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Dead Island console patch rolling out, raising level cap
Dead Island's harsh treatment of necrotic former vacationers isn't without limit -- which is why you'll be happy to learn that the game's level cap is being raised to 60 with a new patch rolling out to consoles today. In addition to stability and interface adjustments, developer Techland promises the patch will add several features to the tropical death-trap: weapon crates now contain "improved rewards," kicking now expends stamina (realism!) and Purna can now lug around 50 percent more ammo (realism?). Enemy levels can also be adjusted for different co-op players independently, in case you get stuck with that idiot who always goes back for the dog. You'll find the full list of adjustments after the break. Boy, it must be nice to have access to a break once in a while. The fierce hostility aimed at pale, shambling and barely communicative humanoids on an island resort is exactly why we never feel comfortable taking a holiday.
Techland trademarks 'Dead World,' declines to comment on Dead Island sequel
Dead Island developer Techland filed for a trademark on something called "Dead World" recently, prompting speculation that plans for a sequel to the open-world zombie RPG were beginning to unfurl. Techland declined to comment on the matter, though the trademark is legit. Dead Island shambled up the charts when it was released in September, thanks to plenty of zombie buzz and that popular trailer (never mind the less-than-glowing critical response). A title like "Dead World" hints that the game will take on a slightly larger scale than just an island resort, but we'll have to wait and see until the company decides to make any official announcements.
Spooky Savings: Amazon's 'Un-BOO-lievable' Halloween sale
Autumnal consumerism is usually linked with holidays based around turkeys and/or trees, but that hasn't stopped Amazon from conjuring up some scary-good deals to celebrate All Hallow's Eve. The available gambit of creepy-eepy savings is fairly all-inclusive, ranging from Halloweenish gore-fests like Dead Island, Rise of Nightmares and Left 4 Dead, to the more subtle, yet still emotionally horrifying Catherine. There are a few odd-balls in there like Dead or Alive Dimensions and Duke Nukem Forever, although we suppose Duke is terrifying in a more abstract sense of the word.
September NPD: Madden, Gears, Dead Island are hits (Updated with Nintendo hardware numbers!)
It should come as no surprise that Madden NFL 12 beat everything else in NPD's software chart for the month of September, unless you're really not into sports games and forgot it came out. Second place is also pretty expected, with the massive rollout of Gears of War 3 massively rolling into people's homes. Third place, however, is a bit more interesting -- Dead Island, from semi-obscure publisher Deep Silver, outsold almost everything else based on the strength of that trailer and the word "zombies." Find the top ten after the break. In hardware, Microsoft reported Xbox 360 takes the top hardware spot once again, touting 438,000 units sold in the month. Nintendo reports sales of 360,000 3DS units in the five week September reporting period, as well as 240,000 Wiis and 145,000 DS systems. Sony has not released official sales numbers for the PS3 or PSP. In larger trends, total industry sales are down 6 percent year over year, with a mere $1.16 billion changing hands in September.
Dead Island 'Bloodbath Arena' DLC attacks in mid-November
Dead Island's first bite of DLC, delayed so that developer Techland could focus on more pressing issues following launch, will arrive in mid-November. Game Informer received the latest release window, reiterating that the DLC will be free to those who pre-ordered Dead Island at GameStop and $10 for all other meatbags. The "Bloodbath Arena" DLC, a wave-based survival mode, adds four new areas and some weapons, and allows players to transfer XP into the core game.%Gallery-129666%
Dead Island 'Bloodbath Arena' DLC launch held up by work on main game
We don't take kindly to publishers making us into liars here at Joystiq, so you can imagine how we feel about Dead Island dev Techland announcing a delay in the release of its upcoming Bloodbath Arena DLC after originally pinning a "late September" window on it. Spittin' mad, you might say. As it turns out, rather than Bloodbath Arena ... erm ... flowing to the game by the end of this month (that's today) as originally planned, it's been moved to an undetermined date. Techland tries weaseling out of responsibility for its blatant disrespect of our Serious Journalistic Integrity™ by blaming, "Further polishing of the main game," as the reason for said delay. "We know that fans are eagerly waiting for it and apologise for any inconvenience," the post additionally notes, taunting us further. Apparently a "release update" will come next week, but after all we've been through this morning, who can we even trust anymore?!
Nielsen taps most anticipated games, Modern Warfare 3 on top
The Nielsen firm has compiled a list of the top twenty most anticipated games this holiday season. The survey ranks games based on the percentage of players that ranked them in their top five choices for the holiday. Unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was at the top of the list, with fully 27 percent of those surveyed placing it in their top five. Rounding out the top five, Gears of War 3 and Madden NFL 12 both pulled 19 percent, Assassin's Creed Revelations made 17 percent and Batman: Arkham City reached 15 percent. The holiday's major Wii exclusive, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword made the sixth slot with 14 percent. Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3's major competition, reached number seven at 12 percent. Also worth noting: Dead Island, at 7 percent, marks the only game on the entire list that isn't part of an established franchise. The survey also includes a fascinating peek into the psyche of various players, making note of the online conversations surrounding each title. For example, Modern Warfare 3 fans are looking forward to launch parties, and Skyward Sword devotees are hoping to rekindle that old Ocarina of Time feeling. Madden armchair quarterbacks, meanwhile, are planning to call in sick in order to squeeze in a few more touchdowns.
