Dead Island Previews

We have two new hands-on previews for Deep Silver and Techland zombie-themed open world action-RPG, Dead Island, starting with GameInformer, who decides to narrate the preview in-character:

19 minutes
I’ve re-awoken in a shack on the beach. Somehow I’ve fallen in with a group of survivors. They saved me from the infected. One of the islands head lifeguards, a man named Sinamoi, is leading this ragtag group. He’s surprised that I haven’t turned into one of them one of the flesh eaters. It seems that I am resistant to whatever demonic plague seems to be affecting everyone else.

Sinamoi confides in me. There is a monsoon coming. We can probably hold up in the main lifeguard station; it is filled with plenty of supplies, and we could call the mainland for help using the station’s radio. Unfortunately, we need Sinamoi’s security key, which is up in his bungalow. I grab a nearby oar and set to work. As the only one unaffected my the zombie virus, it seems like I should be the one to go.

36 minutes
I’ve navigated my way up to Sinamoi’s bungalow and retrieved his key card. I had to beat down several zombies along the way. One of them dropped a butcher knife, which has come in handy chopping zombies off at the feet. I’ve also been scavenging supplies wires, nails, batteries, etc from the loose luggage scattered around the island. Who knows when any of it might come in handy.

It seems that I’m getting better with every zombie I kill. I dump some experience into my combat skill tree, which makes me more effective with blades. A few scattered energy drinks also give my health a needed boost. I might just be able to get off this island alive after all.

Then we move on to The Sydney Morning Herald which goes for something more conventional:

As you will be spending a large chunk of your time in combat, the emphasis on making it play well is paramount. Unlike Dead Rising, and other previous zombie games in which the bloodthirsty hordes become too familiar and soon lose their bite, I found the combat to be thoroughly entertaining (for the hour I played, at least). Sam B’s attacks have a satisfying weight to them without being overpowered. The interesting thing is how difficult it can easily become. As I got used to the controls and became complacent, Dead Island repeatedly put me in my place with a group of four or more living dead. This difficulty requires you to be more tactical with your attacks and keeps the tension high when it needs to be. Hopefully the rest of the game can take advantage of these tense moments and expand on them.

I arrived at the lighthouse, only to be confronted by a (thug), one of Dead Island’s variety of boss. While the thug was just a larger and tougher version of the normal zombies, there are other special enemies designed to make life difficult. With some tactical running away and mastery of the throw weapon feature eventually the thug went down.