that's one way they could beef up the RPG system without encumbering it with too much stat modification. If they had a system where a set of armour enhanced a strength skill for example, and the strength is a modifier that enhances the force damage of weapons. They took a bit of a step in that direction by letting your character cause more damage with a certain type of weapon the more you use it to level the skill up. They also need more items in their craft/loot system.

I like the little dead zone tasks and bosses, but if you don't like the combat being as dangerous as it is than I can see why you wouldn't like it. The quests are just tasks meant to send you off and play the game, so they should let you skip the useless dialogue and have some more randomized events/encounters. They need to make sure their combat is solid and doesn't bug out (Xian's special jump attack doesn't *ever* seem to land). Like everyone I really wanted them to take this idea of theirs of making a zombie based, first person, Diablo style game all the way. there might be a lot of paths, but they're all just as narrow as this, but with less variety. I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong, but the critique that (at least the opening area) this game is less open to exploration than the resort level seems like its being looked at through rose coloured glasses. If you don't like the game, you don't like the game.

I almost feel like the opening map is bigger and covers more variety of terrain and setting than the first one did. There is nothing about this opening area that feels small, or that doesn't let me take a number of different paths through the map. Having played 4-5 hours of this game so far and roaming around the opening jungle map, I am confused at the reaction that this game doesn't have the same openness that the first game did. I don't want to presume that everyone says this for the same reasons, but the common statement seems to be that this was the most open world part of the game with the most to explore. Looking at a lot of the responses from people to this game, there is a common thread among many people that the initial resort area in Dead Island was the best part.

Dead island riptide act 2