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GAMING FEATURE

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DANGER IS YOUR BUSINESS! Worrall offers us all an insider tip for those getting into Dead Island 2 . “This is not a game about surviving. Our heroes run towards the danger, they wade into the fray and slay! The quicker you adopt that attitude, the more rewarding the experience becomes and the quicker you will discover all the options open to you!”

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While the classic Dead Island DNA still ticks away, the gameplay has evolved for Dead Island 2 . “We made two key decisions early on,” says Worrall. “First, our game is about fighting zombies pure and simple. No human vs. human, no factions, just brutal, melee-biased, gory, zombie slaying. Secondly, we decided to build that combat around a detailed, procedural combat damage engine. We call it F.L.E.S.H. – Fully Locational Evisceration Simulator for Humans! This allows players to think about how they would really fight a zombie – it’s not about the numbers or ‘dice rolls’. It’s about where you strike, how hard you strike, and with what weapon. The F.L.E.S.H. system gives an amazingly rewarding, and intuitive, understanding of what it takes to hack your way through the zombie horde. The game is fully playable with HUD elements turned off and players will be able to see zombies sliced, diced, crushed, dismembered, disembowelled, maimed, decapitated, burned, melted, and electrocuted! It’s all there, in glorious OMG-o-Vision!” This means, of course, new and exciting ways to eradicate that dang zombie scourge this time out. “Our core combat experience is supported by three additions,” Worrall tells us. “We have our Skill Deck system that allows players to build the play style they want to play, without being totally committed to that build – cards can be swapped out at any moment the player chooses. The Deck has various tiers, tied to story progression and your evolution as a human-zombie hybrid, and at later stages players can start to tap into some truly horde splattering abilities! “Then we have our Curveballs, which are throwable items/abilities that work on a cool down mechanic. Again, players can swap out Curveballs at any time and these items are discovered or rewarded as the player explores or progresses through the story. Curveballs include things like grenades, Molotov cocktails, and chem bombs, which extinguish fires. “Which brings me onto our environmental hazards, of which there are three, Flammable, Electrical, and Caustic. As you slay your way

violence, gore and splatter, so it was important to take that beyond realism, and into the realms of pulp, comic book, gore fantasy.” We wondered whether Worrall would namecheck any key pop culture influences on the game… “Movies such as Aliens , Predator , Robocop and similar have been cited for narrative, worldbuilding, and OTT splatter inspiration.” Now that we’re two console generations on and have much improved graphics, sound, and controls to play with, the development team have worked to harness the power of the new technologies. “We’re asking all platforms to do A LOT when you consider the high-def nature of our F.L.E.S.H. engine,” Worrall explains. “Then add to that numbers of zombies, environmental hazards, explosives, unique player abilities, and the size of our levels… Combat in Dead Island 2 can get to a VERY busy place very quickly and the Gen 9 experience sets new standards.” Ultimately, Worrall and the team at Dambuster hope to entertain those who take on Dead Island 2 .

• Dead Island 2 is out on Apr 21

through L.A., you’ll learn to be aware of all these hazards and ways to turn them in your favour. Water plays a

particularly crucial role, as it can be used to extinguish fires, wash away flammable or caustic liquids, or to make electrocution an entertaining area effect!” With six playable characters to choose from, Worrall believes that there’s plenty of scope for replaying the game. “Each player character will experience the same story arc but react to these situations in their own eccentric style,” he tells us. “Where one character may be determined and resolute, another may be incredulous with disbelief, another may be swaggering with arrogant confidence. It’s more about flavour and giving the player the choice of voice as they progress through the story. It also gives replays with

different characters a fresh feel. Each playable character has a slight edge in one play style or another, so it’s possible to max loadouts to this style and ace that strategy, but equally, any of them can adopt any strategy that feels fun.” All that we’ve seen of Dead Island 2 so far has exuded a quite fun, almost campy vibe. It’s there for good reason. “It was a conscious decision to provide just enough comic relief and pulp hero swagger to offset the hideous gore of our F.L.E.S.H. system and the subject matter of a zompocalypse laying Los Angeles low,” explains Worrall. “We have serious subject matter and X-rated levels of

“We set out to make zombies fun again,” he enthuses. “We want our players to feel like heroes, to be

In 2011, Lionsgate optioned the original Dead Island for a movie, but so far nothing has eventuated. DYK?

excited, thrilled, invested in the fight. Humanity can win – if we embrace the challenge!”

APRIL 2023

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