Ahh

Announced today, and released as well, is the soundtrack to this year’s biggest zombie-smasher Dead Island 2. The long awaited sequel’s tunes are now ready to be added to pretty much any non-undead, real-life activity. Use ’em as the backdrop to laundry day, while getting some paperwork done, or even if you’re making dinner. That last one kinda fits, what with the cannibal corpses and all.

The music comes courtesy of Dambuster’s senior audio designer, Ryan Williams, and with contribution from Feel For Music. If you’re not familiar, that’s an “experienced British music consultancy and creation company”.

Williams though, was the “driving force” behind the work. A described “lifelong” horror fan, Williams was not only instrumental (get it?) in the creation of the OST, but also has “weapon design and cinematic SFX expertise” as well. So he knows his stuff, and that should make for a pretty great listening experience for those into the macabre.

Speaking of, listening is something that you can do via a staggering 45 different streaming platforms as of today. We weren’t even aware there were that many, but Deep Silver was, and that’s what counts.

Wanna check out some deadly tones? Click here to get access to a list of the most popular streaming platforms, with direct links to the Dead Island 2 soundtrack.

Oh, and don’t forget that DI2 is out right now for both consoles and the PC.

The post Take an audio break, and give Dead Island 2’s OST a spin appeared first on BrutalGamer.

So that’s the original, which still manages to have a hell of a lot of emotional punch I think, even after being five years old at this point. Originally launched in 2011, the trailer landed with a megaton blast that got the internet talking for a good long time; basically till the game was eventually released later that same year.

Now here we are in 2016, with DI2 still in murky territory and a re-release pack containing both the first DI and the Riptide semi-sequel just about to hit retail. And since there’s a decent amount of undead in the air, publisher Deep Silver has seen fit to put together a little tribute. It’s one part classical music, one part classic trailer, and max amounts of feels.

Check it out below, and then stay tuned, as Dead Island Definitive Collection (which has everything, including the exclusive Retro Rampage), and separate digital editions of both the first game’s Definitive Edition and Riptide’s, are all set to hit the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 31st.

The post Dead Island Definitive re-releases with tribute appeared first on BrutalGamer.

Reviews:

• Coffin Dodgers (Xbox One) Review
• Super Punch-Out!! (SNES) Review

Video Game News:

• Dead Island: Definitive Edition Gets New Retro Revenge Trailer
• EA Reveals Madden 17 Cover and Gameplay this Month
• First Pokemon Sun and Moon Information Revealed
• Amazon UK Goes Midnight Launch for Doom
• Final Witcher 3 Expansion Dated and Trailer-ed
• Verona, Italy brings you Willy Morgan
• Disney Infinity Discontinued, Disney Done with Games
• Civilization VI Announced
• Homefront: The Revolution Story Trailer Fights On
• TMNT Character Trailers Kick Some Shell
• Win Some Big Time Cash with EA Sports’ UFC 2

  

• Gronk Hits the Cover of Madden 17
• First Call of Cthulhu Screens Creep Out
• Mortal Kombat X Celebrates One Year On Mobile
• New Sherlock Holmes Trailer Investigates Game’s Opening
• Team Japan Takes to the Ring in King of Fighters XIV

Pop Culture/Movies/Comics/Other News:

• DST Eyes Autumn with Ghostbusters, Aliens, and More
• Marvel Teases More Death of X with Variant Covers 
• Icon Preps a DC Holy Trinity of Paperweights 
• New Witchfinder series coming from Dark Horse
• Get Acquainted with the Cast of Preacher
• TOPPS Issues Digital Card Right from Mets Game
• First Assassins’ Creed Movie Trailer Released
• New Street Fighter Comic to Feature Cammy
• Smite Comes to Comics, Courtesy of Dark Horse

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I guess zombies wouldn’t need sunscreen, with them being dead and all. Never really thought of that, and these are the hard-hitting things that you need to know while in the midst of a tropical zombie bloodbath. The more you know…

Also worth knowing, especially if you’re a Dead Island fan, is that this collection of DI games will include both original releases and the all-new Dead Island Retro Revenge. The set is also available in the Definitive Collection pack (of three) or separately online for digital download.

