Dead Island (video game)

[SymphonicX]

Reloaded have erm..."released" the dev version....I can't believe they released the dev as a retail copy!!!! LOL. Come on SkIdRow...only a matter of hours! This might interrupt my love of Deus Ex HR!

[Mr. Clean]

Pretty good game. I've already types this review out 3x but this stupid laptop keeps going back on the browser when I hit backspace and erases the whole damn thing. Some advice....learn to use the kick feature. Weapons decay with each use. You can fix them but it can be costly. You can kick a walker and they usually fall down...when they try to get up you can hit them in the head and kill them in 1 or 2 hits vs 3 or 4. I imagine co-op is fun as hell. Hope to be playing with some of you in the near future.

[LouCipherr]

You'll hear no argument from me Re: Xbox controllers. PC it is so!!! I have no idea how people play FPS games with that shitty controller. Talk about a lack of accuracy using analog sticks to aim. I mean, it's good for some games, but a FPS? without a mouse/kb combo? NO THANKS. Dead Island Recommended System Requirements OS: Windows 7 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz / AMD Athlon II X2 240 RAM: 4 GB RAM GFX: GeForce 9600 GT 512MB / Radeon HD 3870 Looks like the 360 version for me then, lol... Luckily, I meet the recommended system requirements, so I'll be picking this up on the PC. I hope the graphics are a bit of a boost from the 360 version though. While it looks nice, it's by no means "mind-blowing" in the graphics department. Some advice....learn to use the kick feature. Weapons decay with each use. You can fix them but it can be costly. You can kick a walker and they usually fall down...when they try to get up you can hit them in the head and kill them in 1 or 2 hits vs 3 or 4. Mr. Clean is right - I've watched my son play this on the 360 yesterday and that was what he was doing - kick them, then when they go down, beat the ever living snot out of them. So far I like what I've seen of the game. I do love the fact that you're not constantly attacked by 'hordes' of zombies all at once ala Left4Dead, but at the same time, while you're working on one zombie, several can sometimes sneak up behind you or the zombie you're whacking away on, and next thing you know you've got a lot of zombies waiting to eat your ass. It can get out of control quick if you're not paying attention.

[SymphonicX]

I have no idea how people play FPS games with that shitty controller. Talk about a lack of accuracy using analog sticks to aim. I mean, it's good for some games, but a FPS? without a mouse/kb combo? NO THANKS. Do you play PC games on a sofa or at a desk like most others? Cos that's the thing for me. I literally just had this conversation with someone at work (about 20 mins ago). I play my PC games as though it were a console, sitting on my lush corner sofa, in front of a 50 inch 3D plasma TV. My computer outputs via DVI to my HDMI input on my telly. So when I'm sitting there on my lush sofa, I can't exactly use a keyboard and mouse! There's nowhere to put it - except for resting the mouse on a big book (to save RSI in the wrist from bending it weirdly) and having the keyboard on my lap. It's awkward, and quite frankly, stupid. So yeah gamepads are less accurate, blah blah blah - but using a keyboard and mouse to work an FPS is like using a kettle to drive your car. It's not purpose built...it's uncomfortable, the movement is massively inaccurate. There's a market here, for people like me who are outputting their PCs not into a shitty 15 inch monitor, but into a massive 50" HD TV. The market is for people who need that interim between a kb/m and a gamepad. Something that delivers the purpose built movement accuracy of a gamepad, with the aiming accuracy of a kb/m combo. Personally, and this is just personally, I hate keyboard and mouse for game playing. It feels really unnatural, and I feel totally stupid trying to play a game with one. And on the flip side, why should I relegate myself to an underperforming PC-in-a-box such as the PS3 or the Xbox? With games outputting no more than 640p in most cases, why should I relegate myself to that when my actual PC has 10 bloody xboxes just in the graphics card, somewhere I can get my games for next to (or literally) nothing. I plug my xbox controller into my PC and the games bloody map THEMSELVES to the controls now - Deus Ex, Assassins Creed, Crysis 2, Mafia, you name it - they all use the xbox gamepad and the game's tutorials and button mapping respond to the colours and buttons on the xbox controller. PC games WANT you to use a gamepad in most cases - it's just the gamers out there don't. Which is why I'm holding off on Battlefield 3 - if there's no gamepad support on the servers (ie: gamepad only matches) then that game, and DICE, can go f**k themselves!

