LO3 Game review Dead Island

Dead island is a FPS horror survival game. It shows conventions of these genres though different aspects of the gameplay for example the idea of the player having a skill tree is a convention of the role-playing genre. It sits pretty average within this genre because games such as Far Cry do these aspects better than dead island.
         The narrative of the game is that you are one of the only 4 people on the island that are immune to the disease  the island is located somewhere near Papua New Ginuea and the story is that you are searching for a cure to this disease.  The story informs the gameplay through the constant action and gore and it effects the approach of the characters because as you are the hero you feel as though you have to help other survivors.
          The story connects with the target audience because the target audience is 18 year old males, any ethnicity and of A, B, C1 disposable income. Reasoning for this is that as the game offers a unique option to play as one of 4 people who are diverse in ethnicity.  This target audience would most likely be fans of action, survival, rpg and horror genres which contain suspense within the game play.
          The characters are relevant to the target audience because the zombies connote to the horror genre. The customizable hero that you play as and having the ability to choose skills as you level up connotes to the role playing audience. The uncanny gore that features throughout connotes to the action audience. 
           I feel that the characters are strong because they all come with background storys and strong roles in the storyline, for example the character Purma was a security gaurd working at the hotel the night the disease broke loos and now as one of the 4 characters immune she must fight against the disease for a cure. Another reason the characters are strong is that that each character has its own audience that it appeals to.
           The main challenge presented in the game-play is the progression through the different danger level areas, these areas determine whether or not there is a the constant wave of attacking zombies, if the area is peaceful or if you have to survive bandits. This level of challenge engages the player because it makes the player take their time either sneaking around being stealthy to avoid the blood thirsty zombies or get really involved in tense combat and witness the gory element of the game. The aspect of an huge openworld where you are free to roam around anywhere you wish, is key to the games success as it offers a unique opportunity that no other horror/zombie game has offered before.  Aswell as this the hugely customisation range of weapons and gear is another apealing aspect of the game that makes it unique. The gameplay is constantly evolving to keep the player on there toes and tense by making different zombies appear that are stronger or faster than the ordinary ones. This leads the player to play in different styles to the classic running and gunning.
            The game is available on Xbox 360, Ps3, PC, Mac. I feel the game is equally as enjoyable on all platforms.
           I would personally recommend this game as it is a one off game that offers a tense immersive adventure that can lead you one minute being as calm as ever to another when you jumped on by a zombie and your sat there surprised.