The original Dead Island trailer last year could be considered just as memorable and remarkable as the game itself. With its clever rewind presentation of a zombie attack on a family, it was emotional and interesting as the ten millions viewers I’m sure will agree. Now another tear-jerker has arrived in the form of Riptide‘s first trailer.
This time around we see a couple enjoying their last embrace, smiling at one another as though they are the only people on the planet. They may be among the very last remaining living humans, as unfortunately the camera pans out to reveal a horde of rampant, vicious zombies doing everything they can to break in to reach their prey. At least the survivors aren’t letting themselves become a meal, as they have a gas leak and a lighter to destroy the creatures and themselves. A similarly emotional piano track plays throughout the trailer like in the last one, emphasising the tragedy in the couple’s final farewell.
Its funny, Dead Island was a fun game but by no means struck me as an emotional story-driven experience at all. Painfully stereotypic characters, bland voice acting and uninteresting characters populated the island, with the real attractions being survival and killing zombies in different ways. You grabbed your bloody nailed baseball bat instead of grabbing a tissue.
While the trailer impressed me once again, I’m doubtful that it will represent the actual game again in any way. Still, what was cool about the last game was that the trailer was referenced at the start of the game, as you could discover the bodies of the deceased family. It would certainly be interesting to see Deep Silver continue this trend so that the player could find the remains of the exploded, over-turned boat in Riptide.
