Dead Island 2 review: Decomposed delight

Dead Island 2Rating 45Developer Dambuster StudiosPublisher Deep SilverPlatform PC XBO PS4Price Rs 3999Itrsquos another week with a whole new zombie game and this time itrsquos a sequel to Dead Island A game that has seen multiple studios and a lot of time between the first and the second game However it is finally here now and this is what we think of itTo refresh your memory the original Dead Island 2011 had you playing as one of four characters who are immune to the zombie outbreak and they have to fight their way out of the place to survive the game The game was fun in its own way and it is a bit antiquated if you try to play it nowWith Dead Island 2 the developers decided to go with a completely different story actually they didnrsquot It is in many ways the same game you played all those years ago In Dead Island 2 you get to play one of six possible players All of whom happen to be immune to the zombie outbreak and happen to be on the same aircraft thatrsquos trying to escape the zombie apocalypse in Los Angeles Your plane crashes because someone on the plane turned You can select one of these immune players to play as the plane is going downEach player is different and they have additional attributes that may better suit your style of gameplay combat I played the game as Jakob who is an English stuntman You can also choose Dani Ryan Carla Amy or Bruno Once you do that the game gives you a brief introduction on how to play it and then sends you in to survive Within a few minutes you meet other survivors who leave you to fight zombies while they escape You get bit in the scuffle and then go to seek help from one of the survivors who happens to be a celebrity that living in BelAir They take you in and you donrsquot turn into a zombie so it works out for them Later you find out from one of the survivors of the previous game Sam that you are immune just like him Since you are immune you decide to drudge through LA to find help and save your new crash buddies from eventually becoming zombie foodThe story moves ahead in a pretty predictable fashion with an ending you can see a mile away The journey however is not all that bad The game has a lot of witty writing and tongueincheek humour that reminds me of GTA games The characters you meet along the way are just brilliantly thought out and a funny parody of people you would expect to meet in real life The quests handed out by these characters are also fun and silly in the best way possible It should also be mentioned that the story is the same regardless of who you chooseAs for combat you can pick up a lot of weapons along the way These can be modified to be stronger and have extra effects that make killing zombies easier Occasionally you will encounter a crafting station where you can build said weapons and repair broken ones Yeah weapons break if you use them too much fortunately there is a bar that tells you the state of your weapon Weapons also donrsquot autoswitch for some reason you have to select your next weapon from the weapons menu or bareknuckle fight your way through you tend to get used to it after a while It can get challenging to remember initially especially when a bunch of zombies are around trying to munch on you The gameplay is not the newest and is very similar to how the original game plays Itrsquos not a bad thing but it makes the game feel a bit oldHowever the absolute best part of the game is the gore The gore is beyond amazing as you bash your way through a zombie and encounter layers of flesh bone guts and brains You whack a head with a hammer and half the skull falls out There is blood everywhere You can also use the environment to kill zombies a combination you will see more often than not is electricity with water If you see electricity buzzing you are going to see a conveniently placed jerry can of water or a hose close by I admit I liked seeing the zombies get electrocuted and went out of my way to kill them this wayThe game follows a very linear path which is not a bad thing expect around 30 hours of gameplay It is a bit short given the neverending gameplays we are so used to but it is a fun ride from start to end I actually enjoyed playing the game and at the end thatrsquos the most important part So if you are into zombies and donrsquot want to play something serious like Resident Evil 4 Dead Island 2 is a nice GTAesque take on zombies that is worth a tryBreaktrough raises hope for heart transplantsStanford Medicine surgeons have achieved a worldfirst heart transplant procedure from a donor who underwent cardiac death surgeons transplanted a heart while it was beating The technique was used by Joseph Woo and his team at the hospitalrsquos cardiothoracic surgery department and has since been repeated with adult and paediatric patients Previously heart transplants were conducted using a braindead donor but with demand exceeding supply the medical world has been exploring other approaches Organs recovered from cardiac death experience some degree of oxygen deprivationEat insects for good gutA new study published in Nature Food by researchers from the Colorado State University and the University of Wisconsin has found that chitin and healthy fats derived from insects can contribute to a healthy gut The study which pioneers human research on cricket consumptionrsquos effect on gut microbiota suggests that cricketderived chitin in designer chocolate patties may increase positive prebiotic effects on individuals with irritable bowel syndrome