In 2011, Dead Island released during the crowded Fall season.  None was more skeptical than me about the game.  I was sick of zombie games, and I had no belief that the final product would be as gripping as its viral reveal trailer.

More of the fantastic gameplay & melee combat that put the original on the map; Lots of innovation from the first game to set; More weapons; more weapon mods; more explosives; Very lengthy campaign and ‘New Game Plus' mode for a $40.00 title; I was having too much fun exploring & tackling...

Frustrating deaths can be frequent; either by being overwhelmed or attacked by ‘off screen' foes

' It starts promisingly enough: a mad dash off a sinking ship, a military coup, and a zombie horde just aching to be shown the business end of a shotgun. And then, just like that, the promise is taken away.

Cool blood effects and dismemberments

Boring; repetitive missions; Weak voice acting and dialogue; Soulless; irritating characters; Frustrating combat

Riptide is a game that does not know whether it's a big piece of DLC, case in which it needed a clearer connection to the base game, or a true sequel, which would have required more innovation and an upgrade in terms of gameplay.

+ Zombie bashing; + New skills and weapons

- Limited storytelling; - No innovation; - Repetitive quests

Dead Island is a divisive franchise. Some people find its unique blend of RPG character progression and melee-heavy zombie fights enthralling, others find it derivative and unpolished.

Viscerally fun combat; lots to find and explore; more of the same

Lackluster story; inconsistent voice acting; more of the same

It truly is time to go back to the island as Drew reviews Riptide. Find out how it stacks up inside.

+ Character progression; + Modifying weapons; + John is pretty awesome; + Tons of content

Story is still lackluster; Combat can get old; Reused skills for first game

Publisher Deep Silver had their first big runaway hit in 2011's Dead Island , a free-roaming zombie action game on a picturesque South Pacific island - or, at least, what used to be one before most of the island's inhabitants and tourists were turned into bloodthirsty undead.

A couple of years ago there was a trailer for a game called Dead Island, and everybody was excited. Then the game was released…and a lot of people were disappointed. Now we have Dead Island: Riptide; a sequel that's not really a sequel and yet it seems to show more potential than its predecessor.

Dead Island: Riptide is a follow up to the original Dead Island that continues the story on a new, though equally not alive, island. Though the game has its moments, a number of issues with the mechanics combined with a majority of areas having boring level design hold Dead Island: Riptide back.

There's trouble in paradise. The world as we know it is about to be changed forever. In 2011 the original Dead Island was released and it took the gaming community by storm. Featuring a four-player zombie survival action game mechanic which has more in common with Borderlands than it does with...

To enjoy Dead Island , and subsequently its successor Riptide , one has to embrace the absurd, and quite often, the stupid. Iron pipes will break after a handful of uses; high level meat cleavers will be too advanced for your low level character to wield; and every survivor of the exotic zombie...