Post by Bytor on Jun 8, 2013 15:13:08 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.5/10
OK, let's be honest. To a certain extent this is a borderline ugly game. Texture tears are abundant. Pixelation close up is obvious and the cut scenes are even sub-par. Honestly it looks like an older PS2 game...at best. Having said that what it does provide is wonderful ambiance! I swear it will make you look around every corner expecting a zombie to pop out any minute. And while the graphics aren't by any means great the overall look of the game is pretty damn good to be honest. It's weird, it's not pretty but it works! LOL. And to be equally honest by two hours into the game I ignored all of the graphical glitches, all the faults and simply enjoyed not only playing the game but the way it looked as well.
-Sound- 9.2/10
The zombie sounds, and that is pretty much the vast majority of sounds you hear, are wonderful. The moans will haunt you, scare you and keep you on your toes throughout the game. It's hard to really review this aspect of the game to be honest as seriously, other than some jungle sounds midway through the game zombie moans are all there are. What makes the sound, in my opinion great is the lack of sound. This island is for all intensive purposes a freaking graveyard, and tha lack of sound in some of the more industrial areas is unnerving to say the least. A wonderful case of more being better, no sweeping obtrusive music, just the slight sounds of nature....with the moans of the undead.
-Gameplay- 9.5/10
OK, the game has some issues. For one the learning curve is a bit steep at first, be prepared to either run or die until you get the hang of the combat. However, once you do it simply shines. The gameplay is complex and yet so very accessible. Be prepared to constantly repair weapons, and to be honest I changed weapons so much I forget how many I actually used. It is simply so very much fun to kill the undead with the various weapons I found myself changing simply to change, lol. Each weapon has it's good and bad attributes, and ammo, while nowhere near as scarce as some have said, is probably not going to be your first choice, instead be prepared for melee, and tones of melee! Upgrading your character is fun and adds many perks and it's not too terribly hard to level up, simply kill more undead, lol. And if you liked Fallout 3 an all the side quests then this is the game for you. There is literally dozens of missions which not only add to the game in general but will specifically give you better weapons and upgrades. I simply adored the gameplay in this game. One word of caution though, thugs are NOT worth the trouble, lol.
-Story- 8.0/10
Well...something happened on this small resort island an the dead became undead....survive, escape...there ya go...to a self proclaimed "zombieophile" what more could one want, lol.
-Overall- 8.8/10
This game is far from perfect, having said that while i cannot realistically give it a great score I will say that I enjoyed Dead Island more than anything I have played in awhuile. Come into it with open eyes and perhaps you will enjoy it as I did. Expect the next great PS3 masterpiece and you will probably be disappointed. It's not a masterpiece, but it is a damn fun and addictive game!