Yeah its another zombie game. But its got similarities to
Left 4 Dead though that game is still great and innovative even if the freedom is limited. So the people who published the
Saints Row series Deep Silver also made a zombie game series. The idea is that it combines the survival aspect of films like
Lord of the Flies and
Castaway where a group of people are on an island of sorts battling for survival, with the traditional zombie apocalypse scenario of surviving until someone can get you off the island. Although there are more than three games in the series, I'm only going to be looking at the three main and big games (but may look at the other games on a later date). So more zombies to kill so let's get to it:
Dead Island
The first game takes place in July 2006 on the fictional island of Banoi which is described as a tropical holiday resort location that people can go on holiday at. Although much of the island has been seen by the human eye, there are some parts that have never been seen by anyone so wildlife can be quite predatory in those areas. The game let's you play as one of four characters each with their own skill tree and abilities. They recover from a high profile party only to discover that a plague has taken over the island and has caused much of the population to turn into zombie like creatures. With these four characters being immune to the plague for some reason, they set out to find a way off the island while helping other survivors in the process. So the game is played from a first person perspective with a large open world to explore full of quests, collectibles and enemies all there to increase your skill tree and to help the characters get off the island. Although this game isn't as innovative as last week's game, it is pretty good for what it is. Its survival but with zombies and some if any realism. Its visuals are great, lots of challenges to take on and the characters are good too even though some of them may be too generic than others. 8/10
Riptide
Although not an actual sequel to the first game,
Riptide is a continuation of the first game and sees the survivors travel to another island of which the plague has affected. Not much to say about this game other than it has almost everything the first game had, just on a different island though still within the Banoi area. Really all I can say is that although its good to get another zombie experience out of it, it doesn't really do much in the way of anything new or anything improved like most later entries in a series try to do. Visuals are good again as are the characters. Plus there is a new playable survivor as well, but that's really it. I also find it hard to believe that Deep Silver managed to get away with what they did in one of the collector editions of the game. I mean who actually would buy what looks like a chopped up ladies body with a bikini. I guess its just one of those things that make me wonder what goes in the mind of the developers. But back to the game, its another good experience. I was just hoping for a bit more than what we got. 7/10
Escape
So now we have a game that could be seen as a prequel to the series seeing as its set two days before the events of the first game. What starts off as a simple mission to take down a mole of sorts ends up being far more than what Kilo Two was bargaining for. Some time later, an aspiring journalist as his friends arrive on Banoi to uncover the truth behind what went down while also discovering a thing or two about the outbreak. The best way to describe the gameplay is that is more limited than the other two games. In other words, you have to play it the way the developers are wanting you to play it. So you can probably guess why the game got negative reviews. But it isn't all bad as it does try something new that the last two games didn't do. Such as cel shaded graphics, third person perspective gameplay and some other stuff too. I still prefer the first and second game over this one, but its OK for what it is even if its more limited and lacking in elements than before 6/10
So with an actual sequel on the way, the series is one that may not last forever due to it being based on an already popular thing in the horror genre. But they are good experiences that some will enjoy and some may not. They do try to be fun and do try to let us do what we want to do. So yeah, not much else to say than that. 8/10
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