Grave Gamer News & Views — pc

Revisit Dead Island with the “Ryder White” Story Heavy DLC

Remember Dead Island?  Came out in September.  Yeah, you got it before six dozen other glorious attention-stompers came out in the Holiday time.  Yes, it had that backwards-motion trailer everyone was talking about.  No, the game’s nothing like that.  Anyway, Techland thinks it time for you to yank it from beneath the deluge of games in your backlog.

The “Bloodbath Arena” DLC brought us the Horde Mode we were missing from the initial release, but the “Ryder White” addition pegged for February 1st supplements Dead Island’s story.  The name’s familiar because Mr. White is the mysterious voice guiding you along the island as you learn new ways to get unfriendly with the locals.

Playing as Ryder, we’re given his take on the zombie infestation of Banoi while learning more about the character, his family, and (without giving away any spoilers) why he ends up such a bastard, all in a package that includes a few extra hours of gameplay and some new weapons to play with.  Unlike every other mode in the game, the “Ryder White” add-on forgoes four-player co-op in favor of a solo experience (which, admittedly, is how I played the majority of the game).

For as meaty – if repetitive – as the bulk of Dead Island’s run time was, it came up severely short in the storytelling department.  Techland nailed zombie killing with flying colors, but if they can address story failings with Ryder White, it’ll definitely be worth dusting off this undead opus.

Again, Ryder White drops Feb.1st, and it’s yours for either 800 MS or $9.99.

Colonial Marines seems to be shaping up in all the right ways.  It’s hard to believe Sega supported the project without wanting to slap the Predator license all over it (xenomorphs haven’t appeared on film without the Predator since 1997).

The rabid fanboy that grew up watching and rewatching Jimmy Cameron’s 1986 classic really wants developer Gearbox to knock this one out of the park.  They’ve tried to instill in fans that they are very much enamored with this film saga, Cameron’s Aliens in particular, and Colonial Marines definitely has not experienced a rushed development cycle which always counts in a game’s favor (see: Batman: Arkham Asylum, a game made better thanks to coordinated delays).

We’re allowed our doubts though, Gearbox.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City concept art.  The days seem to only grow longer the closer we get to March.

Primal Carnage, just release already, damnit.

Off your radar?  Don’t blame you, indie games have a tendency to get steamrolled by multi-million dollar blockbusters.  This L4D meets Jurassic Park multiplayer shooter is supposedly coming to a gaming unit near you…Eventually.  Check out some alpha footage here.