So if you do have something from the collection and have already played it to death (no pun intended), you can pick and choose a bit. Well, as long as digital editions don’t bother you. Though if you do buy it as the retail set, you’re in for one heck of a bang for your buck, as Dead Island: Definitive Collection will run you only $39.99 USD.

Grab a copy for the PS4 or Xbox One on the 31st of this month.

The post Know your zombie facts in new Dead Island trailer appeared first on BrutalGamer.

Stalled out a bit on the production of the second (numbered) game in the series, Dead Island has something new heading to stores anyway… well, sort of. Dead Island Definitive Collection includes the first game and the semi-sequel (Dead Island Riptide) as well as a third, brand-new game, called Retro Revenge that looks like it could be lot of fun.

While you won’t see any of that new game in this batch of screens for the collection, you will get a sense of what the games will look like running on current-gen hardware. Though there’s more to this re-release than just that. Aside from the new game included, quite a bit has been added to the DI experience including:

• Higher Quality Textures
  Game textures have been redone in a higher resolution and the level of quality has been improved across the board
• Photorealistic new lighting system
  The lighting system in the game has been vastly improved, providing a much more realistic look to the beautiful sunny tropical setting
• Physically based shading
  The introduction of new physically based shading techniques means a higher quality look to the game models and objects as they react in a more realistic way to various lighting conditions
• Image quality enhancements via anti-aliasing
  The addition of more sophisticated anti-aliasing means that console players can now experience a much cleaner look throughout
• Improved-quality game models and geometry assets
  All major geometry assets (i.e. NPCs and character models) highlight a marked quality increase
• HBAO and motion blur effects
  The introduction of Horizon-based Ambient Occlusion adds an extra layer of depth and realism to the world. Through a better implementation of object shadows and the all-new motion blur effects, players will get a much more cinematic feel to the game experience.
• Updated game UI
  The updated game UI provides a more consistent look for Dead Island and Dead Island Riptide 
• The Current-gen Console Experience
  The Dead Island Definitive Collection will also of course take advantage of the latest console features such as Online 4 Player Co-op, PS®Vita Remote-Play (PS4(TM)), Share-Play (PS4(TM)), streaming and recording
• Power Fists Power-up
  And last but not least, the fan favorite unofficial PC mod will also now be added to both products. Punch your way through the mayhem with craziest power-up ever!

Check out the gallery below for more, and then watch for Dead Island Definitive Collection in stores for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC on May 31st for just $19.99 USD.

The post Brand new screens rise for Dead Island Collection appeared first on BrutalGamer.

If you played either of the  Dead Island games that currently make up the series, then you probably have a pretty good opinion of them. There was a bit of decent as to their overall quality in the online arena, though I loved them and know more then a couple of gamers who did too.

With a combination of a zombie apocalypse (which was red-hot at the time) and the fairly unique tropical setting that said end-of-the-world took place in, the series was a winner even for those (like me) who weren’t into the undead craze. Needless to say, I was a little bummed to find out that DI2 had been put in a holding pattern by publisher Deep Silver.

And though that game is still said to be on the way at some point, this little pack here might be a decent hold-me-over. Dead Island: Definitive Collection includes both the original game and it’s Riptide spinoff, plus all the DLC for those games and a special new game, fashioned in the retro-mould.

As you might imagine too, those games aren’t just represented as the first appeared on the PS3 and Xbox 360 either. They’ve had some upgrades. Here’s what’s new:

