Six Things Dead Island 2 Brings to the Table

In Dead Island 2, the player will get to choose their “Slayer” from a group of six possible characters. 

To start, we have Amy: an Asian-American described as being middle-aged; she is also a former Paralympian and uses a prosthetic right leg. 

Next up, we have Jacob: he is my personal favourite of the bunch, born in London England, Jacob came to California to be a stuntman. Interestingly, he was previously a stockbroker before following his dream. 

Similar to Jacob, Carla was a motorcycle stuntwoman, let me just say, this is one tough girl. She is pretty unfazed by most things that would terrify your average person. 

It would not be L.A. without a hustler around, and Bruno plays that part perfectly — this is one sneaky fellow who is quick with a blade. 

Our final two Slayers are Dani and Ryan. Coming from an average background, Dani was once a retail assistant before getting into professional roller derby. She proves she is more than a match for the undead — note to self don’t piss off an Irish girl. 

Finally, we have Ryan; this pessimistic dude was a male stripper before the outbreak. As such — with the exception of Carla — he is probably the most ripped character here. 

When it comes to the undead monsters you’ll be facing, there is no shortage of diversity. The dead can be categorised into three groups: Infected, Apex, and Variants. The Infected are your average zombie types, things like Shamblers, Runners, and Walkers — you won’t have much difficulty killing these ones. The Apex types can be compared to what you encounter in Back 4 Blood. Crushers, Butchers, Screamers, and a host of others will certainly make your fights more interesting once they start popping up. Finally, we have the Variants — this category consists of the regular zombie types from the Infected group but with a fun/crazy/interesting/odd mix! As an example, this means you'll find some donning riot gear — which makes them a menace since they're harder to put down — or even some Burning Runners!

Alongside the many weapons you will have in your arsenal, you will also have what are known as Curveball items. These, as the name implies, are meant to change up your combat by introducing something interesting into the fight. This could be you throwing a spread of shurikens at an advancing wave of zombies, but then again, maybe you want to toss some Meat Bait to lure them into a trap or help you escape. These items have unlimited uses but will require you to wait a bit before you can use them again. 

Unlike the player's Curveball items, general weapons can — and will — break from usage. For this purpose, you will be able to find workbenches tucked away all over the place. You will need these stations in order to not just repair your broken equipment but also to upgrade them for any situation you may face. Applying heat or electric damage to your knife or baseball bat will certainly make facing some enemies easier.

In order to make use of the workbench, however, you will need to collect Scrap and Cash as you explore — this is very important! Items will respawn regularly, so try and keep yourself topped off. Also, don’t hoard things when you can use them to improve your chances, there just really isn't a reason to do this with all the resources available to you. 

Dead Island 2 gives the player full freedom of movement. You can sprint, crouch, jump, kick, dodge, climb, and slide, all of which help you engage in both combat and exploration. Being able to drop-kick a zombie to the ground, then climb on top of a van, kicking and hacking the undead off as they tried to get up, saved me a few times. 

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of what to expect from Dead Island 2. Be sure and give those zombies what's coming to them now that you are an expert.