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TheCity of Angels becomes the City of the Dead in the next game in Deep Silver’s open-world zombie-bashing RPG series, Dead Island.
Dead Island 2 will continue the main storyline told in Dead Island, follow-up Dead Island: Riptide and cartoony spin-off sequel Escape Dead Island (set for release in November).
The first title in the series was arguably Deep Silver’s first big global hit, seeing significant commercial success.
Taking the development reins from Techland, which created the first two games in the franchise, is Yager, best- known as the studio behind story-driven third-person shooter Spec Ops: The Line.
The PS4, Xbox One and PC game is being penned by the Emmy Award-winning writer behind US TV show The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, Anne Toole.
As revealed in the game’s initial E3 teaser, which saw a smarmy runner jog down a street flooded with zombies without noticing a thing, the game’s writing will take a more light-hearted spin on the end of the world, with player characters cracking one- liners as fast as skulls.
TAKING ON THE DEAD
Moving abroad from the zombie-infested island of Banoi to the sunny shores of California, the title will allow players to choose from four class-based characters: Hunter, Berserker, Speeder and Bishop.
As well as bashing in the skulls of the undead with Dead Island’s signature melee combat and gunplay, players will also raid abandoned shops and streets looking for cash and items.
Weapons can be customised with mods, including elemental boosts such as fire
and electricity. For example, fire axes can be somewhat ironically equipped with integrated blowtorches to set attacking shufflers alight, while machetes can be electrified to provide a shocking surprise to decomposing nasties. And for double trouble, players can also dual-wield.
The characters will be weapons themselves, equipped with a range of upgradable skills and signature Fury Attacks. Or, if they’re feeling lazy, players can drive around the city, knocking down the dead as they please.
The game also ups the first two games’ four-player co-op multiplayer to a seamless online eight-player free-roam experience, allowing players to bump into friends and strangers as they explore LA.
GRAPHIC VIOLENCE
Providing the crisp visuals on PS4, Xbox One and PC is Unreal Engine 4.
Both players and pursuing zombies will be able to bash through doors, break down fences and vault through glass windows, with players still able to hack off limbs and stomp on zombie heads.
According to Deep Silver, the game will also include hundreds of different zombie varieties, with Yager aiming to make every biter unique.
It should be dead fun for players
