Rather than improve upon what worked in “Dead Island,” the studio has apparently spent the past year and a half taking the meat of the first game, porting it over to a new, similar setting and grafting on a handful of new features, at least one of which feels half-broken.
You'll find a lot to love in Techland's zombie-filled fusion of open-world role-playing game and visceral, first-person slaughterfest, provided you can overlook its numerous warts.
"Dead Island's" 5-minute E3 demo doesn't live up to its initial, emotionally engaging trailer, but its visceral combat and battles with flesh-eating zombies in the harsh tropical sun show plenty of promise.
My last day at E3 included meetings with Warner Bros., D3 Publisher, Namco Bandai, Sony, THQ, Square Enix and 2K Marin.