Man, I do not understand all the negativity these games receive. They are fun and atmospheric. If you like shivers up and down your spine and going in there anyway these games are for you.

Riptide is smaller than the original and maybe a little more polished in the gameplay and pacing. The looting system is more relevant with shops and trading more accessible than in the original game. Buildings and tunnels are refreshingly brief compared to the first game.

Co-op is very smooth. If you join someone else's co-op game and become Player 2 and later on someone else joins as Player 3, when Player 1 subsequently goes home both you and Player 3 continue on together in your own game seamlessly and without hesitation. Smooth as you please.

Some reports on the web make great play on the idea that Riptide is an overwhelming grind of infinitely spawning Infected everywhere you go but I've been through the whole thing twice now and it's just not. There are two places I can think of where a group of three Infected will infinitely respawn after a very short delay and you just hurry past. Learn to hide. Very small deal.

The only negative point for me is the camera movement when you climb to the top of something, it waves about and can leave you queasy until you get your sea legs for it. This is an unfortunate barrier to entry unless you learn to just look away.

Having said that, many games leave me seasick when I pick them up again after a long break.

And for those who love their Achievements these are all quite doable.

The original Dead Island was an enjoyable experience despite it's numerous flaws. Riptide addresses a few of these failings but it's essentially more of the same. It starts badly with a clichéd corrupt corporate suit and a conspiracy; thankfully however it's not the plot that drives Dead Island but the exploration, loot and combat. For all its poor writing and characterisation the setting is still superbly realised, a sun-drenched tropical island with just enough variation in locales to keep it interesting. Combined with the great combat and looting and there's still a lot to recommend with Riptide.

Apart from fixing a few bugs and being more stable the most noticeable changes to the formula are the addition of new transport, a zombie horde mode which happens at key moments as the story progresses and a handful of new zombie threats.

Pros:
- Very fun to play
- Co-op
- Lot of weapons
- Ability to mod weapons (barbed wire on bat, electric shotgun, etc.)
- Very long story
- Big maps
- Lots of zombies
- Gore

Cons:
- Not an interesting story
- Other than the main characters, all other charcters have the same facial animation, just diffrent clothings and voices
- Grapnics aren't very good
- Vehicles have terrible physics

I believe both Dead Island and Riptide are best played solo. Playing co-op is a completely different beast. Played solo Riptide is a tense game, one of fear and always looking over your shoulder. Played with friends it turns it into more of a fun fair, who can chop up the zombies faster than the other players with no tension and no sense of fear. So to best experience Dead Island I would recommend you skip the co-op and delve into what is still the best open-world zombie game available.

Fixing all the flaws of the previous Dead island game, this one burst out of the gate with minimal issues. (7.1 surround sound can be staticy and need some adjusting, but that may have been resolved since release)

Coop is the best way to experience it, but you can have hours of fun solo as well. Each class has their own unique play style and great dialogue. Whether you're Sam B referencing your rap career (Or blasting your latest hit on a stereo) or the Steven Seagal in Under Siege rip off character just kicking zombies so hard they explode against walls, it's a blast.

It's over the top, it's silly, and it's great fun.

Superior to the original in UI, weapons handling, skill building, crafting, and modelling... story is a little weaker... but the fact that you can keep developing your character into a super duper zombie killing machine is a lot of fun. There are a lot of quest to be find if you search the whole island. Great coop game.

It's almost same as original Dead Island , just add-on. Don't expect anything extra, just another series of ripping zombies apart. Still it's pretty amazing game and I liked it just like the previous one. There are some new weapons, weapon modifications and skills in the skills tree. The biggest change I see in improving your fighting skills by using them - there are 4 options : blunt weapons, sharp weapons, hand to hand, and guns - each provides you bonuses like more damage and so on.

7/10

Before anyone reads, this is just my opinion on the game. No spoilers.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Dead Island Riptide is a great sequel to Dead Island. The hack'n slash is back, but with less bugs and glitches, plus improved visuals. I am going to start right off the bat, I do not like the island Dead Island Riptide takes place on. The jungle is confusing to navigate, and the map that is supposedly suppose to "help" you navigate it, is like some kid vomitted on it. It is literally a blank slate with a player and mission indicator. The island isn't fun to explore, at all. Especially when most of the island is covered with water, which disables you from sprinting and makes you walk slower. Dead Island's resort was more interesting, and easier to navigate. The scenery was also better, and I enjoyed exploring the resort of Banoi.

Zombies are a bit overpowered, even when you are facing one that is of your own level. Weapons are hard to come by, and using your fists isn't effective against hoardes. When you find a weapon, you usally just stick with it most of the game because nothing better comes a long. Despite that, you even have to repair the weapons if you use it too much, which isn't always a good thing. It does make it feel more like a survival game, but it makes it hard as ♥♥♥♥ when you are facing a hoarde and that one good weapon you had is about to break. The one weapon I stuck with the beginning 4-5 hours of gameplay was the BBQ. I used nothing else, cause there was literally nothing better. Finally at level 24 I was able to get a spiked shovel which did pack a punch.

