its pretty much a must, for the rest of you, this may make zombie lovers out of you.… Expand
  5. L1LN1PP3R
    Mar 1, 2012
    7
    i really wanted this game after seeing my friend play it and i was kinda getting bored with dead rising. when i bought ths i was constantly on it as it was amazingy fun i loved getting the wepons and finding new and cool mods i was hoping to find guns earlier in the game but instead you find them about a third of the way through i guess it gives it a more realistic feel. also you spendi really wanted this game after seeing my friend play it and i was kinda getting bored with dead rising. when i bought ths i was constantly on it as it was amazingy fun i loved getting the wepons and finding new and cool mods i was hoping to find guns earlier in the game but instead you find them about a third of the way through i guess it gives it a more realistic feel. also you spend most time helping survivors. the zombies are so fun to kill and the leveling up systems works well as you can earn new skills. the zombies can jump out at any point and some just give out a spine chilling shreik before they run at you now the bad part is that once you complete the game there isn't much to do except repeat EVERYTHIN which isn't so fun as you spent all your time just doing that but you can keep your level and money and weapons also your mods but some levels like sewers which you will find out about are REALLY annoying so one thing that would make this awesome game turn insane would to hav all of the locations unlocked and one more thing they should of done is not hav too much of an annoyin boring part of the game (sewers again) in so many of the levels because it frustrates and annoys the player making them not want to go through the game after they completed it well that is what stopped me. So I reccommend this but complete and rank up as high as possibkle befor going to the final chapter because you mmight leave the game on the shelf for the rest of the time after completion.… Expand
  6. potatoes351
    Aug 15, 2012
    7
    Not bad, not great. Dead Island reminds me a lot of Borderlands but with Zombies. Basicly after a night of heavy drinking you wake up and find that the island you are on vacation on has turned into Zombieland. Now you are left to do other peoples jobs that they are too scared to do in return of safe passage off the island. whilst the environments are boring and samey and so is gameplay itNot bad, not great. Dead Island reminds me a lot of Borderlands but with Zombies. Basicly after a night of heavy drinking you wake up and find that the island you are on vacation on has turned into Zombieland. Now you are left to do other peoples jobs that they are too scared to do in return of safe passage off the island. whilst the environments are boring and samey and so is gameplay it doesn't ever get boring. Looks pretty bad and plays pretty bad at times but its a one in a million kind of game that has a few surface problems.… Expand
  7. hollowfication
    Jun 3, 2012
    7
    it good game finished it with in week but i found it buggy but the something else that bothers me is the no more update for it to fix those bug also i want more add on game for it
  8. ss4gaming
    Feb 9, 2013
    7
    I haven't finished the game but i think i can judge it for the amount ive played. Okay the game is fun and its visually quite nice but after awhile for the length that it is it can get pretty repetitive and i don't wanna feel this way when playing an rpg and probably one of my gripes with this game is that the characters are completely one dimensional none of the characters i could chooseI haven't finished the game but i think i can judge it for the amount ive played. Okay the game is fun and its visually quite nice but after awhile for the length that it is it can get pretty repetitive and i don't wanna feel this way when playing an rpg and probably one of my gripes with this game is that the characters are completely one dimensional none of the characters i could choose from seemed interesting at all.… Expand
  9. X-Abrupto
    Sep 18, 2012
    7
    Let's say it already: The trailer for this game is actually better than the game itself. But it's still not that bad. This game is as fun as it is frustrating. If you do not play it long enough, most chances are that you will hate it, because it is hard and the controls are gameplay are sketchy. Killing a single zombie can be a tedious experience at first. There are definitely influencesLet's say it already: The trailer for this game is actually better than the game itself. But it's still not that bad. This game is as fun as it is frustrating. If you do not play it long enough, most chances are that you will hate it, because it is hard and the controls are gameplay are sketchy. Killing a single zombie can be a tedious experience at first. There are definitely influences of other games in Dead Island: Fallout 3, Borderlands and Left 4 Dead to name the most obvious. I'd say it is pretty much like Borderlands with zombies, but that wouldn't make justice to both games. Dead Island sure tries a lot of stuff, but you will sometimes feel like it is a fake sandbox game. Something is lacking in this game to make it great. You will stop counting the times you have tried to go somewhere and the games tells you that you're out of the play zone. This game is glitchy. There are a lot of clipping issues, physics are not quite right ( try kicking a beach ball ) and the zombies do not behave normally. By that I mean that they will sometimes refuse to go somewhere, simply because they were not designed by the game creators to go there. This game is mostly a hack & slash. You will get firearms, but the amount of ammo is ridiculously low, especially if you consider the fact that you can hold an almost infinite number of items in your inventory ( example, 30 medkits ) when compared to the 50-ish number of bullets you can carry. The sounds that zombies make are repetitive, and the NPCs will also repeat themselves over and over again as you walk nearby. There is a great lack of depth in this department. The main quests are fun and diversified. The side quests are the complete opposite, and will often involve the same thing: bring item(s) to NPC. The