Dead Island

Dead Island joins the ranks of other zombie games like Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead as one of the best experiences in the genre. While the melee combat and first-person perspective will take some time to get used it, the experience is absolutely rewarding, especially if you can gather up a group of fine zombie killers to come with you for the ride in co-op.

It really just manages to suck you in and deliver a good time. I love the co-op, the atmosphere and so much else that all I can think about right now is diving back into the game.

Did I enjoy this game? Absolutely. Did it scare the crap out of me at times? 100%. Was there a real feeling of survival horror (as opposed to just jumping-scares) that has been sadly lacking from other contemporary zombie games? You bet.

To be fair, when Dead Island shipped, it did have a fair share of issues, and to be honest some of them were game breaking, however most, if not all of the issues, have been resolved and Dead Island is shaping up to be a sleeper hit of 2011.

I admit that I was not expecting much from Dead Island, given the oversaturated subject matter and the delayed development time. And while the game definitely has its share of weaknesses, it is pleasantly surprising in its own right.

Dead Island is a brilliant game and if you want to take this game one step further, the cooperative mode online truly transcends the single-player experience.

New games featuring the walking dead have trouble standing out from the horde, but Techland's first-person, open-world, action/RPG entry Dead Island distinguishes itself. After kicking and slashing my way through the infected island of Banoi, I can say the game has tons to offer.

Soloists might enjoy a long weekend on Dead Island, but this isn't a game for the "separate vacations" crowd. The combination of twitch action with an MMO's girth minus the grind cements the game as co-op classic. There's some brain-dead repetition as you down brain eaters, but the rising challenge and resource management means you'll always be mindful of your tasks.

Dead Island surprised us by being a tightly crafted experience, full of interesting locales and intriguing missions. It can lose its way at times, but you will find yourself coming back for one more go time and time again, as crippling zombies and saving bikini clad females never gets dull. Losing yourself on Banoi will feel like the vacation from hell, but you'll love it.

Dead Island is in many ways what fans of zombie horror films and RPG-Action games have waited for. A gory and exhilarating game.

Although a bit too ambitious if we compare the expectations and the final result, Dead Island is still a great game, with a lot of hours of fun, a great ambiance and a good combat system which provides a lot of little pleasures when killing zombies. Its cooperative mode and lenghtly story make it a recommended buy.

As a fan of all-things zombie, I went in with high expectations and found that the game ticked a lot of the right boxes. Throw seamless drop-in/drop-out co-op into the mix so all of this can be enjoyed with friends or randoms and the appeal is a whole lot stronger, particularly considering the clever variations between quests.

I thought the game fell apart in the final moments, which is unfortunate only because it clouds my memory of the opening where the vibe and horror clung to me like a wet Hawaiian shirt.

Dead Island is one of the most ambitious games I have seen in a long time and while I didn't have any high expectations for this game it managed to blow me away and provide hours of fun from start to finish.

Its rough edges will distract and annoy you, but Dead Island's quest-based zombie slay-a-thon is still loads of fun. There's tons to do, plenty of toys, and the chance to pick up and play with buddies is always appreciated.

It's also got some of the most hard-hitting first-person melee combat in any game I can remember, and an optional cooperative element that really broadens its appeal. Dead Island constantly runs the danger of collapsing under its own weird, esoteric technical quirks, but when it's running at full tilt its charms are hard to resist.

If you value polish and smoothness in your games above all else, you'd be best advised to steer clear of Dead Island. But if you crave wickedly satisfying zombie-dismemberment, a full, deliciously time-wasting RPG experience and a depiction of a zombie infestation which rings surprisingly true, Dead Island should float your boat.

The first few hours can be a little slow, but once Dead Island gets going, it's hard to put down. It's blend of genres ensures that it's not just another zombie game, and the excellent co-op support is the icing on the cake.

Dead Island offers something unique, combining RPG elements with a survival horror setting. Despite a few bugs it is definitely a game you should try if you're a zombie addict like us.

It's completely different from what the teaser trailers suggested, the narrative is missing, the atmosphere is quite basic, characters are just silly. Yet, Dead Island is a funny action/adventure with small RPG influence, delivering fast paced and visceral combat, best served with friends. Consider it if you're looking for a not-so-compelling, light co-op fun.

Dead Island probably won't redefine the survival-horror genre, but it's putting a fresh spin on things by demonstrating how online multiplayer can be used to make a fantasy world really feel inhabited by those with a common goal: survival. And the freedom to explore, exist, and eviscerate the undead the way you want is what makes Dead Island worthwhile.

The game's also surprisingly scary at times: in dark spaces, we found ourselves flinching at disembodied moans, and being rushed by Infested (fast, growling zombies reminiscent of 28 Days Later) freaked us out more than once.

Dead Island is an interesting hybrid with elements of FPS and RPG with a survival horror mood that draws inspiration from many other games, but it succeeds in creating something new. With its gigantic island freely explorable, tons of quests and permanent sense of fear it's more an open world RPG than an action game and it certainly has some flaws. But it's quite unique and a very good cooperative experience for 4 players.

Dead Island is a great game. It has many flaws in its visuals, and the first-person gameplay is hard to understand at first. But Dead Island delivers a big open world RPG game, with 4 player coop and many things to do on the island. Horror movie lovers and RPG lovers should give it a try.

Presentation doesn't make a game, experiences do. And they are packed into Dead Island.

Rough round the edges and not overly varied, but it's still a great homage to the zombie genre. [Nov 2011, p.76]

If you liked Left 4 Dead and you love multiplayer, you will have Zombie-slaying fun on Dead Island.

If you are a fan of the genre, definitely give it a spin. You will no doubt get your money's worth.

Dead Island is a mixed bag. While the game is filled with debilitating bugs and frustrating glitches, its addicting gameplay and immersive world keeps you coming back again and again despite those flaws. If given the proper post-release support from the developers, this game could easily be an A+ title and be in contention to be considered one of the best games of the year.

Dead Island caters to a variety of play styles. Those after a quick, tense singleplayer campaign can race through it, or alternatively players can take their time and explore the expansive island of Banoi. Either way, the zombie horde will occasionally prove overwhelming and the game includes more than a few frights, but the best way to play the game is co-op with friends.

Dead Island is so close to greatness that it's frustrating. Sure, it's not exactly an original concept and the story is such a pointless, clichéd mess that I forgot to mention it in the review, but the core gameplay is so stunningly well-executed that I'm able to forgive most of its flaws.

Using ideas from Borderlands & Dead Rising and creating a unique setting, Techland's latest game delivers a solid experience, but not without its share of problems.

All in all, Dead Island doesn't do anything new as far as the first person RPG is concerned. If you've played Borderlands or Fallout, you have seen it before. This is not to say that there's anything wrong. It's still vastly immersive, just not essentially unique gameplay wise.

There's a great game under all the rubbish, but you have to be willing to shrug off a bunch of annoyances to get there.

Dead Island is an entertaining game, with interesting locations and a good RPG component, even if sometimes too cumbersome. Its main problems reside in a disappointing technical production and annoying bugs that sometime prevent us from completing a mission, forcing us to reload the last save. It's a very good game concept, but too unpolished.

While Dead Island isn't a flawless experience, I still had a lot of fun with it. It's pretty much the zombie game I had been hoping for, and I'm glad that somebody tackled this open world setting for this particular horror sub-genre.