Review: Dead Island 7.5/10 (buy it)

Dead Island (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 )
Developer: Techland
Publisher: Deep Silver/Square Enix
released: September 6, 2011
MSRP: $59.99 (PS3, 360) / $49.99 (PC)

(The game in its current state still has some bugs.  yes a dev version was released on launch day for steam this was corrected within the day. and the developer is still working hard to patch the game. it is by no means unplayable, with some basic fixes that can be found)

ABOUT: 

     In dead island you play as one of 4 predefined characters, who as you guessed it are on an island in the midst of a zombie outbreak. each character has his or her own areas of expertise consisting of blunt, sharp, guns or throwing weapons. you are thrown into a mostly open world to do quests, kill zombies, and attempt to figure out what exactly is going on. with out a doubt one of the most realistic zombie outbreak scenarios.

GAME PLAY: 

     This is one of the most fun zombie games I have played to date. to start off the combat system is excellent, and realistically fun. for example when striking a zombies arm with a blunt weapon the damage shows up as you would expect. The limb can then brake causing it to dangle their uselessly connected by the flesh and muscle. and with sharp weapons just outright cut them off. This is not your normal left 4 dead or dead rising zombie slayers however. the zombies scale as you level providing a constant challenge and keeping you on your toes at all times. their are different classes of zombies with specific traits as well. 

  

     The games leveling system is well implemented to add a sense of development to your character. each character has 3 skill trees that you place your points in depending on your play style. The loot system is reminiscent of Diablo type dungeon crawlers you will find weapons on bodies in chests and they will have randomly generated stats. 

    The co-op system works easily with seamless joining and leaving other players games. you are able to join any game you wish regardless of level or story progress. so you will be able to do things like go back and help a friend with a part you already beat. also some of the areas in game are more challenging and better suited for more then 1 player. Playing this game with friends is a real good time lets just say hours can be spent off road in the vehicles running over zombies. 

    Graphically the game is very good looking and smooth ruining. the sounds at allot to the atmosphere. the game does a very good job at building tension then spooking you, I jumped quite a few times. 

Faults:

     While this game is very fun it is not with out its faults. some of the object physics leave much to be desired silly things like sand castles stopping a pickup truck in its tracks. like stated up top at the time of writing this(9/11/11) their are still a few bugs but they are being patched. some silly things like no rear view mirror in the cars. if you are looking for a shoot em up zombie game ammo is not every where and staying stocked up all the time is near impossible. if you throw your weapons and die you might end up losing them small things like that take a little bit away from the experience. 

TL;DR:

     Imagine fall out 3 on just cause 2 island  met left 4 dead and border lands and that's pretty much this game. very fun even more if played with friends. 7.5 / 10   worth your money some of the best fun i have had this year. 

Please comment let me know what you think, or what games you would like to see next.