By Sam Coles:
Development Hell is not exactly a new phenomenon in the games industry, as there are many examples throughout gaming history, Duke Nukem: Forever being the most notorious. When a game is announced and then disappears for almost a decade, that should raise some red flags. Dead Island 2 was first announced all the way back in 2014, it was first handed to Yager who made the excellent Spec Ops: The Line, then Sumo Digital who made Crackdown 3 (oh dear) and then finally Dambuster Studios who made Homefront: The Revolution which was decent. Was it worth the almost decade long wait? In short, yes, as it is an example of how you can have a game that is simply fun, with nothing complex but it is well made, competent and presents itself well.
The story is standard in terms of zombie fiction, but that is not a bad thing as it sets up the context of the gameplay. Plus, what I like about the narrative is that it makes fun of celebrity and influencer culture, which made me crack a smile a couple of times. For example, there is a side quest you take on from an influencer, this involves you getting footage for her Instagram where you must kill zombies in creative ways. It made for a funny experience, and yeah some have said the dialogue is cringe worthy but that is the entire point as influencers can be and this is coming from someone in that circle.
Dead Island 2 ditches the open world formula to focus on gameplay, combat and extreme detail (oh boy). When they said they were not going open world with this instalment, a lot were disappointed but this means they can craft a more focused experience with less filler (mostly).
The game’s main focus is combat, most of the survival elements have been done away, with a simple crafting system for ammo types, med kits as well as general upgrades for weapons (which I will get into later). The game’s combat is mostly melee focused, and yes it seems simple but you can get surrounded quickly but that is where the counter system comes into play and you can unleash substantial damage on a zombie that is stunned. You can grab them in this state, where you can then pummel, stab, slash or stove a zombie’s face in with a shovel or whatever blunt instrument you have on hand.
You can make and upgrade weapons, which can be infused with various elements such as fire and electricity or acidic chemicals that can melt zombie’s flesh off. This also applies to the fire arms, which can be equipped with explosive capabilities which is great for clearing a crowd. You can make some insane combos that output ridiculous damage, my favourite combo are the knuckle dusters with acid coating on them, these were fun to use coupled with the excellent sound design as you cave a zombie’s skull in.
There are character upgrades in the form of cards, these can range from a great drop kick move which never gets old to passive abilities such as doing more damage when you are near death. As you get further into the game you unlock more, and I found the game got easier in tandem, as I was able to regenerate health when I got a perfect block, and I was up against enemies 2 levels above me.
Now let’s talk about the standout feature in this game, and that is the gore engine appropriately named F.L.E.S.H. You can literally tear a zombie a part, rip their skin off and just eviscerate and disembowel zombies. You can punch a zombie through their skull as you grab their eyeballs, hit a zombie so hard that their eye pops out its socket, or break their arms where they are hanging by a thread of their skin. If you are easily squeamish, then this game might make your stomach churn a bit it even got me a few times when I noticed a zombie with their guts hanging out.
Visually the game looks fantastic, the bright sunny and blood-soaked streets of Hollywood look amazing running on the Unreal Engine 4. Facial animations during cutscenes look really good, you see the subtle expressions on character’s faces from a quick flick of an eyebrow to a cheeky smirk from the likes of Sam B.
The only thing I can say negative about this game, is that it can get very repetitive if you play it for too long, this is why I recommend that you play the game in two-hour bursts like I did. Also, I was playing on PS4 which runs at 30 frames per second for the most part, however I did notice the framerate drop a few times especially when I started to use explosives or certain elemental weapons.
Overall, Dead Island 2 is a very enjoyable game, if you are looking for a game that allows you to unleash havoc on a zombie population then this is the game for you. It is fun, over the top and has its tongue firmly in its cheek and I love it. The combat combined with the gore engine, makes for a satisfying experience.
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