Dead Island trailer shows the worst vacation ever

By Ryan Fleming Published September 18, 2012

Everyone, be sure that you are sitting down before you read this—there is a zombie-based video game on the way! Unbelievable, that has never been done! Well, except for Left4Dead. And the sequel. And both Dead Rising games. And House of the Dead, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, most of the first Resident Evil games, Zombie Apocalypse, Treyarch’s Call of Duty games… You get the point, there are a lot of them. So in a video game industry that is utterly saturated by zombies, you need a catch—a hook, something to set the game apart from other, similar titles. Developer Techland thinks that they have that with the upcoming, survival-horror game, Dead Island. And while the recently released trailer may be slim on gameplay, it is still an impressive video clip worth watching.

Dead Island is primarily based on the concept of melee combat. The game is set on a remote resort island in the South Pacific where a zombie plague has infected the majority of the island’s guests. In keeping with the setting, you won’t find more than a handful of firearms, and ammo will also be scarce. As a result, you will spend the majority of your zombie killin’ time in melee combat, using machetes, bats, and anything else that you can smack the undead with.

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Dead Island is a title that in many ways has mimicked its undead antagonists. Originally announced way back in 2007, the game floundered then appeared to die as it searched for a publisher. Then, as if rising from the dead, the title began to walk around and lunge at potential publishers, so to speak. Publisher Deep Silver stepped, and the game was soon back on track.

No word yet on when to expect the game on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, but if the fairly amazing trailer below is any indication, expect to hear a lot more about this game in the months to come.

Warning: The following trailer may not be suitable for all ages]

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Which character should you pick in Dead Island 2?

Dani lights a cigarette as zombies attack her from behind in Dead Island 2 key art.

After a brief introductory sequence showing how each of the playable characters, referred to as Slayers in Dead Island 2, end up on the doomed evacuation plane at the start of the game, you are forced to pick who you will play as. If you hadn't played the first game -- and considering it came out over 10 years ago we wouldn't blame you if you hadn't -- then you may not know that your choice of character is more than just cosmetic. Each of the six playable Slayers not only starts off with its own stat distribution from the others but with two ability cards as well. In a narrative sense, almost nothing is different depending on who you pick, so this decision all comes down to choosing the right character for how you prefer to play. Don't let the excitement of bashing in some zombie heads rush your decision and first make sure you understand just how important this choice is in Dead Island 2.
Can you change characters in Dead Island 2?

This is the main reason your character choice is so important. In Dead Island 2, once you choose a Slayer, you're locked in for the duration of the game. If you want to try out a different character, you will need to start the game over from scratch, so unless you're okay with undoing all your progress, or want to do a second playthrough, give this decision a good deal of thought so you don't have any regrets.
Every character's stats and skills

Gaming

All Curveball locations in Dead Island 2

A pipebomb with kaboom written on it.

Your bread-and-butter method for dispatching the undead in Dead Island 2 will always be the strongest blunt or bladed melee weapon you have on hand. There's certainly no shortage of shovels, knives, gardening equipment, and even swords to choose from, but you can also mix things up with some throwable items as well -- and we don't just mean throwing your weapon. Curveballs, as the game calls them, are more like skills that can be equipped than weapons since they work on a cooldown timer rather than ammo. Your character can only hold two at once, but there are 13 in total to experiment with. You'll be given one by default, but the rest are up to you to collect. Here's a full list of all the Curveballs in Dead Island 2 and where to find them.
How to get all the Curveballs in Dead Island 2

We'll list off the Curvballs, their locations, and their effects in the order you should naturally come across them while playing Dead Island 2. If you miss one, you can always fast travel back to the area to collect it later. While you can only have two Curveballs equipped at any time, you can swap them out no matter where you are, so feel free to try them all out and change up your loadout depending on your current situation.
Meat Bait
Given as part of the story by Carlos in Emma's house, this lets you throw out a chunk of meat that explodes on impact into a pool of meat(?) that attracts all nearby zombies to it.
Shuriken
On your way to the Halperin Hotel, the Shuriken are lodged into a car door directly in front of you. Using these throws out three Shuriken in a horizontal spread that travels a short distance before falling. They don't do a lot of damage, but can stagger and even remove limbs if you aim them well.
Chem Bomb
This is the second unmissable Curveball and is given to you inside the Halperin Hotel to put out a fire. It is good for more than just fire control, though, since you can use it to make zombies wet and susceptible to electricity.
Caustic-X Bomb
Keep your eye out for "The Rav-Ages of Caustic-X" sidequest if you want to add this to your arsenal. Completing this quest will reward you with a bouncing bomb that deals some damage, but is mainly used for applying the Melting status on zombies and leaving behind damaging acid.
Electric Star
You'll be taken to the Brentwood Water Reclamation Project plant during the "Justifiable Zombicide" mission. While there, make sure to snag the Electric Star sticking out of the safety sign on the fence. If you missed it, you can also purchase it from Rodriguez later on. This Curvball is a straight upgrade over the Shuriken since it functions exactly the same, but is electrified.
Pipe Bomb
While going through the checkpoints between Beverly Hills and Monarch Studios, keep an eye out for an open crate with the Pipe Bomb in it on one of the tables. This is a basic timed explosive, so toss it into a group for maximum damage.
Molotov Cocktail
When you're brought into the Brentwood Sewer during "The Heart of Darkness" mission, the Molotov will be in the office next to the Filtration Access and Servicing room. If it wasn't obvious, this flaming bottle will light any zombie hit with it on fire, plus leave a lingering patch of fire on the ground.
Electric Bomb
This is another Curveball tied to finishing a sidequest, this time the "Jo's Rainy Day Stash" quest. Think of it as a Pipe Bomb, only replace the explosion with a dome of electricity that is great for stunning groups.
Flashbang
You'll need to pony up $2,500 and buy this Curveball from Rodriquez once you've completed the "Cremains of the Day" sidequest. What you get is a weapon that inflicts Traumatized on zombies, meaning they're stunned and available to be counterattacked.
Sticky Bomb
Bring Dougie at the Serling Hotel $1,500 and he'll part ways with the Sticky Bomb. This is just your old Pipe Bomb, but now it will stick to any surface -- or zombie -- it hits.
Bait Bomb
This is another item Dougie will sell you, this time only after you beat "The Search for Truth" main mission. For just $3,500, you can get what is essentially your Meat Bait and Pipe Bomb stuck together. Zombies will all close in on the bomb before it detonates
Nail Bomb
For the final Curveball you need to invest your cash in, you can buy the Nail Bomb from Ezekiel for $1,500. This is a simple explosive, but with the added benefit of inflicting Bleeding on anything it hits.
Military Grenade
Once you complete the "Boz Makes a Bang" sidequest for Hana, which you can only get after beating "The Rav-Ages of Caustic-X" and "Dez and the Mother of Satan" quests, you will be given the final Curveball in Dead Island 2. This high-explosive detonates on impact no matter what, which could be a good or bad thing depending on the situation. It isn't all that much more powerful than any other explosive, but the utility of it not having a timer makes it useful.

Gaming

How to find the heirloom sword in Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2.

The first Lost and Found quest you're likely to stumble upon in Dead Island 2 is the Clean and Snatch quest that promises to lead you to a stolen heirloom sword. We say it's the most likely to be found first, but only because you can reach it fairly early in the story. This quest isn't marked anywhere on your map, and unless you are seeking it out, you will probably pass it by. What's worse is that this quest requires a lot of searching around based on not-so-helpful clues. While not all those who wander are lost, we'll save you plenty of aimless walking around and help get you the heirloom sword in Dead Island 2.