Dead Island Definitive Edition Review

Dead Island from developers Techland and the publishers Deep Silver, coming a fully remastered version of the 360 classic. Add to that all the DLC ever released and 1080p visuals Survival horror has never looked so good.

Well looked so good i can say about the surrounding, some fine texture is on hand with the backdrops of the tropical island but the character models just look like a polished turd which is still better than nothing.

For fans of the survival horror franchise this is a good game very very similar to Dying Light but without the parkour aspect as aimed to go at a slower pace to keep the heart pumping. You can select from four characters seen below,

Logan a throwing expert

Purna a firearms expert

Xian a sharp weapon expert

Sam B a blunt weapon expert

All of these characters are immune to the virus which makes them the best candidates to tackle this anarchy.

I chose Xian as like to use sharp objects to slice at the walking undead, but they have nailed all areas for a survival horror game, you can’t be good at everything which is true to life. It was however funny seeing Xian run around the beach in high heels, god her feet must be sore.

Throughout the game you complete tasks for the survivors all in the aim to get of of the island.

Control wise this game is pretty simple, the sticks are for moving, the triggers are melee or shooting and face buttons interact with objects or people. I really like the ability to be able to chuck any weapon at your foe in combat, seems to deal more damage too…well that is until you have to go and pick it up and avoid the barrage of body munchers aiming to eat you for brunch.

You also have the ability to upgrade and repair your weapons, not it’s not on the level of Dying light where you could have electricity flowing through your machete, but sticking nails out of a paddle is still effective and also more realistic. You can get blueprints from survivors for helping them…although if they have these blueprints why not craft their own weapon and do it themselves? Some people eh.

You have a skill tree that also boosts your character up, gaining xp is achieved from completing quests or killing zombies, light work really. The skill tree is handy as well, you can focus on one path or complete multiple, the choice is yours.

You can choose from Fury which focuses on Bloodrage which helps defeat zombies quick and easy. Or you can choose Combat which boosts your melee damage, it focuses on the talent your character uses so for my character Xian whom is trained in sharp weapons it will give a host of options to aid her getting stronger with those. Then there is Survival which is what it says on the tin, survive. You can increase inventory slots, medikit useage and even the cost of dying…yes if you die you have to pay to come back…call it life insurance for gamers.

The sounds for Dead Island are one of its main factors and really stands out, the voice recording for the NPC’s are really well put together and also the zombie screams are something out of a nightmare. The sound texture in the ground even plays a part with the crunching of the sand to the taps on the decking around the bar.

The menu layout looks a bit dated, like it would fit in on an N64 but hey who cares about how the menu looks.

Coop is a big feature in this game as well and is welcomed since Left 4 Dead days, nothing better than running around an island with your old mucca and smashing in some heads on the beach…sounds like a football hooligans dream.

Dead Island Riptide is the DLC that was released in 2013 is a completely separate game from the original release and hosts the same characters with the addition of John whom is an expert in hand to hand combat.

You can however import your original Dead Island character if you have completed that game first.

Riptide follows on from the main game so make sure that you have played and completed that first as spoilers are involved when you start it up.

First off the enemies in Riptide are harder and more of them, but apart from the the game is 99% the same as it predecessor.

The Retro Revenge is a 80’s arcade like game which pits you against hordes of enemies in set areas like Streets of rage, only it’s not as fluid.