Game Review by Mike Papo CIS 487 Fall 2010 “Who do you voodoo, b*$#%!?”

Game Reviewby Mike Papo

CIS 487

Fall 2010

“Who do you voodoo, b*$#%!?”

DEAD ISLAND

Publisher – Deep Silver Developer – Techland Genre – Horror Action Adventure Hardware – Multi-platform

Xbox 360 ($59.99) Playstation 3 ($59.99) PC ($49.99)

Release Date – Septempber 6, 2011 ESRB – Mature

Game Summary

1 – 4 player (with online co-op) action role-playing Play the role of one of four characters in a zombie

outbreak on a resort island just off the coast of Papua New Guinea called Banoi.

Goal: Escape off the island while helping others by taking on quests.

Weapon Modification Digital or Analog fighting controls Auto Saving / Checkpoints Game play like Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Characters Sam B

Special Trait: Tank Skilled in Blunt Weapons

Xian Mei Special Trait: Assassin

Skilled in Sharp Weapons Purna

Special Trait: Leader Skilled in Firearms

Logan Special Trait: Jack of All

Trades Skilled in Throwing Weapons

Enemies Walker

slow dangerous in groups

Infected fast, agile and vicious

Floater capable of hurting, blinding or disorienting enemies from a

distance Ram

extremely tough, strong and ferocious ramming attack

Butcher meaner, tougher version of the infected

Suicider high damaging self-destructive explosion

Strengths Vast environments

exploration of in-game maps Nice weapon modifications and upgrading

poison, flame, and shock modifications Unique quests

Quests rewards cash rare weapons weapon modification blueprints

Nice level-up rewards

new abilities added health

Strengths (cont.)

Enemies promote different challenges and strategies (including humans)

Fast action pace game play

Good zombie voice acting

Soundtrack sets mood and atmosphere

Survival

lack of ammunition weapon durability stamina / health limits

Quick learning curve

Analog fighting

Weaknesses

Visual quality and glitches

Invisible zombies Character's shadow Slow texture rendering

Poor storyline and character development

1 – 4 player design flaw in dialogue

No daylight / night time transitions

Weak vehicle design and controls

Obscured attack range

Weapons look overly damaged even after a single hit

Re-spawning after dying can cause problems

Game Score

Game Play: 9.0 Presentation: 7.5 Uniqueness: 8.0 Replay Value: 7.0 Price Value: 9.0 Total Score: 8.0

Final Thoughts

What Left 4 Dead should have been Needs better written story and character development Would like to see blood splatter on screen Patch release (Dead Island Official Twitter page)

- Online matchmaking improvement- AI improvement- Quest and escort fixes - Visual glitches fixes