whole scenario of the main quest is somewhat ridiculous and very basic, if not a pale copy of b-movies. The playable characters lack personality. The men especially are very generic and unoriginal. They have put a lot of effort in the customization of weapons. I wish they could've tried harder and gave us the possibility to create and modifiy our own fortifications. There aren't a lot of vehicles in Dead Island, but driving them is fun. I'd compare the handling of the trucks to Battlefield games. There's also an aspect that lacks in Dead Island, it's the whole survival thing. In Zombie movies/games, survival is always an important part of the atmosphere. In Dead Island, the amount of snack bars and soda cans is infinite, and you will often wonder why NPCs need food so much, since it's all over the place. It would have been more fun to find food and make stashes of it to feed yourself and other people. There's another issue in Dead Island, it's the fact that you will kill a zombie, leave the area for 1 minute, come back, and another zombie will be there. The corpses of killed zombies disappear as soon as you turned around and walked a few meters away from it. It removes realism to the game, and it's the realism of zombie games that make them scary... So Dead Island will be scary for the first 15 minutes, but as you get used to it, you will know where the zombies will come from, and what to expect at every corner. This game crashes frequently, and those involved with patching the game do not seem to care. The graphics are actually kinda good, but aren't the best either. The music is not very good. The game still tried to do something different, and online play is still fun despite the crash rates.… Expand
  10. savagejoe444
    May 29, 2013
    5
    Iv'e played several zombie games in the past and this one is the weakest. The 4-player online co-op is fun, but it just feels like a L4D knock off, a bad one. The zombies A.I. is slow, stupid and almost seem to cheat a lot, the game's buggy as h**l, and the upgrade system is completely pointless 'cause your weapons are going to break all the time anyway. So, I'd recommend L4D and otherIv'e played several zombie games in the past and this one is the weakest. The 4-player online co-op is fun, but it just feels like a L4D knock off, a bad one. The zombies A.I. is slow, stupid and almost seem to cheat a lot, the game's buggy as h**l, and the upgrade system is completely pointless 'cause your weapons are going to break all the time anyway. So, I'd recommend L4D and other zombie games over this.… Expand
  11. ArkonBlade
    Oct 11, 2011
    7
    well this game had alot of hype and fortunitly for me i didnt buy into it and kept a "wait and see approach" . when it comes to zombie killing games you have resident evil , left 4 dead , and dead rising being the big ones . some of thoose being crap or really good games (check my reviews if you want to know more of what i think on them) . none of them outside of earlly RE games havewell this game had alot of hype and fortunitly for me i didnt buy into it and kept a "wait and see approach" . when it comes to zombie killing games you have resident evil , left 4 dead , and dead rising being the big ones . some of thoose being crap or really good games (check my reviews if you want to know more of what i think on them) . none of them outside of earlly RE games have captured the feel of a zombie appoclypse to perfection or close to it atleast. Dead Island may have looked promising and got a few things right but messed up abit as well. what it got right is it has a wonderful looking open world to explore , a great crafting system and lots of wepons to use or make , lots and lots of quests , 4 player co-op , the combat system works pretty good , the graphics on the zombies and other people in the game look pretty damn good . now for the bad... first off the story ... well there isnt really one , you just do alot of meaningless quests for the most part that earn you cash , upgrade plans , or wepons . the main plot quests really dont go much further outside of being longer . like i said the combat system isnt bad but collision detection is kinda wonky and kicks or attacks with wepons will go right through them with no reaction what so ever. also the game is way way to heavily focused on melee combat. sure its fun to hack away at a zombie with a machete thats electrified but i want guns and lots of them . you do get guns but rarely and they hold such little ammo that you rarely ever want to use them . i would have liked to have seen a balance between shooting and melee combat. instead its 98% melee with 2% shooting. leveling up and gaining new skills is a great idea ...unfortunitly it dont mean jack when your enimys level up with you and that extra health dont do a thing when they just hit you for more damage any way .... so why did they even bother adding it. the physics system also sucks . you would think when i kick a zombie back the one behind it would get knocked back too but no he just runs right through him. the save feature is another problem . the game only saves after you finish a quest and turn it in . in a giant open world game you would think they would have a save any where feature or at the very very least have some save points around but they dont . the respawn feature is also kinda sucky at times as some times you will spawn and have 4 or 5 zombies kicking the crap out of you before you can even react . as for bugs and glitches which i heard from many people there are alot ... honestly outside of some cliping and alittle slow down now and then i didnt encounter any . im sure they are there i must have just been lucky . all in all this is a ok game it just needed another year to cook to make a great zombie survivor game along with a better story anda better balanced combat system . also out of the 4 persons you can choose to play as its pretty much pointless just pick who you like. there stats and extra abilites mean jack . which just like left for dead all the charicters you can select from are lame and they might as well made a create a charicter mode. i suggest you rent this first and try it out . it is made better if you have some friends to play with , otherwise wait for a price drop .… Expand
