Grave Gamer News & Views — dead island: riptide

Dead Island: Riptide (PC/PS3/X360 - TBA 2013)

Techland finally blew the lid off their zombie mashing sequel to last year’s surprise hit of the gaming dry season and it looks…like not a sequel at all.  And Techland would agree.  Re-utilizing more than a lot of the original game’s assets (including our four one-liner spewing leads), the developer prefers Riptide to be viewed more as a $50 expansion than a full-blown Dead Island 2.  With that, you can expect a ton of carry over when it comes to basic mechanics, balancing weapon durability, and co-op cohesion.

Opening up literally minutes after the (lackluster) finale of Dead Island, Riptide strands you on the shores of a new chain of islands which also happen to unfortunately be stricken with a zombie infestation bad enough to put smile on George Romero’s face.  Again, an awful lot will feel like deja vu if you spent enough time cracking skulls on Banoi, but there is some divergence to expect out of Riptide.

Weather now plays a bigger role in the ecosystem, bearing down on your crew realistically and randomly, firearms have gained a more prominent focus than in the original, communication between survivors has been tweaked, and a fifth, not-yet-detailed class has been announced featuring their own dynamic set of skills.  In order to prevail against the hordes, players will also have to tackle “hub defense” missions.  These missions take a big bite right out of Call of Duty’s Zombies Mode and gravitate around fortifying a base from undead attack by boarding up barriers and laying down trip mines.  Not wholly original; not unwelcome, either.

I had a B-Movie blast during my stay on Banoi.  Dead Island is a unique take on the zombie game and shines during its bloodiest, gore reviling moments.  But for an open world actioner grazing the surface of an RPG, it had a dizzying lack of depth.  Hearing Techland lobby Riptide as “more of the same” is worrying, since this series could definitely benefit from some renovation, but if it only amounts to mindless fun, I can’t really fault a B-Movie for being a B-Movie, now can I?

Dead Island: Riptide Cheaper Because of Its End-of-Console-Cycle Release

We’re a short while yet away from learning anything of value about Techland’s Dead Island sequel (a full reveal is scheduled later this Summer), but oddly enough, we already know how much it’ll cost.  Thanks to a representative at Dead Island: Riptide’s publisher, Deep Silver, the sequel’s price point has been confirmed to be $49.99 – a whole $10 below the average new game release price tag.  You’re tempted to look outside to see if the sky’s falling but I assure you everything is nominal.

The sequel isn’t operating on a stunted budget and none of the content retreads the original game (not literally, anyway).  Deep Silver attests the pricing was set lower than norm due to the fact that this console generation is coming to a close.  If that’s the case, Dead Island just might be a trendsetter – a trend I fully support.

With next-gen dev kits already being distributed by the big manufactures, we won’t have long to wait until we see new consoles.  Sony and Microsoft want us to believe otherwise, but if Deep Silver’s decision is any indication, companies are already gaining way for what comes next.

Greetings and hello’s, friendly gaming readers not phased by this block of text.  Welcome to a very special morning edition of the Roundup.  Once again, the Roundup serves as a gathering of news and happenings that The Red Herb missed out on because I’m a terrible human being.  And boy howdy, did I miss out on a lot of shit.  After a slew of conferences Monday, the E3 show floors filled with attendees yesterday – most united under the pen of journalism –  ready to get their mitts on the hottest upcoming games and the newest innovations in video game technology.

Me?  I was at work.  The Herb’s not exactly what’d you call a “paying gig,” so I had to while away the hours not streaming E3 goodness directly into my brain.  Because of my plight, I wasn’t able to cobble words in real-time and throw them at all the awesome, stupid, and stupidly awesome things we saw yesterday.  But don’t think I’d let that bastard news get away from me.  I may be late to it, but I’d sooner die face down, naked in a ditch than let these announcements go another second without me being mildly sarcastic about them.

I’ll have to be brief; my assholey-ness bitterly succinct.  Here goes – welcome to our first ever E3 Roundup ™.