|This article is based on the exclusive license agreement between the campfire camp and the Japanese "Fami Pass", please obtain permission to reprint.
The first-person zombie survival horror action game Isle of the Dead 2 is scheduled to be released overseas on April 21, 2023. Japan's FAMI-Pass has been given the opportunity to play the preview demo for overseas media, and the following will bring you an introduction to the content of this version.
Although it is not an open world, it depicts a high-density "Hell A"
This is a long-lost addition to the first-person zombie survival game "Island of the Dead" series. Players will take on the role of one of the survivors as they race against time to escape Los Angeles (LA), commonly known as "Hell A", which has turned into a zombie hell. The game supports single-player and co-op play with up to 3 players.
The biggest difference between the previous game and this one is that this game is no longer an open-world game. And "Hell A" is not a complete map, but the map is divided according to the destination of each main quest.
For example, in the demo I played, you can explore Beverly Hills, the hotel area, and the studio area centered on Bel Air, the base camp of the survivors, and you can explore Beverly Hills, the hotel area, and the studio area, each of which can be quickly traveled through the door at the edge of the map.
The time transition is also related to the progress of the mission, such as returning from Bel Air to the hotel area during the day after completing the mission, and the player will see Bel Air at night...
▲ Players cannot go to all places as they want, for example, the beach is divided into a separate beach area. It would be great to be able to make an open world at this level, but the priority of completion is also excellent
But it's not a completely linear game either, with each map being a certain size and forming an open area with side quests and space for item exploration. Players can deviate from the main story to a certain extent, take down the zombies with titles in order to open locked chests, or look at the map to explore the route while avoiding areas where many powerful zombies appear.
While some players may be a little disappointed that the game is "not an open world" (it's still fun to travel through the open world in co-op), it's not all bad. Because it is not made into an open world, each region has a wealth of content.
There may be small puzzles set up everywhere, and you may still be able to see the early days of the zombie crisis in the relics left by the predecessors (the author found the original animation of a suspected famous anchor apologizing for his public anger in front of the corpse of a suspected anchor, and it was really hilarious when I found this detail), so players can smile whenever they find a small terrier.
▲ Powerful zombies will appear in the movie studio area at night
The depiction of nature, such as the strong sunlight characteristic of LA, is also amazing
The graphics are the most obvious evolution compared to their PS3/Xbox 360 predecessors, and even by the standards of modern games, the graphics are quite good. In particular, the expressiveness such as lighting is surprising.
In particular, the strong sunlight unique to LA is well reproduced, and when the player is in the shadow of the building, the reflected light of the sun will make the character look slightly blue and shiny, and when entering and exiting the building, the player can also experience the instantaneous blindness of the eyes due to the adaptation of light and dark. As a journalist living in California, I can pack: "Yes, that's how LA feels on a sunny day."
Of course, the cruel performance has also been improved, such as the description of severed limbs and broken limbs, burning the body and still rushing towards the player, in addition to the scene of the plane accident at the beginning of the game, and the place of flesh and blood encountered on the way, etc., even journalists like this who have been playing this game sometimes can't help but want to "vomit".
▲The contrast is clear and realistic, and even the harsh degree of the sun shining on the west is very realistic
Adjusted to action-oriented first-person combat
The combat in this game is a first-person action with a fairly high proportion of close-range combat, and while inheriting the style of the previous game, it has been adjusted around the action. (*By the way, although it doesn't appear once in the demo, guns actually exist.) See interview section below for details).
In this game, the system of each character having a specialized weapon is no longer adopted, and the skill tree has been eliminated, and the skill card system can be changed at any time.
Regarding the skill card system, although the character's inherent cards and the cards that can be started at the beginning already roughly determine the directionality, as you level up, you get more cards, how you move to get more rewards, and the type of special actions will change. Players can adjust the Build according to the powerful weapons they have at hand and the moves they are good at, and it is also interesting to have more convenient trial and error.
▲ The skill card system also allows players to change the content of special actions. For example, replace Amy's jump kick with a two-legged flying kick, and use her mobility to bring enemies to the ground
Moreover, there are various subsystems in the game that can efficiently defeat zombies, and players can adapt to the situation to deal with hordes of zombies.
