We crack a few (undead) skulls during our hands-on session with Dead Island.
Dead Island, the upcoming zombie-themed action game, is the latest example of how the zombie apocalypse is already upon us. Day by day, more books, movies, television shows, and video games are joining the ranks of the undead, and their numbers only continue to grow. But this new game from developer Techland (creator of Call of Juarez) will try to evoke some of the tragedy and emotion you might expect from a getaway-vacation-turned-zombie-nightmare. We recently got a brief, hands-on demonstration of the game to see how the zombie slaying stacks up.
Dead Island takes place on a tropical paradise that has turned into a living nightmare after the local populace starts chowing down on one another. We started a few hours into the game, standing outside of a lighthouse. Vincent Kummer, brand manager at publisher Deep Silver and our copilot throughout the demo, informed us that we were in control of Xian Mei, one of the resort’s (former) employees. Apparently, her job must have involved a lot of cutlery because Mei’s weapon of choice was anything with a blade. Described as an assassin type of character, our character was one of four playable characters in Dead Island, along with a tank, leader, and jack-of-all-trades.
The lighthouse itself served as a makeshift refuge from some of the island’s locals. It was a somber scene, and it set the tone for the rest of the demo. All around us, people could barely contain their desperation. Some lashed out with anger; others pleaded for help. One woman wept silently in a corner. When we talked to the leader of this group and were assigned to go retrieve some signal flares from the beach, we were relieved to get out of that den. The path leading away from the lighthouse was lined with bodies; some heavily burned, others torn to pieces. Under the circumstances, this wasn’t too surprising. Then one of them moved. The low, all-too-familiar moan that followed left no room for error; this was a zombie that had spotted its next meal.
At least, that’s what it thought right up until we used our machete to hack its head clean off its shoulders. Combat was all about maintaining our stamina. Attacking, running, jumping, and other such activities would all cut into our stamina bar, which would refill quickly provided we didn’t do much more than walk a few steps. Without stamina, we couldn’t defend ourselves. This made battles against large numbers of enemies especially challenging because our initial urge was to lash out wildly at everything in sight. As we became more accustomed to the fighting, we learned–in perhaps the same way a real survivor would in this scenario–to stop and think. Taking that extra moment to line up a killing blow to the head and not waste energy made all the difference in these encounters.
Square Enix launches teaser trailer for next installment in stealth action series; Io Interactive developing.
Shortly after launching the trailer, developer Io Interactive and Square Enix Europe officially announced that Hitman Absolution is indeed in development for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The announcement did not offer a release window for the title but did say it had been built from the ground up using Io’s proprietary Glacier 2 engine. The game will be shown off behind closed doors at next month’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
The trailer, which also surfaced on the official Hitman.com website, shows series protagonist Agent 47 screwing a silencer onto the end of a pistol. The scene then fades into a shot of one of his trademark Silverballer .45 pistols with a rattlesnake curled around it. The shot then fades to a UPC barcode with the numbers “110706″ and “47″ highlighted in red.
Both the YouTube page and the official announcement offered a brief synopsis of Hitman Absolution’s plot: “Hitman Absolution follows Agent 47, a cold blooded assassin, who takes on his most dangerous contract to date. Betrayed by those he trusted and hunted by the police, he finds himself at the centre of a dark conspiracy and must embark on a personal journey through a corrupt and twisted world, in his search for the truth.”
Hitman Absolution will be the first entry in the series since 2006′s Hitman: Blood Money, which saw 47 bring silent death to locales ranging from mid-Mardi Gras New Orleans to the White House. The series follows the murderous exploits of Agent 47, a bald killer genetically engineered to be the perfect assassin. Hitman: Codename 47 (2000) told the tale of how the protagonist found work with the International Contract Agency (ICA) whacking high-profile criminals. In Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), 47 is pulled out of retirement after his priest friend is kidnapped by the Sicilian Mafia. In Hitman: Contracts (2004), he revisits many missions from the original game, albeit in reverse.
2K Games today detailed its plans to spread Darkness throughout the world. The publisher confirmed that The Darkness II, the sequel to 2007′s well-reviewed supernatural first-person shooter, is set to arrive in North American stores October 4, with an international launch October 7.
Yakuza creator’s squad-based third-person shooter about a robotic uprising gets a new release window.
Humanity’s inevitable subjugation by its own sentient robotic creations has a new kickoff window. Sega today announced an early 2012 launch for Binary Domain, the third-person squad-based shooter from Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi.
Binary Domain is set in Tokyo in the year 2080, a time when humans are locked in battle with robots. In the game, players take control of a human peacekeeping team set on regaining control of the city.
“When you hear sci-fi you may think of cold, clinical environments, but with Binary Domain I wanted to combine this with a deep human drama,” Nagoshi said upon the game’s announcement. “The keyword we have in mind for this project is ‘Life.’ I wanted to make something that will be accepted by both the Japanese and Western markets, and this fundamental theme is something everyone knows but which the full extent of can be difficult to grasp.”
Speaking with GameSpot, Nagoshi also discussed the mechanics of how the game handles squad-based combat, the development team’s focus on strong friendly AI, and how he intends to breathe fresh life into a well-worn man-versus-robots premise.
Second installment in EA’s bifurcated series dropping in European markets a day before the film is released this summer; retailers indicate July 12 US bow.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was released last November alongside the film of the same name to a cold reception. Like the film, the video game adaptations were also bifurcated, and EA will have a chance at critical redemption this summer when Part 2 arrives during the week before the film drops this July.
The release date news stems from a new trailer for the game (embedded below), which is introduced by Emma Watson, who plays the part of Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling’s magical universe.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will arrive in theaters worldwide on July 15, which means gamers will have the first crack at the culmination of the Harry Potter universe.
July 14 is a Thursday, and the release date shown in the video is meant for the European market. Traditionally, games are released on Tuesdays in North America, which would make a July 12 release date likely for this region. A number of US retailers, including GameStop, are also listing the game for a July 12 bow.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and PC.