  12. Yoruichi
    Apr 9, 2012
    7
    Dead Island is an awesome game! It combines the first shooter, with a hoard of zombies on an Island were you basically do tasks for survivors. But the most interesting and funnest part of the game is playing it online with a bunch of your friends! It has a lot of glitches though. One of my biggest complaints on the glitches of this game is when your driving the vehicles. I was alwaysDead Island is an awesome game! It combines the first shooter, with a hoard of zombies on an Island were you basically do tasks for survivors. But the most interesting and funnest part of the game is playing it online with a bunch of your friends! It has a lot of glitches though. One of my biggest complaints on the glitches of this game is when your driving the vehicles. I was always getting stuck, near other objects that were far away:/ Leaving me to have to restart the game or walk back, resulting in me getting kilt.… Expand
  13. crackshot
    Sep 15, 2011
    6
    Dead Island is an enjoyable,quite expansive fps experience, atmospheric to a degree while having a good mix of ideas taken from other games. It borrows the map, exploration, rpg elements from Fallout 3/NV, the weapon customisation from Dead Rising 1/2, zombie survival,genre from Left 4 Dead 1/2, skill tree and item recognition from World of Warcraft and having the odd vehicle to get intoDead Island is an enjoyable,quite expansive fps experience, atmospheric to a degree while having a good mix of ideas taken from other games. It borrows the map, exploration, rpg elements from Fallout 3/NV, the weapon customisation from Dead Rising 1/2, zombie survival,genre from Left 4 Dead 1/2, skill tree and item recognition from World of Warcraft and having the odd vehicle to get into which is somewhat gratifying when running down a zombie. The Story itself is pretty simple and lacks any real substance, but then this being a zombie survival game it can it can be overlooked because the gameplay is where its most important. The game has 4 characters each with their own stats and weapon specialties they excel at as well as the skill tree layout. The main quests and side quests are pretty straightforward search and retrieve for the most part which usually result in items, weapons or cash. Cash is used for upgrading, repairing, creating or buying items from the numerous vendors scattered about the island but also lose some cash as a penalty when you die. The controls have a couple of layouts the digital control method lets you get right in the thick of the action and allows you to swing away but wit less control of which direction you hit the enemies from while the analogue although a little tricky at first is a far more rewarding mode to play with giving you full control of what angle you hit an enemy at. You also have a stamina gauge which is used for sprinting anf fighting which brings a little tactical style of play different weapons consume different levels of stamina per swing but you also have a rather handy kick which does not use stamina and has a greater range than some weapons as well as being able to knock down enemies. Each character has a unique fury ability which can be activated when the fury gauge is full and has an experience multiplier to it as well, this ability can be upgraded via the skill tree. The skill tree is not as advanced as wow but the ideas are simply, one tree for the fury skill, one for weapon specialisation and one for general ,survival with the l survival tree skills like extra money and picklocking are the order of the day along with less damage and health regeneration but as for health regeneration in general most automatically consumed except for medkits and alcohol. The game is a lot fun to play and would have got a higher score if certain elements were not so poorly done, no lookback on the truck when driving, some porr collision detection allowing enemies to get through certain areas through walls, no bulk sell option when selling to vendors, the multiplayer promising that people of a similar level could join or be joined, I joined a player who was vl 31 at the time while i was a mere lvl 12 so not easy to bash up enemies although nice xp gain, but the most annoying and criminally bad is the pathetic autosave system. All the other little niggles can be forgiven but the autosave is so dire you can't even tell if it is or is not saving even when the autosave logo shows or it says checkpoint so half the time those 3hrs or more you've just spent playing it may count for nowt when you next load up and you end finding yourself at a much earlier part of the game back at lower level. Is it really too much to ask for a manual save option like the Fallout series has or an actual autosave system that is reliable? If Techland do acknowledge this issue then I would happily give the game an 8 or 9 but as it stantds currently its only a 6.… Expand
  14. JohnDenver
    Sep 15, 2011
    5
    Too long, too repetitive and too buggy. Hard to even compare this to anything else. It doesn't stand up against the good FPS games. It doesn't even compare to the good open world games. Its story is just boring and prolonged. After you get over the excitement of kicking zombies and stomping their heads in, you will be bored out of your mind. That boredom eventually will turn into anger atToo long, too repetitive and too buggy. Hard to even compare this to anything else. It doesn't stand up against the good FPS games. It doesn't even compare to the good open world games. Its story is just boring and prolonged. After you get over the excitement of kicking zombies and stomping their heads in, you will be bored out of your mind. That boredom eventually will turn into anger at the absurd amount of bugs. A tank truck can't even ram a burned out car off the road -- amazingly bad physics and graphics.… Expand
  15. verbose
    Sep 12, 2011
    7
    In my opinion, this is the best zombie game that I have played. There are certainly some frustrations in learning how exactly to combat different types of zombies, but the game is still fun. If someone is expecting a super deep story, they should probably look somewhere else. This game features a pretty straightforward combat system, that is deeper than it looks at first glance.

