Dead Island Riptide Review: If It Kind of Worked Before….

Game Reviewed: Dead Island Riptide

Release Date: April 23th, 2013

Developer: Techland

Publisher: Deep Silver

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation 3, PC

Genre: Action RPG

Rated: M for Mature

Exactly who do you Voodoo? How do you voodoo. Not quite understanding my mojo? That’s because you’re new to the island. And while not sure if you’ll survive, let’s assume you will and attempt to escape together, shall we? Welcome to Riptide.

Dead Islands plays out as the continuation of the original. You and a small group of survivors, including John Morgan (New character in the series), are immune to the infection are captured after trying to escape. The prologue begins with you  breaking free and running into Harlow and a small refuge group trying to survive just like yourself.

If you remember some of the bugs from the original Dead Island, prepare to embrace them yet again. First timers can expect characters popping in and out of the map and through walls. The first glitch appeared for me after knocking an enemy down over another incapacitated comrade. As the zombie tried to stand to his feet, he fell back down and glitched under the map.

There’s also at times  disappointing terror. A.I. characters in the game at times screamed in fear, to seconds later calmly fold their arms and stare at you. Other times I was forced to listened to two to three dialogues at once. Literally two characters interacted with me at the same time to where I just gave up and walked away.

Now when it comes down to the action, Riptide delivers. The melee system and first-person aspect has its clear impression. There’s nothing better than backing up as a brainless dingbat swings at you to either kick them back for the headshot or smash their brains in to infinity and beyond.

I will stress the knockout punches! Zombies seriously have the ability to knock you the HELL OUT! How is it possible? Techland probably thought it was funny; and it doesn’t end there. After a while a wasting weapons on hordes, I decided to sprint ahead. Apparently the thug zombies can outrun you.

You have the choice of making your player  a combative individual, survivalist or balanced. Upgrading requires plenty of looting and trades. As you migrate throughout the island, there are also plenty of areas to repair weapons and find hidden items. BE SURE TO FIND THEM ALL the first time around. As you push ahead in the story and hit completion, your only option is start from the prologue all over again.

Genuinely, you’ll grasp that Left 4 Dead concept trying to play out throughout the multiplayer experience as drop-in/drop-out is available as you come across an area that another online player near. Connectivity is great and the gameplay is fluid, showing no signs of lag as we ventured on. The one true issue with multiplayer has been trying to progress with random players. I found myself accepting game request or joining, only to replay the mission solo, due to them dropping out.

Graphics went from good to dull, back to a somewhat decent state. From a distance the environment looks remarkable. As you draw closer to both character models and certain parts of the map they begin to lose its texture. Even the A.I. has tears in their builds.

While the story in this installment was a bit more understandable, the cutscenes visually looked a bit downgraded. Riptide it’s truly a game designed for the co-op experience, specifically with friends. It’s disappointing to see the same familiar bugs reappear and tag along in the final production.

At the same time, it’s unbelievably fun when co-op enters in. The story is no longer the subject of gameplay, just the experience and progression. A mixed bag indeed, feeling like nothing more than a rehash of the original. The original Dead Island would be my preference to gamers alike.

The Scores

Gameplay: 3/5

Visuals: 3.75/5

Audio: 3.5/5

Controls: 4/5

Value: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.25/5