Dead Island

CHICAGO – Much to the chagrin of practically everyone I know, the idea of “relaxing” is a bit…underwhelming (which is probably the point). Even with the crash of the waves, warm sand, girls in bikinis, surfing, snorkeling, and the ability to re-enact those Corona beer commercials, well, not to sound ungrateful to the Barbadoses and Bermudas of the world, I’d be bored in 10 minutes. But if you give me an arcade, or a golf course, or a football, or, well, thousands of undead zombies, as is the case in “Dead Island: Riptide” suddenly we have ourselves a ball game.

CHICAGO – We may already be planning our 2012 gaming experience (and watch for a piece next week on HC’s most-anticipated games), but there’s still time (before “Mass Effect 3” takes over our lives) to look back at the year that was and ask the key questions — Was 2011 a good year for gamers? What were the highlights? Let us guide the way with our ten favorite games of last year (and ten runner-ups).

CHICAGO – “Dead Island,” “Resident Evil” (which just had “Resident Evil 4” & “Resident Evil Code: Veronica X” re-released and upgraded for Xbox 360 and PS3), “Left 4 Dead,” “Dead Nation” — the zombie genre is one of the most resilient and creatively impressive in the world of gaming. So much so that Capcom has actually released an alternate version of their 2010 hit “Dead Rising 2.”

CHICAGO – The newest action/horror zombie slaughter game, “Dead Island,” has debuted with a bang. The video game, published by Deep Silver, has already shipped out more than a million copies in North America alone. Additionally, the game will have sold 2 million copies globally by the end of this week.

CHICAGO – Video games have an amazing way of suppressing critical thought. Like a great action sequence can allow the movie goer to ignore stupid dialogue and cliched characters, if a game can provide adrenalin-pumping, visceral thrills then complaints become easier to forget. Such is the case with “Dead Island,” a clever zombie game with some serious flaws that really don’t matter in light of how damn enjoyable the game can be.