    At the    In my opinion, this is the best zombie game that I have played. There are certainly some frustrations in learning how exactly to combat different types of zombies, but the game is still fun. If someone is expecting a super deep story, they should probably look somewhere else. This game features a pretty straightforward combat system, that is deeper than it looks at first glance.

    At the heart, this is a fun zombie game. The game would certainly rank higher if the coop mode was easier to get games. All told though, it is a very fun game, and that is the factor I have to consider over all others.    … Expand
  16. toysjoe
    Oct 18, 2011
    5
    Let's review Dead Island and we'll start with the good.
    1. The environments are distinct and look relatively good. Each environment is very detailed.
    2. There are tons of quests. You always have something to do. Now let's go into the not so good. 1. Typical RPGs let you increase your character's power, so that it's easier to defeat regular enemies, not so in Dead Island. Zombies level up    Let's review Dead Island and we'll start with the good.
    1. The environments are distinct and look relatively good. Each environment is very detailed.
    2. There are tons of quests. You always have something to do.

    Now let's go into the not so good.
    1. Typical RPGs let you increase your character's power, so that it's easier to defeat regular enemies, not so in Dead Island. Zombies level up WITH you. There is absolutely NO reason to level up. The higher your level, the harder the game. What the developers should have done was make regular zombies a lot weaker than you, and special zombies equal or stronger. Levelling all enemies with you is just stupid.

    2. The game focuses on melee weapons, and they SUCK. They have no reach. You'd think if you were flailing a sledgehammer in front of you, that would give you some space between you and zombies. Not the case, using a weapon gets you about the same reach as using your bare fists.

    3. Zombie spawning is quite bad. Zombies pop out of thin air. If you ever find the secret enemy who kills you in LITERALLY one hit, takes drastically reduced damage (Sam B's instant kill stomp takes off about 5% of his health, not exaggerating), he spawns infinitely. As soon as you kill him, he instantly respawns nearby. He also runs faster than a car so you can't escape from him. There is a part later in the game where the only zombies that spawn are Infected, which are faster moving, faster attacking, but low health zombies, and speaking of infected....

    4. Infected. Who thought these were a good idea? If you get attacked by more than three of these guys, you might as well just load from the nearest checkpoint. Their fast attacks mean your attacks are constantly getting interrupted. And when you're surrounded by attacks and can only kick, well you're screwed.

