Dead Island
| Dead Island | |
|---|---|
 Cover for Dead Island | |
| Developer(s) | Techland |
| Publisher(s) | Deep Silver |
| Engine | Chrome Engine 5 [2] |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
| Release | August 1, 2011.[1] |
| Genre(s) | First-Person Melee |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Dead Island is an upcoming open world horror action adventure video game in development by Techland for Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. It is centered on the challenge of survival on a zombie-infested island with a major emphasis on melee combat.
Gameplay
Dead Island will feature open world gameplay, played from a first person perspective, with up to four-player co-operative play (local and online) in a sandbox environment, including a heavily interactive environment. The focus will be on melee combat, incorporating customizable weaponry, vehicular customization/combat, and RPG elements.
There is an experience system and a skill tree system. There is also a stamina bar, meaning that after a set amount of action with a weapon, the character will need to stop to regain their stamina before continuing to attack. It has also been confirmed that there are "special class" zombies, which are more powerful than the standard zombie.[5] Players will need to use flashlights in dark areas, adding suspense to the game.[6] Night time and changing seasons have been confirmed to not take place during the game, although a weather system is in effect.[7] Because of the ESRB rating system, there will be no children zombies in the game.[8]
Plot
The game is set in the Palms Resort, in fictional Banoi, located off the coast of Papua New Guinea.[9]
The first mission serves as the tutorial. The character wakes up with a lifeguard standing over him. The man helps the character up, and guides him/her to a beach hut with other terrified survivors/tourists. One person begs the character to go outside and help the lifeguard fend off the horde. The character then picks up a dinghy paddle and walks outside. After helping the lifeguard, a voice is heard over some speakers around the area, warning survivors the area isn't safe.
The Italian film Zombi 2 is considered inspiration for Dead Island with the premise of survivors on an island fighting off hordes of the undead.
Characters
The names of the four playable characters in Dead Island are Xian Mei (the assassin class and a staff member at the hotel), Logan (a surfer), Sam B (the tank class and a former rapper) and Purna (a bodyguard). The other classes are known to be the Leader and the Jack-of-all-Trades. All four are in the Hero category.[10]
Enemies
Details about specific in-game enemies have been sparse, but a few enemies have been confirmed. These are "The Suicider", a large enemy with boils upon its body, heavily disfiguring it; "The Butcher", a humanoid-shaped man with long hair, and missing both arms from the elbow, with only bones sticking out of the sockets; "The Ram", a large man wrapped in a strait-jacket with a mask covering his mouth and finally "The Drowner", another large disfigured enemy covered in slime with large red eyes.[11]
Development
Dead Island will be published by Deep Silver.[12]
The zombies have fully-modelled layers of meat and muscle rendered onto their bodies, meaning they have a multi-layered damage system with real-time injuries.[13]
A trailer featuring the transformation of a young girl into a zombie, played in a nonlinear sequence, was commented upon by Ben Parfitt of MCV. Parfitt praised the trailer itself, but criticized the online reaction to it, writing "It's a video that uses an image of a dead girl and images of her dying to create an emotional bond with a product."[14][15] Wired exclaimed, "It may be the best video game trailer I’ve ever seen; gorgeous, well-edited and emotionally engaging." However Wired urged caution, stating that Techland did not make the trailer and that "everyone is hyped up about a short film, not the game itself."[16]
Dead Island was originally stated to be released in 2007, developed by Techland and produced by Adrian Ciszewski [17] but was delayed.
On March 21, 2011, gaming licenser ERSB announced that the original version of the Dead Island logo was not suitable for release in North America, and Deep Silver was told to change it. Instead of the hanging corpse in the original logo, it was changed to that of a zombie stood by the tree. This logo change is only to appear on the boxart of the North American release, with the logo remaining unchanged in other territories.[18]
On May 17, 2011, an official teaser trailer featuring some gameplay aspects was released on the official Dead Island YouTube channel. The trailer focuses on the island itself, along with photographs of people on holiday, with zombies intercepting the screen towards the end. The teaser is known as "Part 1: Tragedy Hits Paradise", hinting at other future teasers.[19]
On May 23, 2011, a video on GameTrailers for the game was released which demonstrates actual gameplay.
References
- ^ Sacco, Dominic. "Dead Island now Deep Silver's 'most important title". MCV. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "Dead Island is coming, with more information released". February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/deadisland/tech_info.html
- ^ "Why Deep Silver needed Square-Enix to distribute Dead Island". Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ "Hamza CTC Aziz". "Impressions: Your first look at Dead Island". Destructoid. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "J". "Dead Island-Gameplay-Interview". GameTrailers. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=109294299094020&topic=706
- ^ "Developer Interview". Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ Deep Silver. "Dead Island Age Gate". Deadisland.deepsilver.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ Deep Silver. "Dead Island Age Gate". Deadisland.deepsilver.com. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ^ http://www.dead-island.com/forums/members/300/albums/dead-island-enemies/
- ^ Purchese, Rob (2011-02-17). "Dead Island published by Deep Silver". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ "Josh". "Dead Island announcement trailer". VideoGamesBlogger. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Dead Island - Announcement Trailer". IGN. 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ Parfitt, Ben (2011-02-17). "OPINION: That Dead Island trailer". MCV. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Schreier, Jason (2011-02-17). "Don't Get Caught Up in Dead Island Trailer Hype". Wired. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Osborn, Chuck (2008-03). "PC Gamer". 15 (172). Future US, Inc: 38.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Reilly, Jim (2011-03-21). "Dead Island Logo Censored in NA". IGN. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Dead Island Teaser "Part 1: Tragedy Hits Paradise"". Dead Island/YouTube. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-17.