The RPG survival horror first-person shooter Dead Island was released in the fall of 2011, launching on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The immediate sequel, Dead Island: Riptide, was released on April 23, 2013, giving the player even more freedom to create and modifications of various melee and ranged weapons. Currently, work is actively underway to improve the already released beta version of Dead Island: Epidemic. So, a review of Dead Island: Epidemic.
Dead Island was announced: Epidemic was on August 8, 2013, closed beta testing began on June 14, 2014, and open beta testing was launched on December 5 of the same year. The game itself is free, only some content is paid, which is absolutely not necessary to buy.
The main difference between Dead Island: Epidemic is the genre change. Now it is the so-called MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena). Although the publisher - Deep Silver - calls it ZOMBA (zombie online multiplayer battle arena). This is the kind of new genre they invented.
The first game mode is called Scavenger, and it involves three teams of 4 people each, running around the map and killing bosses, for which they give resources, each other, as well as stealing resources from the enemy or getting them for protecting key points from the dead. The victory conditions are simple - be the first to collect a certain amount of resources. In the new Crossroads mode, which is still in the prototype stage, a team of four players carries out various assignments, collecting resources - breaking into a closed warehouse, looting crashed buses, fighting off hordes of zombies along the way, killing bosses, saving civilians. There are many types of zombies in the game at the moment, and all of them should be well known to you if you played Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide.
Based on the results of the mission, it does not matter if it is PvE (Crossroads) or PvP (Scavenger), each player receives a reward depending on how well the tasks were completed. These are spare parts for the manufacture of various weapons, drawings thereof, consumables, gadgets, modifications, craft points and character. Weapons in the game are represented by six categories, each with its own pros and cons: melee weapons, which include knuckle dusters, one-handed and two-handed weapons, and ranged weapons - paired pistols, shotguns, and rifles. Each category, in addition to the main one, has its own unique enhanced attack.
When you first enter the game, you are asked to choose one of four starting characters - Isys, Amber, Bryce and Berg - each with their own characteristics. These characters, in turn, have armored and mutated versions with completely different skills. There are other characters in the game. In general, their list is rather big - there is someone to choose from. And they are bought either for character points, which are awarded to the player after each mission, or for Cash - in-game currency that is purchased for real money. You can make new weapons with crafting points. Basically, if you actively play DI: E, you can buy characters without investing in the game.
In principle, the review of Dead Island: Epidemic can be finished here. As mentioned above, the game is now in open beta testing, new content is not long in coming, and the product is developing quite quickly. The release of the full version of Dead Island: Epidemic is slated for 2015. By the way, in 2015 (in April, to be precise) Dead Island 2 will also be released - an FPS with survival horror elements, developed by the German company Yager Development. It will be published by Deep Silver (like the previous parts) on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Buka will be engaged in localization in Russia.