    5. Voice acting hasn't been this bad since "You were almost a Jill Sandwich".

    In short, this game is seriously flawed. The concept is very good, however, its execution is pretty bad. This game could have, and should have been a lot better.    … Expand
  17. marcoaaj
    Nov 27, 2011
    5
    The trailer is much better than the game. The idea is cool, the graphics are nice but this game has a lot of weak points.
    First of is the game saving system and/or checkpoints. It is useless and badly implemented.
    The game is quite repetitive. I hate games that you kill some one (a zombie in this case) and if you walk 100 meter and come back, the same zombie will be there. That's crap. The    The trailer is much better than the game. The idea is cool, the graphics are nice but this game has a lot of weak points.
    First of is the game saving system and/or checkpoints. It is useless and badly implemented.
    The game is quite repetitive. I hate games that you kill some one (a zombie in this case) and if you walk 100 meter and come back, the same zombie will be there. That's crap.
    The interactivity with the scenario is awful too. Just go for a drive at the beach and get stuck in a picnic basket. It is frustrating!
    I'll probably try to finish this game because I'm stubborn but I'd not recommend it.    … Expand
  18. kozulowski
    Nov 10, 2011
    7
    To me, Dead Island was the perfect formula for a game. I'm a huge fan o zombie-themed games so I couldn't wait for this one to come out. Even though the game suffers from many bugs and the core mechanics seem too shallow, I had quite a lot of fun in exploring the island and pounding the zombies with my sledgehammer. Let's hope techland learnt a lesson in case they plan to release a sequel.
  19. eljayson
    Mar 6, 2012
    5
    I went full throttle to buy the game after the awesome trailer. I was STUPID.
    This may be the worst game I have played in the past 3 years. It completely lacks story, background and any narrative whatsoever. It is as bad as it gets: No customization for characters, outdated graphics, poor combat system, no idea what is happening at any time. I head everywhere it was Fallout 3 with Zombies    I went full throttle to buy the game after the awesome trailer. I was STUPID.
    This may be the worst game I have played in the past 3 years. It completely lacks story, background and any narrative whatsoever. It is as bad as it gets: No customization for characters, outdated graphics, poor combat system, no idea what is happening at any time. I head everywhere it was Fallout 3 with Zombies and was very excited about it. I WAS WAY OFF, how dare make such a comparison. If you can, stay away from it. It is not even worth the rental money. I would rather go on a second playthrough of any other game rather than try this awful game again. Moral of the story, Trailers are VERY deceiving.    … Expand
  20. Mrmoobs
    Sep 23, 2011
    5
    Brought this after playing it round a friends house for a few hours... really wish I hadnt have bothered though. Combat is awful, you level up but dont feel any stronger, the death and wait for respawn is annoying .. overall not the game I wanted it to be :(
  21. Justinavery7074
    Aug 23, 2013
    5
    I'll give you this, the atmosphere was well done, the graphics were great. But that's all I can say was good. The gameplay was tedious and repetitive, it glitches and had bugs all over the damn thing. The facial expressions were so bland and ineffective. The mission structures were just half-assed at best. Maybe if I played it stoned, it'd be great.
  22. metalaries
    Feb 8, 2012
    5
    at first I was very excited about playing this game as it was something completely different in the zombie game genre. as I played it, I noticed an amazing amount of stupid SHAP that makes you just go....WHAT , THE, F?? why would a woman in a bikini have money on her, as in where the hECK would she put it, up her hoohoo?? why are there tool boxes in the restrooms? why does the game, whenat first I was very excited about playing this game as it was something completely different in the zombie game genre. as I played it, I noticed an amazing amount of stupid SHAP that makes you just go....WHAT , THE, F?? why would a woman in a bikini have money on her, as in where the hECK would she put it, up her hoohoo?? why are there tool boxes in the restrooms? why does the game, when you respawn, have those crazy as hECK "infected" zombies run at you in packs of FOUR?? why are there quests like the one where a woman needs water, and she constantly needs it, I gave her 5 bottles of water, by the time I was done she could have taken a FRAKKIN BATH with the amount I gave her, and then there's the dude that wants food. these are what they called "continuous quests"...wow. who is the genius that used "energy drinks" for health in this game? how many times can i go up to luggage in the game, go off to another area of the island, go back to that same exact area and stuff is back in them again??? how bad is the collision detection that zombies swinging next to each other aren't hitting the other zombie??? and those DANG annoying "thugs" zombies...oh SNAP man, don't even get me started. buggy as all crud, choppy, the facial animations are from 10 years ago, and how many times do I need to hear the F word when people are talking to me? one character said it more than half a dozen times....IN ONE SENTENCE!!! well, maybe not but she said it 5 times, okay. I'm not even going to waste my time trying to beat this game, I did a **** of time in this piece of **** excuse for a ZOMBIE game and I'm not gonna bother with it anymore. I'm tired of cussing, and I have....alot...RENTAL ONLY PEOPLE, SERIOUSLY!!!… Expand
  23. KillerToad
    Sep 1, 2012
    5
    I rarely write reviews on here but felt like I had to this time, because it really bugs me how this game had a Game of The Year edition released, making me finally buy it due to some interest in the title. People seemed pretty fond of it and there's the new Riptide coming. But when I finally started the game all I saw was constant framedrops and poor controls. The sound fades out almostI rarely write reviews on here but felt like I had to this time, because it really bugs me how this game had a Game of The Year edition released, making me finally buy it due to some interest in the title. People seemed pretty fond of it and there's the new Riptide coming. But when I finally started the game all I saw was constant framedrops and poor controls. The sound fades out almost every time I encounter new zombies or do something. I'm sure this can be pretty fun and intriguing on a Pc with decent hardware but a console release with a GOTY labeled on it should not play like something that was ported without any polish or patches. The game can't even be installed on the HDD so loadtimes are also long and plenty.