Incidentally, the game also has a "Zompedia" system that records the characteristics and weaknesses of zombies after defeating their own zombies. When dealing with zombies such as the Apex Variant, or named zombies that are higher than the player's level (some can kill the player with one hit), the player will have to make the most of each system based on this knowledge.
· The Site Destruction System prioritizes attacks and destroys hands and feet to limit the zombies' movements.
· Counterattack By timing dodging or defending, you can throw zombies off balance, triggering powerful QTE attacks.
· Stampede Attack Stampede on the head of a fallen zombie and kill it with one shot.
· Curveballs Use this system like a change ball to distract enemies by placing bait, or using ranged attacks immediately with darts.
· Special Attacks Shake the ground to knock out surrounding enemies, or use Assault to inflict a weakening effect.
Different tendencies about 6 actionable characters
There are a total of 6 playable characters in this game, which can be roughly summarized into 3 types× men and women. Jacob and Dany excel at consecutive attacks, Carla and Lane excel at counterattacking from behind defense, and Amy and Bruno are rewarded for quick moves...
· Attack-heavy type
o Ya cloth high physical strength, low durability
Inherent Card 1: "Wild Spirit" slightly increases the damage of consecutive attacks (stackable)
Intrinsic Card 2: "Heart Recovery" moderately increases Heart Hit Damage when stamina decreases &Heart Hit Restore Stamina when Heart One Hit hits
o Dany High endurance and low physical recovery
Inherent Card 1: Heavy Attack Strike will cause an explosion when hit
Inherent Card 2: "Blood Desire" restores stamina by defeating multiple zombies in a row
· Defense-minded
o Kara High durability and low cardio damage
Inherent Card 1: When there are multiple zombies near Mosh Pit, the damage increases slightly
Inherent Card 2: "Fire Scene Red Deer Power" moderately increases defense when physical strength is close to near-death level
o Lane High defense and low speed
Inherent Card 1: "Revenge" provides a moderate increase in strength when blocking enemy attacks or recovering
Inherent Card 2: "Seesaw" restores stamina every time it knocks down a zombie
· Agile and focused
o Amy: High speed, low defense
Intrinsic Card 1: The Relief Pitcher restores stamina with a throwing attack
Inherent Card 2: "Divided Rule" slightly increases damage to isolated zombies
o Bruno High heart damage, low maximum stamina
Inherent Card 1: When attacking zombies from behind, there is a medium increase in damage.
Inherent Card 2: "Fight Back Now" After defense or evasion, increase speed and charge for heavy attacks.
▲How do you want to move when surrounded by zombies? The idea of building is more of an action game than an RPG
Use magic weapons to gain the upper hand in battle!
The types of melee weapons are roughly as follows. Combined with the skill card system, the build combination will most likely become "because the character is Jacob, so use the fanatical weapon for continuous attack card combination", or "many zombies here are suitable for destruction with parts, so change to Bruno's "Fight back now", focus on evasion and then use heavy attacks".
· Headhunter hits the head to trigger a heartfelt blow.
· Fever Continuous attacks trigger a heart-to-heart hit
· Site destruction triggers a heart blow to the limbs, with a high probability of amputation
· Bulldozers attack in large areas to deal with large groups of enemies
▲ In order to make full use of Jacob's continuous attack rewards, the author wants to slash around with fanatical weapons such as Japanese swords
In addition, the system of modifying weapons using material items still exists. The modification system allows players to add "mods" that increase attribute damage to weapons by consuming material items, and "Park" that increases damage and durability.
During the gameplay, players will scavenge for materials in every corner of the room (Zompedia even marks which zombies will drop which materials), and it's no exaggeration to say that this is also to create a better zombie-killing weapon.
In addition, the weapon is still durable like its predecessor, and players can repair it on the workbench where the weapon is modified. The scope of the game this time is in the early stages of the game, so the transformation function is rarely used, but if the player encounters a weapon with a low level but a pity to decompose, he can spend a certain amount of money to use the "level matching" function to upgrade the weapon to the player's current level.