The weapon crafting is a joke. It's a mediocre system of gathering supplies, and then add something to a weapon. The thing you add isn't even that good. After getting all the supplies, I could add barbed wire to a paddle. Yippee. It didn't play much different then the normal one either and I ended up going back to my BBQ. The upgrade system for each weapon is nice and simplistic though. Once you have enough money, you can choose which weapon you want to upgrade. This is good for later in the game when zombies become tougher, and I could upgrade my BBQ to do more damage. It isn't a very revolutionary idea, but it did help in the end.

The story is pretty bad so far. All they tell you when you get on the island is that the way out is through Henderson, a city. Then you get yourself in a bunch of random quests mashed together until finally a guy will, let's say, let you into their safe area. Then after that, the same thing happens. You have to go talk to some person but they won't do what you went there to ask them in the first place until you "help" them, and by that I mean more random missions.

Now after all this negativity, why am I still recommending the game? The gameplay. Hackin' zombies is hella fun in this game. It does get repetitive, but it is satisfying when you dismember their arms or slash off a head. There are various types of zombies too which keeps it interesting, such as one that literally will commit suicide and kill you if you are in range. Also, the game is pretty cheap too.

Verdict: 7/10

Dead Island Riptide is a game worth getting if you have never played it and are looking for a good zombie slashin' game. It's fairly cheap, and the gameplay is interesting enough to get lots of fun out of it.

Thanks for listening, mates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFEZa-DsQhU

Riptide takes place immediately after the conclusion of the first game with its protagonists being detained abroad an Australian Defense Force ship by Colonel Hardy and Frank Serpo. The survivors of the first game meet a new playable character, John Morgan who is also immune to the infection. The ship wrecks on the shores of Palanai after being overrun and the survivors find themselves in a similar predicament to the one on Banoi.

Quests in Riptide are ripped strait from Ye Olde Grimoire of RPG quest design, that leans heavily on taking the longest possible route in getting from point A to point B. For example, a character wants you to rescue her from a flooded basement where a shorted out fuse box is electrifying the water. Of course the front door is locked so you have to kill half a dozen zombies so that you can find the an access point on the roof. Once there, you find the fuse box is locked and you have to kill the keyholder so that you can open the box. Most RPGs reserve this kind of design for optional tasks but it's a staple of the games main quests as well. Without any character development or world building side quests become real life chores when tackled alone. The only reprieve from this antiquated quest design comes from the new hold out missions. These quests emphasize Riptide's co-op gameplay by having your characters fortify and defend a position.

Deadzones are instanced areas that contain a boss or special infected. Riptide contains around two dozen of these areas and they have one of five layouts so it isn't long before these sequences come off as boring cut and paste filler content. The bosses themselves are just special infected that are given some sort of additional buff resulting in thugs that move as fast as infected and Butchers that regain heath after successful strikes. Speaking of special infected, several new types have been added. Screamers make a horrendous noise that prevents your character from attacking, wrestlers are large freaks with a club like arm and a tremendous amount of health and grenadiers are zombies in hazmat suits that throw toxic body parts at you. These new additions are welcome but with so many other zombie games you will come away with the sensation that you have fought these enemies elsewhere.

Melee combat has gone largely unaltered with the exception of an ability that allows you to drop on top of enemies if you are in an elevated position. Also the ability to level each weapon type has been added. Each level unlocks a perk such as additional experience or reduced stamina use. Outdoor environments in Riptide look pretty decent. The character models don't fare so well however. They appear waxy with poorly animated faces and cold dead eyes. Some of the textures on their clothing can also be woefully low res. The gore and viscera are appreciable though as the flesh of your foes can be burnt and hacked away, reacting to the type of weapon you use. Indoor instances suffer from really bland lighting that is devoid of softness or nuance. It does little to enhance the atmosphere and since the game isn't very scary to being with relying on your flashlight and flares does little to create tension. Also some areas are missing textures. The soundtrack fares better though with a mix of synth and piano that evoke the soundtracks of Lucio Fulci's zombie flicks from the late 1970's and early 1980's. The music succeeds in conveying the desperation and futility of surviving that neither the narrative nor the gameplay are equipped to convey. Sound effects are solid and some of the roars and cries from the undead can be unnerving. As for the voice acting, well, lets just say it matched the cold, dead eyes of the NPC character models perfectly...

This game is an ENDLESS FETCH QUEST with a GOOD STORY.

The first half of the game is kinda boring and it looks like a cheap Dead Island sequel (The first half of the game is).

After the 5-6 chapters the game starts to be interesting.

One thing I would love to see is the option to threaten or even kill characters to complete quests. It's so annoying at some point that you as a player would have to complete quests after quests to get something for the main quest.

The story of the game is good with some very big boring quests.

In general this is a good game. I would give it a 6.5/10

+ Improved combat and gameplay over the prequel
+ Unlockable abilities and perks
+ Highly enjoyable drop-in co-op

- The storytelling lacks presentation

It's basically a not-so-much polished dlc rather than a fully-fledged sequel, so don't waste your cash unless it's on sale. Paying the full price for DI: Riptide is everything but sensible, given the scarcity of new content. However, gameplay-wise, it's still Dead Island, only with a couple of new weapons and one fresh character.