    I must say that I regret buying this game and that is because the execution makes it a pain to even give it a chance to prove itself. I'm just thrown into the game world, told to follow some linear route (as Ryder) and all the above mentioned bugs come straight at me. No tutorial told me what to do, either, so I had to die a couple of times before figuring out tactics on my own too.

    I have to say that this is so far a very big disappointment because the game is almost unplayable on the PS3, on which it should have been optimized to run since the hardware is unchangable opposite the options of my Pc. Game of The Year apparently means something else than I thought it did :(    … Expand
  24. harlthegr8
    Oct 11, 2011
    6
    Idea is great. Graphics are pretty darn good, and the ability to target and surgically dismember enemies is a plus. I love the ability to modify weapons (a baseball bat is much more effective with nails or blades attached to the end). With that said, I believe the game missed the mark. Multiplayer is fun...once you can get it to work. Personally, i would spend upwards of 30 minutes tryingIdea is great. Graphics are pretty darn good, and the ability to target and surgically dismember enemies is a plus. I love the ability to modify weapons (a baseball bat is much more effective with nails or blades attached to the end). With that said, I believe the game missed the mark. Multiplayer is fun...once you can get it to work. Personally, i would spend upwards of 30 minutes trying to connect to my friends to play together and by that time I was ready to call it quits. Some missions seem repetitive, especially when you have to go from each side of the island numerous times. Suprising even to me, I became a bit bored of the game after about a week. Why, exactly, i can't put my finger on. But I ended up taking this game back after 7 days and pre-ordering Battlefield 3.… Expand
  25. DonkeyDan172
    Sep 26, 2011
    6
    When I saw the trailer to this game I thought that it was going to be stunning. I then found out that the trailer was in fact made by film producers so I thought to myself that I shouldn't expect this from the game. I went to my nearest store on the day of release and thought to myself that I can't buy it expecting what was in the trailer, so I bought it. I got home and after a handy 9When I saw the trailer to this game I thought that it was going to be stunning. I then found out that the trailer was in fact made by film producers so I thought to myself that I shouldn't expect this from the game. I went to my nearest store on the day of release and thought to myself that I can't buy it expecting what was in the trailer, so I bought it. I got home and after a handy 9 minute update I was away. At the start I thought it was a good game, killing zombies is fun, but then it got boring and repetitive, the graphics didn't look good and the mouth movement was out of sync to the character saying it, I thought I would give it a chance and carried on playing for a mear 3 hours. I got bored and depressed and wondered what I had paid for, it's a poor attempt at a better version of Dead Rising. So for this I rate it 6 out of 10 and I have now traded it in :(… Expand
  26. JBo796
    Sep 17, 2011
    6
    I picked Dead Island up from Redbox to rent for a few nights. That was enough for me. I definitely had enjoyment playing it for the week, but two weeks may be stretching it. CONS:
    There were too big complaints that bothered me personally. The first, is that the objectives would not always update on the map. This made it difficult at times, to end certain quests. The other, was that    I picked Dead Island up from Redbox to rent for a few nights. That was enough for me. I definitely had enjoyment playing it for the week, but two weeks may be stretching it. CONS:
    There were too big complaints that bothered me personally. The first, is that the objectives would not always update on the map. This made it difficult at times, to end certain quests. The other, was that as I leveled up, so did the zombie enemies. Not only was the difficulty the same for the weakest of my foes throughout, as the game progressed, they introduced bigger swarms of them along with newer more difficult enemies. After a certain while, it just became too overwhelming for me. PROS:
    The game did control well. It also had some great scenery and environments. I am big on presentation and it was a nice feature for this type of game (similar to Fallout) to have a cut scene every once in awhile to keep the story moving. There was a nice diversity in weapons and loot and enough upgrades to keep you playing for a very long time. IN CLOSING:
    If you loved Fallout and enjoy bashing, cutting, shooting or whatever else you can think of to do to zombies, then you Dead Island is for you. Personally, I've never been a big zombie fanatic, so me to even give this a shot was a far stretch (and shows you how dry of a summer we've had for game releases).



