Nerds That Geek Game Review - 'Dead Island: Definitive Collection'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The living dead have always had an interesting history when it comes to video games. They've either served as fodder for ammo in many a first person shooter, or they've served as the gateway monster to something far worse down the line, and that's led to many an uneven game where the dead serve a purpose, but never truly terrify us through and through. 

But that certainly hasn't stopped game developers from trying to up the ante and make the zombie as terrifying in the video game world as they are in movies and television and as the technology continues to evolve, so does the zombie themed video game. Recently, one game that did a solid job of providing us with an immersive and giant world filled to the brim with walking corpses got one hell of a next generation makeover with the release of Dead Island: Definitive Collection for both Xbox One and Playstation 4.

The plot remains the same for this particular edition of the game. You're still trapped on an island filled with walking corpses starving for a warm meal named you, the biggest difference this go round are the vastly improved graphics. Everything has seen a healthy re-rendering and well, that alone is worth a look see when it comes to this game, because the living dead are far more disgusting with this upgraded graphics engine. One can see veins beneath rotten flesh and exposed organs are everywhere in high definition glory but the graphics go beyond making your stomach turn since the island of Banoi has received a face lift as well and there are genuine moments of beauty to be found as you look out at the wonderful view, that is before a zombie tries to eat your face. 

But, all of the beautiful looks aside, there are more gems to be found within this game. You also get a copy of Dead Island: Riptide included with this package and a fun little 16 bit throwback version of the game; Dead Island Retro Revenge if you want to slaughter the dead in old school fashion. Yet there was one other surprise that caught me off guard...this was the first time I found the game to be genuinely creepy. I played it on the 360 ages ago when it first came out and found the game to be fun but it in no way engrossed me like this remastered version has managed to do. On several occasions the graphics and atmosphere simply take your breath away and send chills down your spine, case in point; pulling up to the hotel for a mission and seeing the dead moving about in the distance with blood and guts splattered everywhere...it was an image straight out of a George Romero movie.

Unfortunately the complaints I had about the original game are still prevalent here as well. There's still simply too much to do quest wise and that at times drags down the plot and the gameplay. But considering that they added One Punch Mode for the fun of it...and the fact that the atmosphere of the game is greatly improved, one can overlook those issues as you drop hordes of the dead with your bare hands, and explore a tropical paradise that looks absolutely marvelous. In the end, Dead Island: Definitive Collection is by no means a perfect zombie game, but it's definitely a fun re tread and worth checking out to get an idea of what next generation consoles could do for the zombie genre down the road.

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