14 DAY TRIAL // I am one big, husky man, immune to the devastating virus (I assume, the game has not made it clear how zombification spreads) that has affected the island, ready to go out and get myself a machine gun, a shotgun or something capable of spreading lead among the undead in order to retake this resort and find a way to escape.
This is how I would approach Dead Island if I had not idea about how the developers at Techland have built this experience and it would be an entirely wrong headed one.
This game is not Left 4 Dead and doesn't want to be and wielding firearms is a good way of attracting more zombies and getting yourself overwhelmed, only to reappear with a big hole in my wallet and desire for vengeance near my latest checkpoint.
Dead Island is all about getting up close and personal with the zombies and using hand made weapons, punches and my right foot to take them out of the fight and back into the land of the dead.
The foot might be most memorable mechanics that the developers have managed to concoct.
The character only ever uses his right foot to kick and the movement feels a little ridiculous and anatomically impossible, especially for the bulky character I am using, but it's very effective in a variety of situations.
It's easy to kick a walker, an infected and even a thug when he's coming right at you, ready to chew on some brain, and it has the double effect of pushing the zombie back while also taking out some of its stamina, making it less of a threat in the long term.
The foot kick can also be used on downed enemies to quickly take them out of the game without degrading the weapon one is carrying and, when engaged with multiple enemies, the foot can be used as a sort of on the spot crowd control, keeping the most powerful enemies down while the hands and weapons are used to take out the least threatening