Ever since the fantastic and stirring trailer for the first Dead Island, I’ve been downright confused by the series’ slow decline into to goofiness. Well, maybe that’s unfair — a sillier tone isn’t objectively bad, it’s just that there are lots of wacky zombie titles out there these days. Even Sunset Overdrive’s main crux is a mutant outbreak, and that’s coming from a developer revered for its Pixar-like creativity. For my personal tastes, Dead Island 2’s trailer is simply not what I want more of in my games. I realize it’s a different developer. I realize things change. But that dude going for a jog just looks like a D-bag.
With that out of my system, there is plenty to say about what Deep Silver showed at E3 this year, and though Dead Island 2 wasn’t playable by attendees or even by press (sigh), I was privy to a guided tour with a representative familiar with the game. There I was, head cleared and ready to view things with an open mind, and what’s the first thing the E3 presenter decides to show off? “This is the first game to motion capture a cat.” The palm against my face left a redmark.
Still, that very same bulleted list of features contained a number of impressive ones, including mention that the game’s weapon tally has reached well into the thousands. Included in that total are new motorized weapons, which include grinders, chainsaws, and other delightfully grotesque ways to chop zombies into tiny bits and pieces. Though highly effective, the catch with motorized weapons is that they require fuel every so often to continue functioning. In other words, don’t ditch the baseball bat and jerry-rigged sledgehammer just yet.
Despite my complaints about goofiness, on paper I shouldn’t have anything to worry about.The game’s story has been taken over by an Emmy award winning writer who purportedly has the situation under control, and though it’s no guarantee, I’ll admit it does put me at least a little bit at ease. It’s also important to note that though what I saw looked reasonably polished, Deep Silver recited repeatedly that the graphics on display were not yet final. And I mean repeatedly — at least four or fives mentions. There were some gorgeous renders shown toward the end of the presentation to give an idea of what we can expect come release, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Given that the game looks quite nice in its current state to begin with, I question whether all the fuss was even worth it. If anything, it made the folks presenting seem just the slightest bit insecure.
Gameplay was a whole different story, though, and when the demo guide launched into a combat demonstration I issued an audible sigh of relief. And a well-timed one, at that, as the combat demo was easily the best part of the presentation.
The player character began in the streets of San Francisco. It was sunny, in a residential area, and the juxtaposition of high-class pseudo-suburban living and zombies literally crawling down the sidewalks was extremely effective. Before long a wild undead form jumped from nowhere, attempting to bite the player’s face off, at which point it was swiftly stabbed through the throat with what appeared to be a carving knife.
Shortly thereafter some human foes showed up, which brings me to another of the game’s new phenomena: human factions. The Raiders are just one of many human bands fighting to survive, and they’ll attack or support you, it seems, depending on your own alignment and the sort of anti-outbreak activities you regularly partake in. This is a neat touch to liven up Dead Island 2’s world, and I’m very interested to see how it ultimately plays out. Can the player join these factions? Will doing so create rivalries or unlock separate missions and quests that wouldn’t otherwise be available? Color me intrigued.
Other weapons were shown during the same combat demo, including literal fire arrows that can engulf the undead in flames, and a hulking sledgehammer the likes of which I don’t like videogames until now have yet conceived. Watching that thing plunge into a half-immolated zombie skull was borderline brutal, but like most things with Dead Island 2, satisfaction and the overarching absurdity of it all won out in the end. Hey, I never said I was proud of what I’ve become.
The demo wrapped up with a boss fight, and despite my steadily growing fascination with the game up to that point, I was a bit disappointed by how the encounter unfolded. An overweight, extremely large and angry zombie called “The Thug” lumbered out from behind a door, sporting an athletic jersey and resembling something like a zombified Guy Fieri (I apologize for the horrific mental image in advance). The host of our demo stated that Thugs are one of the game’s more challenging enemies, and yet with a simple sidestep and swing of a keen-edged sword, he sliced the thing’s head clean off with nearly no effort. It could be that our demo guide was simply highly skilled because he works for Deep Silver, but it was an underwhelming conclusion nonetheless.
Overall, it’s hard to say where I stand on Dead Island 2, but I’m certainly more excited now than I was before E3. If Deep Silver and Yager Development deliver on their promise that the game will look “much better” come its 2015 release on PS4 and Xbox One then I’ll be perfectly pleased, but if not? Well, let’s not worry about that just yet. I’m keeping an open mind for now, but if dispatching The Thug takes any less than two minutes when I take him on next year, Deep Silver will have some serious ‘splainin to do.