[LouCipherr]

Do you play PC games on a sofa or at a desk like most others? At a desk, most definitely. I couldn't play with a kb/mouse combo on the couch well either! So yeah gamepads are less accurate, blah blah blah - but using a keyboard and mouse to work an FPS is like using a kettle to drive your car. It's not purpose built...it's uncomfortable, the movement is massively inaccurate. For your particular situation, I can understand. Overall/generally, a mouse is 1000x more accurate than any analog stick. With my mouse, as Clint Eastwood once said, "I could put a bullet through a fleas' ass at 200 yards!" (Heartbreak Ridge, hoo-rah!) I guess I like the mouse/kb because it's what I play most. I mean, yeah, it's odd I have this keyboard with 101 keys on it and I'm only using what, perhaps 25% of them? And I did grow up playing an Atari 2600 (a joystick with A SINGLE BUTTON!) so I guess I just got used to playing on the computer. My son is actually pretty damn decent at playing FPS games like Halo and the like with an analog controller on his 360, but I just couldn't deal with pushing the analog stick to the left, only to find it went a tad further than I wanted, then bumping it back to the right too far, then trying to get it back left and.... <bam> I'm dead, 'cause while I'm trying to aim, some dick kid that's quicker than me (or got lucky) nailed me. ARGH! Just once I'd like Microsoft to let the PC people play with the 360 people online. I have so many kids say, "Oh, even if they let us do that, I'd stomp you into the ground" Oh, REALLY? Just wait until that's allowed, and you'll see millions of kiddies on the 360's crying on their controllers 'cause they "can't beat the PC guys" Now that we're talking about it, has anyone actually seen Dead Island on the PC first-hand??

[Tricky]

I much prefer a keyboard/mouse setup over a game pad, I used to be a big console gamer so was pretty nifty with a pad once upon a time, but I much prefer the PC controls, once your adapted its fine! A bit like playing a guitar Plus there is absolutely no way you could play a game like Arma 2 on anything but a mouse & keyboard, as every single button on the keyboard does something different. I'm lethal on Battlefield Bad Company 2 as well

[Mr. Clean]

I much prefer a keyboard/mouse setup over a game pad, I used to be a big console gamer so was pretty nifty with a pad once upon a time, but I much prefer the PC controls, once your adapted its fine! A bit like playing a guitar Plus there is absolutely no way you could play a game like Arma 2 on anything but a mouse & keyboard, as every single button on the keyboard does something different. I'm lethal on Battlefield Bad Company 2 as well lol, I'm the opposite of you. I was a big PC gamer and got tired of having to upgrade every few years so I went console. I can't exactly agree that the gamepads are less accurate vs a keyboard and mouse combo. I once thought this myself. I will however give you guys the edge on flying a Helicopter. I couldn't have done half the shit I did on battlefield 2 with the chopper using a gamepad. Mouse wins that battle. Since I have went console gamer....I went back and tried to play Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat.....I was terrible....my pc skills are sad... -- -------- Post added at 08:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ---------- P.S. I'd probably shit my pants and scream like a little girl attempting to take out an infected on Dead Island using a keyboard and mouse now.

[Tricky]

lol, I'm the opposite of you. I was a big PC gamer and got tired of having to upgrade every few years so I went console. Yeah a lot of people have said that over the years, although its not really the case anymore, graphics are reaching that ceiling where they really arent going to make vast leaps between generations anymore, hence why my PC is now 4 years old and still going strong! the only things I've changed are the graphics card when my old one died a year ago, and I put some extra RAM in, thats it

[MinionZombie]

I was a PC gamer for many years (and have still played some PC shooters in recent times - e.g. STALKER: Call of Pripyat, Bad Company 2, and even Dead Rising 2 (where the shooting mechanics work decidedly better on PC than 360). Without a doubt the mouse provides a much more precise and subtle aiming system that doesn't include aim assist or auto aim mechanisms as an option. I've been doing the majority of my gaming on the 360 since 2007 though, because the PC I was gaming on got overtaken, I didn't want the added hassle of system specs anymore, I wanted an easier 'off the shelf' playability time (buy the game, bung it in, play it with no issues) ... and plus there are tons of games that don't even make it to PC anymore. Console gaming hasn't been perfect by any means, and I do miss the independent precision of the mouse+keyboard ... however, the joypad does allow for more relaxed gaming (PC was always more intense), but the aiming took a while to get used to, but I did improve greatly (yet it's still not as good as KB+M, without a doubt). With games like GTA or RDR I use the aim assist to snap-on to enemies to take them down as it helps provide more of the speed and precision that I would have otherwise had on the PC (like when I was playing the likes of GTA: San Andreas), and on games like Call of Duty I leave the aim assist on (the thing that 'snaps' you to a nearby enemy when you aim down the sights again and again, and traces enemy movement somewhat when you're hovering over them with your sights). I remember when I was at uni (and playing PC games almost exclusively), one of our housemates got the original Xbox with Halo 2. We all got into team deathmatch in the same room (fuck this online bullshit where you play against invisible 13 year old chubbers screaming at their "Mom" to bring more Pop Tarts to their sweaty ADHD lair) and it was bloody good fun ... however, originally my aiming was dreadful on the analogue sticks, but I stick with it and went from the worst player out of the four of us getting constantly killed, to the best player out of the four of us who would most likely be #1 on the board after a round.

