Dead Island fails to live up to its name and is in fact alive

[Twig]

Dead Rising is all about zombies as the enemy, though.

There are lots of great games with zombies in them, but I can't think of any great zombies GAMES.

[Tanukitsune]

You mean a game that's about zombies that good but the zombies are also essential to the game, as in, it wouldn't work if you replaced them with guys in gas masks?

[Twig]

That's part of it, but... not the important part. Good zombie fiction is all about surviving, and interacting with other survivors. What are the EFFECTS of the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to the CAUSE.

[Tanukitsune]

That's part of it, but... not the important part. Good zombie fiction is all about surviving, and interacting with other survivors. What are the EFFECTS of the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to the CAUSE.

I don't think the mainstream companies would dare tackle the long term effects, it's too "experimental" for them, but maybe some indie game will eventually...

Imagine if they made a game where you played since patient zero came back from the dead! You could potentially stop the infestation before anybody notices it!

[Denial]

I liked Dead Rising a lot - couldn't really feel as much affection for DR2. The Mall environment and the baffled but phlegmatic Frank West were the real draws, it seems. But then, I really like zombies - the zombie crackhouse in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines I found absolutely play-with-the-sound-off terrifying.

I did a blog post about the trailer, the salient points of which I think are:

1) There's no way that atmosphere is going to be captured in the game, because you just can't do that for 10-20 hours.

2) I'm pretty confident that you aren't going to be given the opportunity to kill children - even zombie children - in the game. Could be wrong, but.

Also, if somebody tells you based on an alpha build that something is going to be a lot like Fallout, proceed with caution.

Really nice trailer, though.

[Thompson]

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Definitely not what the trailer promised but it does look somewhat interesting for what it is; I do like the idea of an open world zombie game.

Smashing out that windscreen was sweet, need that option in DiRT.

This game will be banned in Australia, no doubt.

[toblix]

I think I'm actually starting to prefer slick PR voice-over guys doing these videos.

Also, I was a bit disappointed with the trailer. The graphics and setting seem incredible (and as always I wish someone would make an immersive adventure game with this level of graphics quality) but the game looked like it wanted to be Dead Rising and World of Warcraft at the same time. Could be awesome, of course. As always, we'll see.

[Wubbles]

Man, if only I realized I shouldn't watch the video before I did; now, I won't be scared when a zombie gets up after I knock it down.

[mikemariano]

Ha, I like how this game even has its own Otis.

Hey, don't hang up on me. It's rude!

[Wubbles]

RPS Preview.

Stamina mechanic sounds like it could make the game very interesting.

[twmac]

Well, I played this for about an hour last night. I am pumped on spending a proper evening on this.

The atmosphere, despite the XP numbers and poor draw distances, is setting up to be really good. At the moment it is coming across as a melee focused Borderlands with a Far Cry setting.

The Zombies are actualyl really creepy and the broad daylight setting does nothing to quell that spookiness. So far the voice acting has been solid too. I reckon it is the same team behind the Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood stuff.

Can't wait to finish work and play some more (removed unintentional pun).

[False Dmytro]

This video game makes me regret not playing video games… One detail I like is how physical everything feels, from opening doors to driving and combat.

Question to anyone playing this on the PC: Is "analog" fighting an even an option?

[a purple future]

only if you plug in a 360 controller, which is an incredible insult. the menus are total horseshit if you're using a mouse, too.

I really like the game despite all its problems but they put like zero effort into the pc port. it works fantastic if you use a controller

[Murdoc]

only if you plug in a 360 controller, which is an incredible insult. the menus are total horseshit if you're using a mouse, too.

I really like the game despite all its problems but they put like zero effort into the pc port. it works fantastic if you use a controller

Thats a shame to hear, the Giantbomb thing sold me, but I dont want to play with a controller...

[miffy495]

Really? The Rock Paper Shotgun "14 hours in..." thing talked about aiming your melee swipes, and I can't imagine John Walker playing with a "console toy" pad...

[twmac]

The digital control system still allows you to aim at specific parts of the body, the analogue version requires a flicking system that I am not sure how they would make it work with a mouse. It might, just not sure exactly sure how.

[miffy495]

If the right stick is usually your camera control, wouldn't it be the same as disabling the camera control and enabling analog smacking when you have the trigger pressed on the pad? Couldn't you just hold down RMB and move the mouse as if you're smashing a guy with it? Wind up, then move quickly in the opposite direction for the strike, right?

[twmac]

I suppose that would work. I guess I was thinking how RSI-inducing that would be, without considering that as an implementation it would work regardless of the possible damage it could do to the user.

[miffy495]

I am incredibly interested in this game, but I would want to play it on my desktop and with a 360 controller, which for some reason I've never been able to get to play nice with one another. I have Vista 32 bit on my laptop, installed the 360 controller drivers once, and have never had a problem. I have Vista 64 bit on my desktop, have uninstalled and re-installed drivers so many goddamn times, tried pretty much everything I can think of, and have never been able to make the exact same controller work. Does anyone know of reliable third-party drivers or anything if the official Microsoft ones will never seem to work? If I could get my damn controller to work on my desktop, I would likely buy this game in a matter of minutes.

[stewmull]

I really want this game but im skint at the mo :/ after seeing gameplays and stuff this is one of the few games i actually want this year...

[Noyb]

Does anyone know of reliable third-party drivers or anything if the official Microsoft ones will never seem to work? If I could get my damn controller to work on my desktop, I would likely buy this game in a matter of minutes.

I've used the XBDC+ drivers on a 32-bit Vista to get my 360 DDR pad to play nicely with Stepmania. (The default 360 drivers mapped the arrows to hats, which made it impossible to do steps involving more than one arrow at a time. )

The install process for 64-bit systems seems to involve an additional step of disabling Microsoft's enforcement of valid driver signatures, so use at your own risk.

[miffy495]

I'm down to try pretty much anything to get my controller to work at this point. I've been fumbling in the dark off and on for years now, forgetting about it and then trying for another few days every time a game comes along that I want to use a control pad for. I'll give it a shot Monday afternoon when I get home.

[miffy495]

Hey, someone on Steam's forums figured out a way to get analog mode to work with a mouse and keyboard. Pretty much exactly the way I thought it would work above, too. Check it.

[toblix]

I watched the GB quick look of this, and was instantly saddened – this looks like a game I would love to play, but that would stress me out completely. The large, open world full of interesting, beautiful locations, the awesome-looking combat and neat-sounding RPG elements are really tempting, but I get slightly unnerved simply thinking about playing it. Checkpoint-based saving, weapons that deteriorate... there should be a giant pussy mode for people like me.

Wait, maybe there is?

[Gwardinen]

Checkpoint-based saving, weapons that deteriorate... there should be a giant pussy mode for people like me.

Wait, maybe there is?

Sure, get three friends to play it and bodyguard you while you stroll around enjoying the beaches and hot tubs like the VIP you are.