    IMO
    JBo796    … Expand
  27. dhinton
    Mar 16, 2012
    5
    I REALLY wanted to love this game. And, at first, I did. But it got old fast. The combat is just SO repetitive, even with the upgradable and customizable weapons. Once you've been playing for an hour and a half you've basically seen 95% of what there is to see in regards to combat. Also, the story and cut scenes are... weak, to put it nicely. I was pretty much over Dead IslandI REALLY wanted to love this game. And, at first, I did. But it got old fast. The combat is just SO repetitive, even with the upgradable and customizable weapons. Once you've been playing for an hour and a half you've basically seen 95% of what there is to see in regards to combat. Also, the story and cut scenes are... weak, to put it nicely. I was pretty much over Dead Island half-way through the campaign but I forced myself to finish it. And it was a CHORE to finish, especially the last quarter of the game.… Expand
  28. GamePlayer00
    Mar 7, 2012
    5
    This is a review after the latest patch came out (1.04 version I believe). I never played the game before the new patch came out so I don't know about all the glitches that they had before the patch came out. Graphics/Audio: The game graphics are very very poor, I believe its on par with PS2 graphics. With many of the characters lacking in details and it still takes a few minutes for eachThis is a review after the latest patch came out (1.04 version I believe). I never played the game before the new patch came out so I don't know about all the glitches that they had before the patch came out. Graphics/Audio: The game graphics are very very poor, I believe its on par with PS2 graphics. With many of the characters lacking in details and it still takes a few minutes for each character to load their details properly. I guess that's what you call frame rate issues. The enviornment and character are very ugly and lazy. The sound is decent. The roars of zombies are terrifying but the voice acting is pretty bad. It's not the worst voice acting I heard but it's still pretty bad. The way the character speaks doesn't match the facial expression of the characters. Some of them the lip synch is off. Some cutscenes are ment to be emotional but it just falls flat. Gameplay/Controls: You get to control 4 different characters with a higher stat in one ability (which I don't think it makes a difference). The game is extremely repetitive. Yes this is a zombie game and of course you would be killing zombies but the way you kill the zombies are repetitive. It is fun for about the first ten or so zombies to kill but than you realized this is basically the way you're going to have to kill all zombies this way for the rest of the game. You have to get a blunt object (shovel, stick, hammer etc.) and swing and the zombies for about 75% of the story line. You only get a little amount of guns very late in the levels and they are not as effective as blunt objects. You can upgrade the guns and blunt object but the guns upgrades don't show that much of an improvement. The blunt objects are however more effective with upgrades. The game is basically getting from point A to B from different character missions and there is about maybe 5-6 different type of missions that you will be doing through out the whole game. I guess this game is a little more fun with more players because you and your friends can screw around and handle enemies more easily I would say. But for a single player campaign it's not worth it. The camera angle is first person view and its annoying since you have swing a zombie at first person view, it would have made more sense to be a third person view or at least give us the option to switch. The map in this game is pretty big and sometimes require you to take cars to travel from place to place.

    Storyline: I won't spoil the storyline for anyone who is going to play this game but be warned that it is predicitable. Even the last boss is predicitable and ridicilous from how he became the last boss. Nothing new or special about this storyline.

    Enemies: There are a few types of zombies that you will face. It's enough I would say for a regular zombie game but would have like to seem some more. Also some of the more bigger type of enemies (brutes) are very annoying because you can't knock them down easily and one hit from them you go flying backwards.