Dead Island film optioned by Lionsgate, based on the trailer
Though reports from February of a planned film adaptation of Techland's then yet-to-be-released zombie title Dead Island were struck down by the studio, legitimate plans for the movie were revealed earlier today. Lionsgate announced in a press release that it's currently in the early development stage of a Dead Island feature, with producers Sean Daniel (Tombstone, Dazed and Confused) and Stefan Sonnenfeld attached. The press release mentions the game's first, Cannes-winning trailer will serve as the film's "primary creative inspiration," adding that the movie will adopt the commercial's "focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling." Also, it's a horror movie from Lionsgate, so we're betting you'll get to see the insides of hastily removed human body parts.
El Shaddai $37 today on Amazon, Deus Ex $40 all week
Amazon's Deal of the Day discounts El Shaddai, dropping the price to a one-day-only $36.99. If you have yet to see the most beautiful game this year, or the one in which a pre-fall devil has his most prominent role ever, well, consider yourself tempted. The retailer has also updated its Deals of the Week, which are pretty interesting this time. Deus Ex is $39.99 on Xbox 360 or PS3 all week (the Augmented Edition is $50); Dungeon Siege 3 is $29.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3, and $19.99 on PC; and Dead Island is $45.99 on Xbox and PS3, and 36.99 on PC. Next time you're considering buying a new game, remember that it takes less than a month for it to go on sale at Amazon!
Gears of War 3, F1 2011 race to top of UK charts
Codemaster's annual F1 racing series would have taken the checkered flag for a second year in its debut week on the UK charts, but with competition like Gears of War 3 it'll have to settle for a respectable second place finish. According to Chart-Track, Epic's conclusion to the Gears trilogy sold nearly as many copies in its first week on sale as the first two combined during their launch weeks. Gears 3 is the seventh largest Xbox 360 launch to date (Call of Duty: Black Ops rules that roost). Zombie RPG Dead Island won't die. Having held the top spot for the past two weeks, the title finally shambles on down to third. It's poetic, really, since it's keeping Zumba Fitness company. The unholy fitness game, which danced into fourth last week, must be a death walker since it refuses to die, despite insane competition. Zumba Fitness keeps selling as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Driver: San Francisco, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine and Resistance 3 slip down the charts. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Dead Island, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine continue fight atop UK charts
Zombie RPG Dead Island continues feasting on money and tourists in its second week atop the UK all formats sales chart. Chart-Track notes (to the surprise of no one) that Deep Silver's two weeks of Dead Island sales have eclipsed the lifetime sales of any other title in the publisher's catalog. That includes and Nail'd and Prison Break: The Conspiracy. Another unexpected development on the charts: Warhammer 40K Space Marine maintained its second place position again this past week. Despite a 52 percent drops in sales, the Emperor's fist kept the aliens of Resistance 3 in third. The only "new" title to break the Top 40 last week was God of War Collection Volume 2, which bludgeoned everything below the 35th spot. Price promotions moved Red Faction: Armageddon up 246 percent into 11th, while Kinect's Rise of Nightmares had a better second week, running up from 37th place to 18th.
Dead Island patch out on Xbox 360; PS3 and PC update coming later
The various and sundry niggling issues that plagued Dead Island upon its highly anticipated launch appear to be on Techland's hit list -- the game recently received another patch on the Xbox 360. According to the game's official Twitter account, updates include "improvements to matchmaking, AI, quest and escort fixes, visual glitch fixes and a ton more." We encountered most of those issues during our time with the game, so we're pleased as punch to hear they've been remedied. If you're rocking the PC or PS3 version of the game, don't get too blinded by jealousy. The Dead Island account also tweeted that PS3 and PC updates are on the way.
Dead Island ships 1 million to NA retail in first week, 2 million worldwide expected by week's end
Dead Island publisher Deep Silver must be stoked, having gone from relative obscurity to successful worldwide game publisher in the span of just one week. It seems that the company's latest release -- the much ballyhoo'd Dead Island -- has already shipped 1 million units to retail in the US, and the publisher expects to have moved 2 million units to retail worldwide by the end of its second week on shelves (that's this Sunday, folks). "The critical 'first week' of game sales has been an enormous sales success for Deep Silver," company COO Geoff Mulligan said in a press release. "We're working quickly with our distribution partner in North America, Square Enix, to restock shelves as quickly as we can." With any luck, Square and Deep Silver can fill those restocking orders before the masses of shambling consumers arrive at retail for a taste of the zombie-filled action game.