• Higher Quality Textures
  Game textures have been redone in a higher resolution and the level of quality has been improved across the board
• Photorealistic new lighting system
  The lighting system in the game has been vastly improved, providing a much more realistic look to the beautiful sunny tropical setting
• Physically based shading
  The introduction of new physically based shading techniques due to the latest iteration of the Chrome Engine means a higher quality look to the game models and objects as they react in a more realistic way to various lighting conditions
• Image quality enhancements via anti-aliasing
  The addition of more sophisticated anti-aliasing means that console players can now experience Dead Island without unsightly “jaggies“ – meaning a much cleaner look throughout
• Improved-quality game models and geometry assets
  All major geometry assets (for example: NPCs and character models) highlight a marked quality increase
• HBAO and motion blur effects
  The introduction of Horizon-based Ambient Occlusion adds an extra layer of depth and realism to the world. Through a better implementation of object shadows, while the all-new motion blur effects will provide a much more cinematic feel to the game experience
• Updated game UI
  Providing a more consistent look between both Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. Increase to equal quality level for seamless game experience
• The Current-gen Console Experience
  The Dead Island Definitive Collection will also of course take advantage of the latest console features such as Online 4 Player Co-op, PS®Vita Remote-Play (PS4™), Share-Play (PS4™), streaming and recording
• Power Fists Power-up
  And last but not least, the fan favorite unofficial PC mod will also now be added to both products. Punch your way through the mayhem with craziest power-up, ever

And as to that retro-affair, it’s called Dead Island Retro Revenge and it’s basically a side-scrolling endless runner. The game features all melee action, with power-ups and super-attacks, as well as a combo system to keep you knocking the undead around for as long as you last. You’ll also find leaderboards and achievements/trophy support, plus a promised “plenty of depth”.

So basically, you get a lot of stuff with this one, and for a low cost of entry. The Dead Island Definitive Collection will run you just $39.99 USD for the PS4 or Xbox One. And if you feel like you just want one or the other (and don’t care about missing out on Dead Island Retro Revenge) then you’ll also be happy to know that both revamped DI games will be available singly via Xbox Live or the PSN for the Xbox One and PS4 respectively. They’ll cost you $19.99 USD a piece.

When can you expect all this undead action? Pretty soon really, as all three flavors of Dead Island are expected to stalk the current generation of consoles on May 31st.

The post The complete Dead Island experience heading to Xbox One and PS4 appeared first on BrutalGamer.

Dubbed ‘The Three Flavors of Zombie’ this panel presentation will explore the trio of Dead Island universe games in development right now. Deep Silver is being super-agressive with expanding their popular zombie apocalypse series, and with good reason since it’s attracted quite the fan following side its debut with that show-stopping trailer at E3 in 2011.

Now a full-blown franchise, each upcoming variation on the Dead Island theme has its own unique hook and graphical style, as well as a different expansion of the core ideas; that being a zombie plague set in tropic climes. And all three will be discussed in-depth at the panel too, with plenty of info from resident ‘zombie experts’ like “Bernd Diemer, game director at YAGER Development and Sebastian Reichert, lead creative producer at Deep Silver; Robin Flodin, game director at developer Fatshark and Jon Smallwood, creative producer at Deep Silver for Escape Dead Island; and Jan Eric Lauble, senior creative producer at Deep Silver for the Dead Island franchise.” As for the hosts, the panel will be modded by Director of North and South American Marketing and PR for Deep Silver, Aubrey Norris. And if you know Aubrey, then you know not to miss this.

The whole thing starts up in room 25ABC at the convention center on Friday, July 25th at 6 pm. Here’s what you can expect:

•In the sequel to the original, Dead Island 2, exposes that the virus has spread to the sunny shores of California, where you’ll play as one of four incredible characters looking to exploit, conquer and kick ass in the quarantined state. Set in a visually stunning open world, Dead Island 2 gives fans never-ending zombie-slaying action for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC platforms.

• Dead Island Epidemic introduces fans to a fast-paced, engaging game of “capture the flag” using a stylized arcade art style that pits player against player in a tropical online battle against opponents and zombies. Currently in closed beta, Dead Island Epidemic is on the PC platform and free-to-play.

• Launching in the fall of 2014 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC, Escape Dead Island takes players back to the island chain of Banoi and puts their sleuthing skills and their psyche to the test, revealing the mysterious origin of the virus.

Aside from the panel, Deep Silver will also be hosting a special showcase for their other upcoming titles like Sacred 3 and Metro Redux, which’ll include playable versions. That’ll be held at the Whiskey Girl restaurant and bar at 702 5th avenue in the heart of San Diego. You can attend any time between 11am to 2pm on Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th of July.

