Dead Island Riptide picks up right where the original game left off, with the same four survivors, Sam B, Xian Mei, Logan Carter and Purna. Because of a tropical storm the chopper crashes. The crew land on a military ship where, due to a raging monsoon and the fact that our survivors are infected, an all-new zombie outbreak occurs onboard. This forces players to flee the ship or the ship runs aground (media reports are conflicting). The survivors end up on the island of Palanai in the South Pacific. Palanai includes the city of Henderson.
Joining the four survivors from the last game is a fifth character, John Morgan. John is a Navy ship cook, however he trained himself in hand-to-hand combat.
In a flooded church in the middle of a jungle, the only way to get to the next area is by going through some tunnels underneath the church. So in Breaching the Tunnels quest, the player must carry a water pump to the church. They must them get the water pump going to clear the tunnel, which causes a lot of noise, and requires the player to fend off incoming zombies for several minutes while the water is clearing.
There is a lot of action on the water, with boats needed to get around waterlogged sections of the island. There are zombies wandering around submerged by the water or stuck in the swamps. There are explosive mines, poison mines and sonic mines.
Features
Players and co-op
Players can keep their original Dead Island game character progression through to the sequel.
Level limitations between co-op partners has been removed. The game with automatically re-balance to find a middle ground that all players can play.
Connecting to another player in co-op has been made simpler, where the game now automatically mentions if friends are logged in and nearby, letting them just jump into the player's game.
Disconnections are handled more gracefully, and when people drop out of a group, there is a simple notification before a player can continue to play as they were before.
Players will not have to wait to get firearms until later in the game.
Zombie
New zombie type.
Drowner
New special zombies.
Grenadier, which throws grenades at the survivors.
Wrestler, who uses it's large fist to slam the survivors.
Ogre
More zombies on screen at any one time.
Zombie respawning overhauled. Zombies will still reappear as a player returns to areas that they had already cleared, but the game is going to try and handle this in a more intelligent and complex fashion. The game will take into account if the player is on a mission, how recently the players last passed through, the character’s condition, whether the player is playing in a group and plenty other factors also.
Game play
New set position defenses where the player must hold a position for a period of time. This is available early in the game.
Environment
Environmental weather. A huge part of the engine overhaul has focussed on adding big weather effects which "ramp up the tension and atmosphere during pivotal battles". The wind builds until it’s roaring at you through the speakers, the skies darken as the clouds close in and torrential rain starts to come down, reducing the distance the player can see and making survival even trickier.
The only mode of transportation across the flooded islands is by boat.
Zombies will pull players off the boat.
The island is "vastly different from the one in the first game".
Weapons
Weapons will be more durable.
Gameplay Video
http://deadisland.deepsilver.com/
Release Date: April 26, 2013
