Dead Island 2 (E3 2014 Preview)

Dead Island 2 was announced at E3 2014 by developer Yager and publisher Deep Silver. The game will be the third major release for the series and the first not developed by Techland. With a new creator at the helm, Dead Island 2 is promising a much different experience for fans on next generation consoles. We were able to visit the Deep Silver booth at E3 2014 and check out an early demo for the game available at the show. No doubt, the game's graphics have improved since Dead Island: Riptide, but players will find a plethora of new enhancements to the experience beyond its visuals. There's still a long ways to go before Dead Island 2 arrives in Spring 2015, but the game is already shaping up to be the best release in the series yet.

The biggest change to Dead Island 2 will be the game's setting. The action in the new title shifts from the island paradise of Banoi to suburban California. While there are still sunny beaches in the new world to be sure, there are plenty of homes, stores and other small communities to explore in the game that makes the in-game world a lot of fun to explore. Along with the new change in scenery, Dead Island 2 also introduces some new enemies players will have to battle throughout the game. The demo didn't show off many of the new monsters, but it was made very clear that fighting against human enemies would be a big part of gameplay in the new post-apocalyptic setting.

In the E3 2014 demo, the player must make it from a mission start point to a mansion called The Clubhouse and clear out all of the zombies in the area. The combat in the game immediately showed off the return of sledgehammers, machetes and other melee items and some impressive new moves including an ability to charge up a sledgehammer swing to send an enemy flying up into the air. It was explained that firearms would be returning to the game as well, though ammunition would still be very uncommon and force players to primarily rely on melee weapons once again. One other major change that was announced would be online multiplayer that would allow up to eight players to join in on a single campaign game, which is exactly double what previous entries allowed.

Along the way to The Clubhouse, the demonstrator showed off some other neat environmental features in the game. While being attacked by some human enemies, the player set off a car alarm near the enemies. This caused a ton of zombies to rush to the area and swarm the human survivors that had the player previously pinned down. One other personal observation we noted during the presentation was how responsive the game appeared to be. The original games often stuttered, dropped frames and showcased other graphical glitches in their final forms, but Dead Island 2 seemed to run much smoother even in its early development stage. Fans should keep up with the progression of Dead Island 2 through the next several months and look for its launch in Spring 2015!

Dead Island 2 is now available for preorder from most major retailers for the MSRP of $59.99 and is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in 2015. Dead Island 2 is not yet rated. For more information on the game, check out the official Dead Island 2 website.

Game Features:

• Online Mutliplayer 1-8
• California Setting
• Four New Characters
• DLC Support
• Achievement/Trophy Support

Game Information:
Developer: Yager Development
Publisher: Deep Silver
Platforms: PlayStation 4 (previewed), Xbox One & PC
Release Date: Spring 2015