New Dead Island 2 gameplay reveals deadly melee weapons, gruesome combat and more

Los Angeles has fallen. The once glamorous hangout of the rich and famous is now overrun by the walking dead, and the town is under strict military quarantine. Nothing comes in. Nothing comes out.

You’re the new star of this treacherous Tinsel Town (which the locals have dubbed HELL-A), and everybody wants a piece of you – both alive and undead – so be prepared to fight off an onslaught of zombified Los Angelinos as you try to get out of Dodge.

Kill with total brutality

The good news? You are a natural at this killer concert. Get ready to decapitate, maim, eviscerate and annihilate any zombie that dares get in your way. The combat system will let you chain together attacks, blocks, dodges, and special abilities based on your unique playstyle so you can kill with maximum efficiency and in style.

You will also use the environment to your advantage. Poke a barrel full of caustic liquid and kick a zombie into the spill to watch the flesh melt and drop its skeleton revealing its rotting innards. Nasty.

We certainly didn’t skimp on the special effects budget: Dead Island 2’s unique gore technology, FLESH (Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids), m akes the act of killing a bloody good business. Whether it’s your first or 100^e

time, you’ll be impressed by the disgusting level of detail on offer.

If you ever need a break from sending the undead to their final resting place, there’s an entire town to explore with plenty of loot to earn, and if you look hard enough, you just might find answers about the shady events that turned LA into a festival of flesh-eating monsters.

The props department packs the heat

In these difficult times, guns are a killer’s best friend. Whether you enjoy slicing, dicing, beating, smashing, or even ripping out your revived enemies, you’ll be able to find the tool for the job somewhere in HELL-A.

Swords, Bear Claws, Maces, Hunting Knives, Brass Knuckles, and Maces are just a fraction of the weapon types you’ll find throughout the city.

But if you don’t fancy having brain and bone fragments all over your outfit – or if you’re tired of stale zombie breath – you can take out these suckers from afar with a whole arsenal of RANGED WEAPONS: Grab a handy gun, shotgun, rifle, shotgun, or even a handy nail gun to get the job done from a more comfortable distance.

If you’re ever not quite happy with your weapon’s destructive capability, you can head to one of the many workbenches found in HELL-A to install perks and mods. Add a shock mod to your katana to electrify the blade and zap zombies with every slice. Can anyone else smell the barbecue?

Meet your “quirky” co-stars

No Hollywood production is complete without an ensemble cast, so naturally you’ll meet other survivors during your time in HELL-A.

A former silver screen cowboy, creepy sci-fi cosplayer, drunk and messy aging rockstar, and go-to social media personality extreme metrics to please its subscribers are just a few of the locals you’ll encounter on your journey.

They can always use the hand of a skilled zombie slayer like you and will often reward you for your services with the brightest and deadliest loot.

Not your average zombie movie

The wandering zombie archetype you’ve seen so much in Hollywood over the years wouldn’t stand much of a chance against a zombie-slaying aficionado like you. Luckily, there’s a motley crew of enemies in HELL-A, ready to test your abilities.

Some are slow, some are fast, some are really loud, some can ring your ears with a deafening scream, and some will explode into a million pieces of meat and goo if you get too close. You were warned.

Embrace the zombie inside

Did we forget to mention that you were bitten and infected with the same virus that turned everyone undead? But he hasn’t fully taken over yet. Instead, you’re riding the wave of infection, sitting somewhere between human and zombie, which comes with its own set of abilities.

When the slaughter gets tough, activate Fury Mode to unleash your inner zombie and start tearing through enemies at any time. This is just the surface of your new powers, but more on that later…