▲ Look at me using the magic weapon to electrocute you to paralyz
"The British caricature of America" is awesome
Under the premise of avoiding spoilers, the author also wants to talk about some plot-related content. Plot elementsEven if the author only played the demo, I can't help but be surprised by some parts.
The stage of the story starts from a high-end residential street, so some people with strong intuition may have guessed that although the operable characters are tough and tenacious people who survived the zombie outbreak, there are also movie actors and musicians who live leisurely, and the rest of the NPC survivors, most of them live as LA celebrities, and they are all annoying guys.
But this design is good. The studio that developed the game, Dambuster Studios, is based in Nottingham, England, and is actually like the Grand Theft Auto series with British origins, and this game has the characteristics of British satirical depictions of "Americans like that", which are annoying, somewhat silly but fascinating.
So, while the game's style has changed a bit over the past 10 years of chaotic development, the action system, performance, and story are still well done (those who have never heard of the previous game can play it as a first-person action game that can take down zombies one after another). I'm already looking forward to how deep the game will be.
One of the survivors encountered during the mission, Ricky (& his wife). The content of both the encounter and the conversation was fantastic. His daughter is so honest and very likable
The creative director talks about the concept of the game
Having said that, the "like GTA" I mentioned earlier is not an exaggeration. For example, James Worrell, the game's creative director, is actually the script creator for Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas.
Fami Pass was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Mr. James online, and here are the details of the interview with him.
James Worrell
Creative Director of Dead Island 2, who has worked on screenwriting and game design for mid-term titles in the Grand Theft Auto franchise in the past.
Zombie hell and a little humor
- This game is no longer an open world, but a more linear survival action game with some open structure on the map. This makes the narrative experience more tense, and the cutscenes become more, even if it is out of the main line, there will be a lot of content that makes players can't help but say "wow". What were the pillars of the game you decided to start developing?
James: Our development started with a retrospective of our previous game, Island of the Dead, when we decided to keep the core of "fighting zombies" and the 2 pillars of another concept, "Paradise of Hell".
In addition, we decided to slightly change the tone of the 3rd pillar on this basis, the story. Although it can be called "Heroic Pulp Horror" (meaning a somewhat cheap and exaggerated, but handsome B-movie), we also added a bit of humor. Since the game contains a zombie-ridden destruction system and is full of horror, I hope that the two will be well combined and complement each other.
Evolution of the combat system
—— Also a first-person action game, the combat system of this game has evolved. Now players can bring zombies to the ground and use more strategic combat methods such as trampling attacks, and whether enemies are within range of charging attacks can also be judged by the hint of aiming. There is also a curveball system in the game, and you can also use the skill card system to change the jump and kick action, which can achieve various purposes. Please tell us about the design policy of this combat system.
James: Let's start with the zombie destruction system. The idea is to create an auto-generated system that allows zombie bodies to react in a "simulated" way based on what weapon the player uses to destroy (rather than simply taking uniform damage). We do this so that players can fight more strategically.
We wanted melee weapon combat to be at the heart of it first, so we designed our weapons and all skills to adapt to different styles.
These elements converge to form a weapon disk. Once players have mastered various skills and weapon types, as well as cards and curveballs that change skills, and learned different combat methods, weapon plates become a toolbox for implementing these ideas. In what scenarios can I do a good job smoothly? What means should be used? How to beat the siege? Players need to use their acquired knowledge flexibly.
On top of this, we've added ranged weapons as opposed to melee weapons. We believe that long-range weapons play 2 main functions. One of the points is that long-range weapons, although powerful, have a limit in singular, so they become tactical weapons. For example, if a player uses a revolver with every bullet carelessly, he will run out of bullets, and if he does not replenish it in time, he may fall into crisis.
Another point is to forcibly break through under heavy surrounding. Firearms such as submachine guns are good examples. In short, first shoot this clip of ammunition and then break away, and then move on to the next target... Probably like this feeling.
All of these things add up to an excellent close-to-mid-range combat experience that doesn't just go well and it's very bad, but has a solid simulation range. Even if you do fail, it will not be a "ah, not at all" situation, please try more happily.
