The first few hours of the game show the potential for brutal combat and fun
After a decade of waiting, dead island 2 is coming and the Game start had the opportunity to play the first few hours of the game, an exciting survival adventure on the streets of Los Angeles overrun by the undead.
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The game takes place 10 years after the events of Dead Island and Riptide, with a new zombie outbreak in a very different setting of Banoi Paradise. The undead infestation takes place in Los Angeles, USA and has a new group of protagonist survivors, with six different options to choose from.
The playable characters come from curious backgrounds, but they all work very well in this chaotic environment: a stripper, a jock, a movie stuntman, a trickster, a rockabilly skater and a biker.
They have personal motivations, but in this beginning they all pursue the same goals: to find refuge in the mansion of a famous movie star and, subsequently, to help other survivors as they try to make contact with the army, outside the city. There are plenty of people to talk to along the way, with all the exotic personalities you’d expect from Hollywood, and best of all, it’s all subtitled in Portuguese.
Los Angeles isn’t an island like Banoi, but it was cordoned off by the authorities when the apocalypse began. During the test I visited some areas of the city: Bel Air was the one that attracted my attention the most, with its huge buildings that form the backdrop for grotesque scenes and enthralling fights. I also walked through Beverly Hills, with several easily recognizable spots from movies and TV series.
It is not an open world game, but composed of large areas where exploration is free, full of side quests, items to collect and many undead to face (or escape, sometimes the best option).
What attracted the most attention in Dead Island 2 were the combat and evolution systems, which have greatly improved compared to the original game. Melee combat is still the main component, intensified by the high quality graphics and the wide variety of equipment and finishes, as well as the ‘layered’ construction of enemies, who take different visible damage depending on the hits, types of weapons and elements (such as fire or electricity) used in the player’s attacks.
You can use scenery elements to deal with the undead, such as electricity and fire, in more interactive and creative ways than in older games. On a flooded section of the road, for example, I knocked down a traffic light with a thrown weapon and thus fried a large group of zombies. The game didn’t indicate this with indicators, which made it quite fun to try and find out that it worked.
Weapons have lower durability, which feels deliberate, to encourage the player to switch loadouts and experiment with more options. There are also firearms, but just like in the old Dead Island, they are ineffective against those who are already dead.
As for zombies, in addition to the damage system, the variety of body shapes caught my attention. There are people of all kinds, in all shapes and sizes and in various stages of decay. There are also new types of undead to deal with, which will be a nice surprise for veterans of previous games.
returned from the dead
The good thing is that Dead Island 2 does not require the player to have previous experience with the franchise, but brings references and characters from the other games, to the delight of longtime fans (like me). The game doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but you can see that it improves on the experience of the original in every way, including missions that can be played solo, but clearly have elements that work better in co-op.
More importantly, these first few hours of adventure make it clear that Dead Island 2 is not a post-apocalyptic game about high human drama or complex survival techniques, but rather a game about fighting against hordes of hungry zombies.
I look forward to continuing the onslaught when the game arrives on April 21st for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
*This test was conducted on PC, with a preview version of the game courtesy of Deep Silver.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
