‘Dead Island: Riptide’ Images Feature Plenty Of Zombie Mayhem

For the sequel to their surprise hit Dead Island, Deep Silver isn’t deviating too far from the proverbial script. The follow-up Dead Island: Riptide, which is slated for release sometime next year, finds our heroes battling zombies on yet another island resort stuffed to overflowing with all sorts of peril. If your formula isn’t broken, then I suppose you shouldn’t attempt to fix it.

According to Kotaku, the game pretty much begins where the first installment left off. The story’s band of heroes are resting their laurels on a boat that’s supposedly transporting them back to civilization. Unfortunately for these battle-hardened characters, a monsoon derails the rescue mission. Instead of landing safely back at home, the group finds themselves on yet another island that’s teeming with even more undead mayhem. Carnage will certainly ensue.

The cast from the original Dead Island are expected to return for the sequel, as well as a mysterious fifth individual who has not yet been revealed. Those folks who spent countless hours leveling up their heroes will be able to import the character and your accomplishments into the next game.

In true video game sequel fashion, the follow-up will reportedly feature a number of upgrades that improve upon the previously installment. According to the Mercury News, one of the new features is a revamped weather system, which will make fighting legions of flesh-munching zombies particularly difficult. Fighting ghouls in the daylight is tough enough, let alone when you’re trying to wage war with extremely limited visibility.

However, The Examiner reports that Dead Island: Riptide isn’t to be considered a proper sequel to Deep Silver’s 2010 adventure. Instead, the company is referring to the title as a spin-off, a companion piece to the original experience.

Dead Island: Riptide is tentatively scheduled for release on the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3 sometime next year. Are you excited about the Dead Island sequel?