[Rancid Carcass]

Just had my first couple of hours in game and damn, it's really rather marvellous! The atmosphere the game has is just incredible, it feels like a bloody fight for survival in a way that other zombie games don't. Each zombie requires a degree of effort to put it down, just like it would do in reality, and it just feels right. At the moment this thing is ticking so many boxes - looting/XP/melee combat/skill tree's and a fantastic open-world environment, if you're sat on the fence don't be - I haven't enjoyed a game this much all year. Perhaps the only thing that bothers me is that there's no 'hard save' as and when you want (maybe I just haven't found it yet in all the panic!), it seems to be an autosave checkpoint thing, minor quibble though. All in all, so far at least, a cracking start to an amazing new franchise with any luck - and the closest thing yet to Zombie Flesheaters: The Game! (Zombies, Tropical Island, I'm getting a definate Fulci vibe from this... oh yeah!

[LouCipherr]

With games like GTA or RDR I use the aim assist to snap-on to enemies to take them down as it helps provide more of the speed and precision that I would have otherwise had on the PC *nods head in agreement* Things like "aim assist" aren't even needed on a PC because of the accuracy of the mouse/kb combo. That's why I think the console controllers are just too impractical for FPS games and the like. GREAT for other things, though. About the "having to upgrade my system" - y'know guys, I've had the same PC for about 4 years now, and with the exception of updating my video card once in that period, I've never had issues playing even the most recent games...and it's not like I bought a "top of the line" system back then, and it certainly isn't top-of-the-line now. But it does get the job done very well. Really, if you get decent parts in the machine (ie: decent speed CPU (2.5+ghz, dual core) and at least 2gb of RAM in the machine) the only thing you really need to be concerned with upgrading every few years is just a video card... and I bet people spend more on xbox 360 games and the like in that time period than it costs to upgrade a video card. Dj has bugged me for the past few years saying, "when are you gonna upgrade that old computer?" I always tell him, "when it doesn't do what I need it to do, and so far, it still plays all the recent games with no problem and does what I need to do, so why exactly do I need to upgrade??" My advice: don't buy a "pc-in-a-box" when you do get a computer. Assmeble it yourself. If you can put a puzzle together, you can put together a computer.. just RTFM and check google if unsure, it's that easy. It will save you LOTS of $. Here's the "core" of what I'm running right now (and it ain't pretty!): CPU: AMD FX-60 (2.6ghz, overclocked to 2.8ghz - remember, this chip came out in 2006, and I put it in my computer in mid-2007ish, IIRC) Motherboard: Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Memory/RAM: 2gb Video Card: nVidia 9800GTX HDD: Western Digital Black Caviar, 1TB (7200rpm, make sure you don't get a 5400rpm drive!) The rest of the hardware doesn't matter as much as these core components. I'd say that machine cost me around $800ish when I built it (I already had the monitor, kb & mouse), and it crushed just about any "pc in a box" at the time unless you were shelling out $1500-2000. Not to mention it was cheaper and had better specs... add to that, most of those pc-in-a-box machines are completely outdated from that time period, and here I am, stilling running the same machine and keeping up with the times.... for now. That may not be the case in a year or two, but getting 5-6 years out of a PC used for intense gaming is pretty damn good, especially at that price point.

[shootemindehead]

Bingo! I'm a mouse man myself. Nothing beats the mouse/keyboard combo for First Person Perspective games, or god games like the 'Total War' series. I am somewhat worried though, about the fact that some companies have released their games on consoles only. RDR, being a perfect example. I would have loved to have played that on the PC, without that dumbed down "aim assist" crap. If there's anything that has indicated the challenge reduction that gaming has gone through in the last 10 years, it's "aim assist". I hate it, but playing the likes of GTA without it, is a bloody pain in the arse. Gonna try and pick up Dead Island today. I'll moan about it tomorrow.

[Neil]

Gonna try and pick up Dead Island today. I'll moan about it tomorrow. General feedback appears +ve!

[Tricky]

General feedback appears +ve! I read a review in "The Sun" today and although quite positive, it says that a lot of the quests you get given are very repetative, the usual "go and find this and bring it back to me" stuff that RPG's like you to do (I gave up on those when playing STALKER, I got a bit bored of heavily armed guys sending pistol armed me off into the wilderness to find a crappy cache of something or other)

[Neil]

I read a review in "The Sun" today and although quite positive, it says that a lot of the quests you get given are very repetative, the usual "go and find this and bring it back to me" stuff that RPG's like you to do (I gave up on those when playing STALKER, I got a bit bored of heavily armed guys sending pistol armed me off into the wilderness to find a crappy cache of something or other) Yes, that sounds a bit dull! Would be nice if they keep adding DLC like Left 4 Dead 2! ...now where's Left 4 Dead 3?