The hype built around Dead Island was astonishing. A short promotional film (which effectively announced the game too) was released featuring a little girl's fall from a hotel during the zombie outbreak; it was shot in reverse chronology and generated an incredible amount of interest in the game, both due to the controversial subject and the style of the trailer. Problem was, the filmic trailer was just that; a film. It showed no gameplay and wasn't even made by the developers people began to wonder just how good Dead Island would prove to be. Bizarrely, the game was also revealed to be an action-RPG hybrid with an emphasis on melee combat, although it turned out to be one of the better examples of mixing RPG elements with various genres of games. The skill-point system was surprisingly in-depth and actually made it feel like your character was growing stronger with each level up (a detail that a lot of RPG-style games miss nowadays, sadly). The setting provided some awesome vistas and despite the potentially cliché zombie apocalypse scenario, exploring a hellish version of a holiday paradise proved to be exciting. The story wasn't particularly great and the first act of the game is definitely the strongest (largely because it deals with survival and building up your resources) but Dead Island proved to be a lot of fun, especially in four player co-op. It might put you off your next trip abroad though.
I have an addiction to achievements, a craving for new bands and a dream to become Captain America. I once finished second in a Mario Kart 7 tournament so I'm kind of a big deal.