Dead Island 2 isn't a simple game to get the hang of, but it's not a tired and irritating game either, players will always learn something and happily return to the game immediately if they make a mistake and die.
- Curveball is a good name. This system is closer to a change ball in usage than a 100 mph quickball. Who got this name?
James: I don't really remember who came up with it, but I think it was brainstormed by the narrative team (*responsible for the plot, narrative experience, etc.). If you want to say its origin, it should be an American phrase. We put a lot of effort into making the in-game Los Angeles American style, and this naming was part of that.
But this system is not only that, but like you mentioned, it also has the function of literally changing balls, so players will naturally accept the name. In the face of too many zombies that you usually encounter, throwing a change ball can make the scene change in an instant in order to deal with it.
- The skill card system is also a new element. This system also makes the reinforcement system no longer simply to strengthen a certain parameter, but to a system that allows the player to decide which way to play. In addition, various cards also realize part of the characters' personalities. The cards show that they are the ones who would do something in a given situation. Please tell me how the system is designed?
James: Over the course of our discussions, the combat system grew into its current form. When we designed the form of characters with heroic abilities to take down zombies and move through danger, it was natural to focus on the action elements of the battle.
And when the idea for a skill card came up, I felt it was a good fit because it could concretely represent some of the actions in the game. We think traditional approaches like skill trees feel a bit tied and lacking.
With the card system, replacement becomes simple. Like a storyboard, players can immediately understand what the characters can do.
About environmental systems
- How are the recovery items, materials, etc. dropped in the map generated? Is it affected by the player's current parameters and the items they hold?
James: It is not affected by the items the player holds or what they find. But we designed a system where items can appear or not appear in the same place. We didn't want to abuse players or keep them entertained, so we used a balanced system to make sure we got just the right number of items.
- Occasionally there is a place on the map that you can open with a fuse, but I searched for a long time and couldn't find the fuse. Do you have to buy these things from merchants, or am I not looking carefully enough?
James: Yes, you have to buy fuses from merchants.
—— I was quite surprised by the performance of this game on the environment. As the player moves between dark and light areas, they can feel their eyes adjust to the dark/light, and when in the shadows of buildings, the reflection of sunlight can make the surrounding environment look a little blue. Please tell me how this game works in terms of art.
James: First of all, we have a great art team and a technical art team. It takes a lot of thought to achieve these effects. And the door is also very difficult, it is better to say that the most difficult thing in the development process is the door. (Editor's note: It's not easy to make doors in game development, it's a regular pinch).
Then again, we really wanted to portray this Los Angeles as Hollywood. Not only culturally, but also its actual appearance should be similar. We studied Los Angeles in different locations in different films. Such as what the hue looks like, grain (grainy noise of the movie), lens glare and so on.
So if you look closely, we've used a slightly different way of representing it in different regions. For example, the film studio and the Bel Air residential area, we were inspired by different Hollywood performances.
- In the demo, we see the day and night changes, does this change with the time of the game, or does it switch as the mission progresses?
James: They switch as the mission progresses.
The personality of the character associated with the gameplay
- Are there any personal characters you like? How are these characters played in single-player and co-op?
James: It's hard to choose. I liked to use more agile characters at first, but as I played more, I became more inclined to use tank-type characters, Ryan and Kara. And when I play these two characters, there is still a different freshness in switching between them, and I can't choose the character I like is "this person".
It also has to do with the fact that they are portrayed as characters with personalities. Bruno, for example, will be a very calm character, observing what is going on around him himself before his words attract the attention of others. Dany or Jacob, on the other hand, are more imposing and positive.
Carla is always energetic and optimistic. Amy is a decisive person, just like a professional athlete. Lane, on the other hand, is a typical old-fashioned hero. He always complains about his situation, but keeps moving forward... The characters' personalities are also related to their typical gameplay.
Therefore, even if the player plays the game once and then replays it with a different character, there will be freshness, although the storyline itself has not changed. I think the narrative team that wrote 6 different characters did a great job of that. I like this part very much.
Original author: Miru ☆ Yoshimura Translation: Nekomura no village chief 编辑: Kuma Neko Life