    Overall: The controls are awkard. The graphics and visuals just a failure or a lot of levels. Sometimes the difficulty of the enemies are annoying. I believe you should just save your money and put into a different game. I would not recommend anyone this game.    … Expand
  29. atlasshrugged
    Mar 13, 2012
    6
    Tragically buggy. I wanted to love this game, but found that I only liked it a bit. At it's best, it is a wicked co-op romp through zombie infested city streets, where you are being chased down into an alley that you have never been down, only to find a dead end or worse! At it's worst, it's a frame rate stuttering, freeze-prone, co-op adventure with sometimes repetitive fetch questsTragically buggy. I wanted to love this game, but found that I only liked it a bit. At it's best, it is a wicked co-op romp through zombie infested city streets, where you are being chased down into an alley that you have never been down, only to find a dead end or worse! At it's worst, it's a frame rate stuttering, freeze-prone, co-op adventure with sometimes repetitive fetch quests and a fairly un-relenting checkpoint system at times. There are a lot of high moments in the game, but most are marred by technical issues and some design choices that really feel worn out by the time you reach the games conclusion. I actually say this game is definitely worth a rent for some fun crazy moments with friends, but unless you are a zombie fiend, I would caution against sinking a lot of time into this lengthy title.… Expand
  30. Bitterman
    Apr 14, 2012
    6
    Long-time zombie fan, but absolutely HATE the rinse and repeat portion of the "mission system". it's still heavily MOTS but fun... "ish".

    The mission system is pretty odd, doing 'favors' for various people, but it is functional. The most annoying part of the missions is the phantom zombie generator... It would have been way cooler to have "x" many zombies in any given area and then once    Long-time zombie fan, but absolutely HATE the rinse and repeat portion of the "mission system". it's still heavily MOTS but fun... "ish".

    The mission system is pretty odd, doing 'favors' for various people, but it is functional. The most annoying part of the missions is the phantom zombie generator... It would have been way cooler to have "x" many zombies in any given area and then once you cleared them out then that's that, maybe a few stragglers every now and then but no problem, go to next map, next mission, whatever. Instead, there is a mysterious zombie generator that puts every zombie back at it's starting point on a regular basis. Easy XP, especially if you find a sweet spot to kill zombies. Also, the radar that 'helps' you find where you are supposed to go sucks because they neglect to tell you some missions are on a different map you don't have access to yet... and the "unplayable area" warnings drove me nuts, I can see where I want to go, it's 100 meters away, but I have to walk in an other than direct path, lets say 300 to 400 meters, to get there.

    The XP system is a bit of an annoyance as well, keeping you down for so long then once you get enough of it you're unstoppable... regardless of how many levels are left for you to achieve.

    Weapons... I liked the focus on melee,the fact that weapons wear down and break, requiring maintenance but didn't think they needed to almost outlaw firearms. Also, the use of money to do this... why do I need money? Once I achieved enough XP and "recipe's" to make my own ammo, firearms were almost all I used (and explosives) and the game became funner. The weapon modification system I found to be ridiculous... a greater variety of weapons and weapon-types would have been better than electrifying a machete... what about a crossbow?

    Multiplayer: it's fun enough for sure, co-operative gameplay always being superior in my eyes to any other method of multi-play. The best part is being a passenger in a vehicle and firing your weapon while someone else drove. Awesome.

    I would place this above Left for Dead (any version) simply because I hated the random hordes of zombies that came flying at you in that game... that never made sense to me.

    Dead Island lacks a true "open world" playability, it is more like Grand Theft Auto, where Rockstar makes you 'think' it's an open world but not really,.. once a mission starts it's all changed.

    All in all, it's a LOT of "more of the same", yet captivating enough to keep you plugging away until you realize you've invested too much time to quit :P    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2011
28
#28 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 41
  3. Negative: 2 out of 41
  1. Console Monster
    May 21, 2012
    88
    Dead Island may lack that top level of polish, and even have its own awkward moments, but it's a game worth playing, and easily worth your money. The gameplay is deep, the visuals can be breathtaking (at times), and every bit of it is fun. This game earns itself a spot in the ranks of the best zombie games and RPGs around. There's still plenty of fun to be had with zombie games.
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  2. Play UK
    Nov 27, 2011
    79
    While the trailer might have been a case of style over substance, the final game is the polar opposite. [Issue#210, p.84]
  3. Extreme Gamer
    Nov 17, 2011
    86
    Techland doesn't disappoint here by hitting most of the points necessary to make a good RPG and adding in some new ideas.
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