Oh, and you might want to get there on the early side (but you knew I was going to say that) as the publisher will be giving away PS4 controller skins displaying artwork from Metro Redux to the first 800 fans through the door to ply the game. Peripheral/PC maker Razer will be int he house as well and they’ll be giving away more than $10,000 in Razer gear. Not too shabby right there.

The post SDCC 2014: Deep Silver explores the three flavors of zombie appeared first on BrutalGamer.

Originally seeing release back in 2011, the original Dead Island was an extremely unique take on the now very familiar zombie theme. Setting players on the tropic resort isle known as Banoi, DI brought the apocalypse to paradise with plenty of melee combat and RPG elements. The crafting system alone honestly made the game worth a play, if for nothing else than to see how many bizarro weapons you could make to snap zeds in two with.

Now the game has migrated to the Mac in GOTY form, which basically means that the DLC that saw release over the original run of the title is included in the purchase price. And that price isn’t all that big either as Dead Island is tagged at $21.99 USD on the App Store. If you’d like to read through our review of the original, click here. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, why not have a peek at our review of the sequel too- Dead Island Riptide. It’s not on the App Store as of yet though, so if you’re an Apple-only sort of gamer, then you’ll have to look elsewhere if you’d like to take the return trip to the rotten tropics.

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The new Humble Bundle has arrived, and this time you can pay what you want for a bunch of games published by Deep Silver.  As usual, the more you pay, the more games you unlock.  Also, you can decide how much to give the developers, charity and for a tip.

The four base games are Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third, Risen 2: Dark Waters and Sacred 2 Gold.  If you pay $4.55 or more, you also get all the Saints Row: The Third DLC and Dead Island GOTY Edition.  Fork out $25 or more and you also get Dead Island Riptide.  You’ll also get soundtracks for Saints Row: The Third, Risen 2, Sacred 2 and Dead Island Riptide if you purchase those games.

You can pick the game up at the Humble Bundle website.

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The first Dead Island was indeed something different. Yes, it’s true that zombies were relatively old hat when it came to video games even back in 2011, but Dead Island made them feel fresh and new. Aside from the RPG elements that the game brought to the table, a good chunk of that ‘newness’ came from the setting.

If you’re not familiar, Dead Island was set on a resort filled with (former) vacationers in the middle of a tropic paradise. If you’d played games for any length of time, then you’d probably fought zombies in every setting imaginable except the beach. Not that the sandy surf was the only setting in Dead Island mind you, but it sure was the coolest. And it wasn’t all aesthetics that made DI great, because there were plenty of other things about Dead Island that set it apart from other undead shooters too- namely, that it wasn’t a shooter.

Though there were guns to use in DI, they were few and far between and the emphasis was placed firmly on melee weaponry. Crafting and maintaining your tools of the trade was also pretty important, as busting an oar over a zed’s head would leave you on the short end of the stick. Literally.

In short, there was a lot to like about Dead Island, even for someone who’s not all that crazy about the undead to begin with. As a sequel, Dead Island Riptide may not have the ‘new’ factor going for it, but it still has everything else that made DI so much fun to play through.

When Riptide picks up, DI has just come to a close and the four survivors (who are immune to the dead plague) have landed on a military transport. Unfortunately, that’s not really a good thing as there’s a private concern who’ve taken charge of the rescue and recovery operation and they’ve been dying to get their hands on the rumored quartet who can’t be zombified.

All four of Dead Island’s characters are swiftly tossed in the clink where they meet a new member for their little ‘team’, the former soldier John Morgan. Morgan can’t be turned either and becomes the fifth playable character in the game alongside rapper Sam B, ex-quarterback Logan Carter, special agent Xian Mei, and cop Purna. The four original characters can actually be imported into the game if you played the first Dead Island too, which is a nice touch.

Needless to say, things go downhill fast for everyone involved and undead hijinks ensue in an opening level that’s a very memorable experience and easily one of the highlights of the early part of the game. From there, it’s back to the islands where the first game took place- but instead of playing in Banoi, you’re stuck fighting for survival on Palanoi- which is another island in the same chain.

