When the original (and awesome) Dead Island trailer hit the internet a few months back, jaws hit the floor. Its memento-inspired reverse of time mechanic was poetic, and best yet, it featured zombies! While details were scarce, we knew it was going to be a cooperative zombie-killing FPS. This, of course, lead me to believe it would be very similar to Left 4 Dead. After getting some hands-on time with the game, I can say that while the game has some similarities to Valve’s game, there are some noticeable differences:

It’s actually kind of like Far Cry/Crysis

Taking place in a tropical environment, I was told by the game’s E3 representative that it would not a corridor shooter in the slightest. While there does seem to be a strict, linear narrative to follow, the games world seems to allow you the freedom of exploration that a Crytek FPS would. There were multiple ways to approach story points on the map much like there was in the original Crysis or Far Cry.

Melee is king

While melee is in the Left 4 Dead series, it’s mainly used as a supplement to all the shooting. In Dead Island, there doesn’t seem to be many guns or ammunition lying around. I had to rely on wooden rowing sticks and machetes to thwart zombies. Furthermore, when zombies lunge on you, you have to hit either of the shoulder buttons (like in a QTE fashion) to get them off you. One bad thing about your weapons is that they don’t last forever, my wooden stick broke and I was left with nothing more than my limbs. Dead Island also allows you to kick zombies away.

Graphics

Playing the game on an Xbox 360 build, I can say that visually, the game looks nowhere near as impressive as its rendered CG trailer. That isn’t to say it’s a bad looking game the green leaved and blue ocean jungle environment looked perfectly competent, but at this point, just don’t expect it to break any visual barriers.

Conclusion

If you like Left 4 Dead, hack and slash games, and Crytek jungle-themed shooters, Dead Island is right up your alley. While I wasn’t able to play the game cooperatively, I imagine with three other players, the game would have been a fun-filled zombie-killing time.