Dead Island (PS3)

Dead Island is a first person survival horror video game from developer Techland and publisher Deep Silver. The game was published for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The story focuses on trying to survive an open world island that has been taken over by zombies. Melee combat is strongly emphasized.

The horror title was first announced at E3 2006 but was so hugely delayed that the release date was pushed to September 6, 2011 in North America and September 9, 2011 for PAL regions except Germany. Dead Island is not just built around combat gameplay. Players also had to complete quests to move forward. They earn XP by killing enemies and completing the tasks given. XPs are needed to level up. Leveling up is important because it helps the players gain health and stamina. After each level gained, a player can opt to invest a skill point gained into a skill tree. Characters can be customized.

In the game, players fight using melee weapons and firearms. In the first quarter of the game, they cannot use firearms yet and have to make do with blunt and bladed weapons that have been randomly generated and found. Each weapon has unique stats that can determine its efficiency. The player may need better weapons when facing “special class” zombies, which are more powerful than the rest. Flashlights are needed during night time scenes, which make them full of suspense.