Dead Island shambles up UK charts, Space Marine drops in second
Love it or leave it zombie RPG Dead Island has consumed the top of the UK sales chart in its debut week. Another premiere expounded righteous force for the Emperor: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Chart-Track notes the PC sales for Space Marine were actually higher than Dead Island, which it believes is due to the former not being available on UK's Steam at launch. Driver: San Francisco shifted down into third in its second week on the charts, while Resistance 3 invaded the UK, nabbing fourth place in its first week available. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, currently in fifth, is doing its part to suppress the Zumba Fitness conspiracy, by keeping the dance fitness simulator in sixth. Other notable premieres were 3DS's Star Fox 64 3D and Kinect's Rise of Nightmares in ninth and a brisk 37th place, respectively. Check out the drying paint of a fresh UK top ten after the break.
Dead Island's first DLC, Bloodbath Arena, to make a splash later this month
Dead Island has stumbled into its first week, releasing an unplayable version on Steam, needing a massive day-one patch, leaving a sexist slur in a line of code and, of course, there's our own review. But all hope is not lost -- DLC is on the way. The Bloodbath Arena DLC pack will add four new maps with unrelenting waves of zombies to the game, due for release later this month. Bloodbath Arena was first announced as a free pre-order bonus, and will sell for $10 on all other copies. All XP and cash earned in the DLC maps will carry over to the main campaign, because it looks like Dead Island players will need all the help they can get.
You won't find the 'Feminist Wh*re' skill in the final version of Dead Island
When Dead Island arrived on Steam in North America, it wasn't exactly what the game's developer and publisher intended on releasing. Rather, it was a pre-release dev build, meaning many folks encountered bugs or were unable to play the game altogether. Moreover, some PC users have been able to do rather ... interesting things with the early build, and one even spotted a somewhat disturbing skill name that didn't end up in the final game: "Feminist Wh*re". One of Dead Island's playable characters, Purna, was apparently allotted a skill at one point that was dubbed "Feminist Whore", though it only shows up in the source code (in the "default_player_setup" file). It's possible that the skill eventually ended up as "Gender Wars," though that's just us taking an educated guess. Publisher Deep Silver, issued this response: "These unfortunate actions were of one individual at developer company Techland and do not in any way represent the views of publishing company Deep Silver." Further, developer Techland stated: "It obviously violates professional and ethical standards at Techland and should never have happened. We're investigating this right now and we'll issue a statement later. For now, I can only express my sincerest apologies for this incident and assure you that whoever acted so irresponsibly did not represent the views and opinions of Techland. I'm equally sure that aside from the author of that unfortunate line of code, everyone at the office is as disturbed by this as you are." [Thanks, Spencer.]
Dead Island day-one patch detailed; Steam version to be replaced
Techland's Dead Island is supplemented today by a day-one patch, which will fix a huge list of issues with the game, ranging from trivial to catastrophic. The list after the break, transcribed from a note included with our review copy of the game, does not organize the fixes by priority; "Fixed many issues causing game instability" is toward the middle of the list, under "Volume of pickup's engine has been increased." One thing the patch does not fix: the version of the game available on Steam is actually a pre-release development build, including obvious glitches (like the ability to walk through walls) and some undefined variables. "We deeply regret that an incorrect version of Dead Island was inadvertently made available to players on Steam launch in North America," publisher Deep Silver said in a statement to Joystiq. "We are very sorry for any issues you may have experienced while playing the game - the correct, patched version will be made available to North American players ASAP." Other territories will receive the correct, patched version on Friday.
Dead Island review: In need of brains
Dead Island is probably the most realistic depiction of the inevitable and oncoming zombie apocalypse in video game history. It's typified by desperation, sacrifice, frustration, terror and an overbearing sense of hopelessness. But there's a catch. Though the zombie apocalypse may occasionally be grimly satisfying or fleetingly triumphant when you survive another night, there's one thing it almost certainly won't be. Fun. %Gallery-129666%
Dead Island iOS app tells you what you're doing in Dead Island on a smaller screen
The official Dead Island map app turns your iOS device into a veritable Wii U, offering details about every mile of Banoi Island, including the locations of more than 150 items and an objective checkbox. The app will launch September 6 for $2.99 on iTunes. The app doesn't appear to connect with individual Dead Island games, meaning objectives and items will have to be checked off manually. We can't help but assume that Dead Island will keep track of our objectives and items for us, though perhaps not in such a neat-and-tidy handheld manner. The app also emits Dead Island music to immerse users "in the mysterious and dangerous atmosphere of the game," which could be a bit redundant if used while playing the actual game. Personally, we can't wait to take our Dead Island map apps on the go, pumpin' out zombie music and staring at our objectives in the office, on the bus and at funerals everywhere, just to get our money's worth.
Dead Island launch trailer brings the piano back
Liberal applications of slow motion and soft music put this zombie murder right back where it should be -- in the fine arts department.
