And is anyone interested in going in on a 4 pack?
Phoenix and I haven’t had much gaming time lately, but this looks fun, and it’s got zombies. I think I need to make time, damn it!
Can you play it co-op with four people? Is there a preorder discount? I was going to wait for reviews before I buy, but if it got 4 player co-op I might be interested.
PC Gamer said that they retrofitted it with 4 player co-op, so maybe it would be wise to see some reviews before jumping in. It doesn’t look like there’s a discount for pre-ordering (just a special weapon), though there is a discount for a 4-pack. Let’s see what reviews are like then, and go from there.
Reviews are starting to come up. Flawed but good seems to be the general consensus. Biggest complaints seem to be the paper thin main plot and graphical issues like textures not loading, lacklustre character animations on living people, and object pop-in. These are complaints from the console version and might not apply to the PC.
The open world exploration and melee combat seem to be the game’s biggest strengths. The co-op has also been described as good.
Some reviews:
Got this game instead of Deus Ex on the recommendation of a friend. Right now my friend is looking pretty good, as I’m enjoying the holy hell out of this game.
I’m not far enough in to do a full review, but what I’ve played has been fun. The game is light on guns so far. Most of my time spent has been beating zombies with baseball bats and paddles. The actual impact of the flaws has been negligible. Yeah sometimes people move like puppets, and once the dappled sunlight in a room turned into a creepy red glow that moved up and down, but the game just plays well. I’ve spent just as much time wandering on side missions as I have playing the main “story.”
Overall I think the game is solid and worth a purchase. It’s about time we had a zombie sandbox to play in.
I just bought Dead Island and have not played it yet but would like to put a plug in for Deus Ex. Regardless of how good (or bad) Dead Island is Deus Ex is a pretty great game (just finished my first playthrough). Unless money is an issue for you that you can only buy a few games here and there I think you’d find Deus Ex worthwhile. On Metacritic Deus Ex beats out Dead Island. Not by a lot but a score of 89 is notable as pretty darn good (and the user score is a BIG difference in favor of Deus Ex although reading a bit seems the low scores are complaints about bugs and not gameplay).
That said there are several games on the horizon that seem worthy (Mass Effect 3, Batman [Arkham Asylum was awesome] and Skyrim).
As for Dead Island as I said I am just getting started but are there any Dopers down for multiplayer in this game? Mulitplayer sounds like fun here.
Bought it on Xbox, haven’t had a chance to do anything more than watch the intro yet. Can’t play gory games while the 4-year-old is awake, don’t ya know (on a related note, I just finished Viva Piñata). But I’m interested in playing with other folks, whenever I can get on. Note: my gamertag has changed, and is now just “Max Torque”. Yay!
Can Xbox and PC gamers play together or are they separate networks?
(Of all the people I know I’d think I’d be the one who knows this but I don’t.)
For those who’ve played it - how does it compare to Dead Rising 2? I got DR2 expecting more of an open gameplay, sandbox-y feel (make your own weapons! Pick up anything!), but instead felt boxed in by the mission structure and skills system. For instance, before you can make the awesome chainsaw boat paddle you see in the trailer, you need to level your skills up by making really basic stuff like a bat with nails in - there’s a reason I want to play this game, and not WoW, and yet more skills grinding isn’t it.
Not to mention having to go back every few game-hours to give my kid anti-zombie meds was a huge pain in the ass
If Dead Island is truly as open and freeform as the trailers made it look, I am so getting this for PS3, graphical glitches or no.
Separate networks.
The main reason I got it was for the sandbox aspect. Deus Ex sounded great and I was sorely tempted, but in the end it came down to just being able to pop it in and smash some zombies with a bat.
It’s pretty open. I’ve heard it compared to Fallout, but that’s a stretch. This is probably closer to InFamous. You’ve got a limited selection of powers depending on which racial stereotype you picked (fair warning: lockpick has thus far been a waste of talent points. I’ve yet to get anything good from a locked box.). You start with two main areas and a handful of quests in those areas, but there are also a fair amount of quests in the wilderness and people who just need you to bash the zombies that are harassing them. Or you can just grab a truck and run some zombies over. That’s fun too.
I’m debating between this and Space Marines.
The original trailer and pre-release info I read made me think this was going to be like Fallout with zombies. Turns out it’s Borderlands with zombies. I’ll pass.
As for Space Marines, I’ve read that it’s incredible but that it has a really, really short single player campaign. If you’re only interested in the multiplayer, cool, but just letting you know.
Considering I’ve not played Borderlands either, that’s not much of a deterrent. 
I read Space Marines was fun but you are on serious rails the whole time. That’s why I got Dead Island.
Maybe I’ll do Space Marines when it is on sale someday.
Zero Punctuation reviews Dead Island.
He is one of those reviewers who hates almost everything but he is fun to listen to.
In this case I think he is nearly spot on. The more I play the more the unpolished problems bug me. At first the lack of polish bugged me a little but figured I’d learn to deal with it but that hasn’t happened. Some quirks just never stop ceasing to annoy.
That said, in the end, I am still playing it so I must be having some fun? Right? Tell me I’m right.
Can kicking zombies ad nauseum ever get old?
He’s pretty much right about everything except at the end. I’ve noticed all the glitches. I’ve watched a twerp I’m escorting run right up to a thug and get stomped. I’ve done the can-can, though I thought more of the rockettes kick line. I’ve even had the autosave restart me surrounded by zombies and killed before I could even take one zombie down.
Still, I think the game is a blast. I’m in the city now and I love the echo of the dead ringing around between the buildings. I love hearing the scream of a fast moving infected and finding myself whipping around to spot the damn thing before it beats me senseless. I love finding myself surrounded by zombies and having to leg it to the nearest safe corner. I love my character’s comedically inappropriate answers to quest requests.
Q: Will you please go and put my family to rest?
A: YEAH! I can DO that!
And yes. I love kicking zombies (and the human looters I’ve found) in the crotch until they die.
I saw a Let’s Play where everyone was griping about the glitches, but they still couldn’t put down the game. It was funny.