Luckily, everything from the first game (the digital/analog play control, the weapon building, etc…) is still a part of Dead Island Riptide, and that’s a good thing. Though Dead Island had its issues, most of it was very well done and loads of fun to play- bottom line, if you liked that, you’ll like this. Actually, no- you’ll like this more.

It’s now much easier to keep your favorite weapons in fighting shape and actually, I found it easier (and more fun) in general to manage your arsenal and upgrade everything than in the first game. Maybe I’m a little fuzzy in remembering, but my version of Morgan that I played in Riptide seemed to level-up way faster than anyone I played as in plain old DI.

And while we’re on the subject, also much like in DI the graphics are very solid in Riptide. I loved the sand and natural settings of the first game in the series and the same goes here. Though there are some odd clipping issues here and there, most of the game is pretty enough to look at and the undead all look sufficiently disgusting.

I don’t recall there being this many different kinds of zombies in the first Dead Island either. You’ll face your standard ‘walkers’, the faster ‘infected’, soggy ‘floaters’ and more. Most of them have special abilities (like toxic infected that toss hunks of rotted meat at you) and they’re all pretty fun to battle. The special undead really mix in nicely too and change things up well from your usual hordes.

Some places where you’ll definitely be running into a few of the special baddies are the new Dead Zones. These are almost like dungeons in more classic-flavored RPG’s where you’ll find new weapons, some tough baddies to fight and the special infected.  Although I liked the idea behind the Dead Zones, they do tend to all look eerily similar. It looks like Techland reused most of set pieces for the different types of ‘Zone and more than once I thought I had been to an indoor location before even though I hadn’t.

Also new to Dead Island Riptide are the ‘horde mode’-like areas. Periodically, you’ll have to set up perimeter defenses and protect areas from rushing herds of the rotting dead. These are great change-ups to the action and I actually would have liked to have seen more of them. Even when you’re not playing with a second (or third, or fourth) player, these are still loads of fun as your bot pals are all darting about and hacking away at zombies that make it through. No, the AI on the bots isn’t ideal, but it’s still a good time, though admittedly way more so with a buddy or two as you can actually coordinate your efforts and slide and dice way more efficiently.

One thing I did take issue with was the sound design in Dead Island Riptide. It’s sort of a mixed bag. The zombies sound pretty cool most of the time and a good deal of the voice work is great in that semi-b movie way, but some of it… Every once in a while there’ll be a voice that’s way too quiet, or way to loud among the NPC’s. And then there are the zombie screams from zombies who aren’t even there. Every once in a while I heard a zombie yell like it was right next to me. While that might be good for a cheap scare once or twice, after a few dozen of them they get more annoying than anything else.

Final Thoughts

I think one of the biggest problems that Dead Island Riptide might have is its similarity to the first game. I can even recall reading bits from when the game was announced where publisher Deep Silver had to make the clarification that Riptide was going to be a sequel and not an expansion to Dead Island. While it is true that the two games do share a setting that’s no longer ‘new’, it’s also true that that similarity doesn’t affect the fun factor that’s in play in Riptide.

And it’s in that arena that Dead Island Riptide shines. Sure some of the ‘get this’ and ‘go there’ missions and side quests can get a little tedious at times, but the main meat and potatoes of the game -the zombie hacking- never really gets old. It’s fantastic fun to dash into a group of walkers, scattering them to the four winds and then proceed to slap the heads, arms and everything else off of them with a perpetually flaming shovel. And doing it in co-op play? Just that much better.

Bottom line- if you didn’t like Dead Island the first time around, Riptide probably won’t change your mind. If you did like it (like I did), then Dead Island Riptide should hit the spot nicely for you.

Update: An update for a review? Yep- because apparently I’m an idiot. Deep Silver has corrected us in that they never actually said Dead Island Riptide was to be a fully fledged sequel to the original game. Though it doesn’t change anything in my review as per the final score or the good and bad points of the game, in an effort to be as accurate as possible, I felt it was important to add on this little note.

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