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First Dead Island 2 trailer shows off unique character builds

After years of delays, rumors, and an early leak, Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver finally revealed Dead Island 2 to the masses at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022. The trailer reintroduced us to the game after eight years, highlighting all of the wild character builds players can create and defeat hordes of zombies with. The game also got a February 3, 2023, release date, so the wait for Dead Island 2 won’t be much longer.

Like the original, Dead Island 2 takes place in a tourist-heavy location. However, now we’ve gone from a vacation island to the City of Angels, Los Angeles. The trailer showed how players can explore and kill zombies in the various locales that Los Angeles has to offer. These areas range from high-class Beverly Hills neighborhoods to the sandy shores of Venice Beach. Six playable characters can be used to explore these different locations, and each can be highly customized to fit anyone’s liking. These characters, called “Slayers,” have fully customizable abilities that can be accessed using a brand-new skill system.

The playable avatars aren’t the only crazy builds that can be found in Dead Island 2. The game features tons of different Los Angeles-themed undead variants, many of whom we got an early look at in the trailer. Hopefully, Dead Island 2 can take what players enjoyed about the original and expand on it in exciting ways.

Dead Island 2 is set a 2023 release date of February 3 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC for $60. A day one edition containing special abilities and weapons is also confirmed to hit shelves for $70.

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DeAngelo Epps
De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
Dead Island 2: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
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Believe it or not, Dead Island 2 is not only still real, but it's actually coming out. For those who've been following the troubled trajectory this title has had, you know this is a story almost 10 years in the making. Originally revealed in 2014, Dead Island 2 has died and been resurrected no less than twice, with a new development team taking up the project each time. The average person probably assumed the game was scrapped years ago, but for those who never gave up hope, your faith has been rewarded.

Leaks did take some of the excitement out of Dead Island 2's big re-reveal during Gamescom 2022, but it couldn't stifle what looks to be a game far better than its beleaguered history would lead you to believe. Since so much has changed over the course of development, let alone with the entire gaming landscape, plenty of people may be wondering what all the excitement over this zombie game is all about. Grab yourself a blunt object and get ready to smash some zombie skulls as we run through everything we know about Dead Island 2.
Release date

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Dead Island 2 avoids Star Wars Jedi clash by bumping up its release date
Dead Island 2 zombie

Dead Island 2, a game that never seemed like it was going to come out, has gone gold and even had its release date moved up by a week. Originally slated for April 28, Dead Island 2 will now be released on April 21. That means it'll launch one week before Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which just had its release date pushed to April 28.
The developers of the LA-based zombie game revealed the news via a tweet with a video that highlights a bunch of comments asking if the game was polished and if it will actually ever be released before it confirms that Dead Island 2 has gone gold and is coming out a bit earlier than we currently expected.
https://twitter.com/deadislandgame/status/1625147886643150852
Release dates moving up instead of being delayed are a rarity, with one of the only recent examples being Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Still, the delay makes sense now that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming out on April 28. This announcement also feels cathartic after Dead Island 2's rough development. The zombie sequel has notoriously been delayed significantly more than most games. Originally announced in 2014 with a Q2 2015 release window, Dead Island 2 got pushed back again and again, switching developers multiple times and slowly seeming more and more likely to become vaporware.
Deep Silver Dambuster Studios' new version of the game finally reemerged as the big final reveal of Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022, but even after that, the game got delayed one more time to April 28. Even if it's moving its release date up by just a week, the fact that Dead Island 2 has gone gold and even moved its release date up a bit feels like the satisfying end to an excruciatingly long journey. Whether it's good or not, we finally don't have to wait much longer to actually play Dead Island 2.
Dead Island 2 will be released for PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 21. 

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The best trailers from The Game Awards 2022: Judas, Death Stranding 2, and more
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The Game Awards 2022 was full of awesome reveals, and many of them had amazing trailers that we're still eager to rewatch after the show. From clever music choices to flashy visuals to stunning cast reveals, these seven trailers stuck out above the rest. If you don't experience anything else from The Game Awards 2022, make sure you still check out these trailers for Replaced, Judas, Death Stranding 2, and more.  
Replaced
REPLACED - World Premiere Trailer | The Game Awards 2022
The best trailer of The Game Awards 2022's Opening Act pre-show was Replaced, an indie darling that made a strong first impression with a trailer at Xbox's E3 2022 showcase. This indie game stands out because of its utterly beautiful pixel art that looks just as good, if not even better, than HD-2D games like Live A Live. Even outside of Replaced's inherent style, this is just a well-paced trailer that slowly builds up the game's atmosphere before a song needle drop that compliments the trailer showcasing the game's action and platforming. Heading into 2023, Replaced is an indie that should definitely be on your radar.
Hades II
Hades II - Reveal Trailer
The first trailer of The Game Awards 2022's main show wasn't too shabby either. Starting with some fantastic animation made by Studio Grackle, it slowly becomes clear that this is an action-packed follow-up to one of the best game's ever made. The animation on its own would've been good enough to whet fans' appetites, but Supergiant Games also decided to show quite a bit of gameplay in the reveal trailer, affirming that Hades II will have the same smooth and satisfying combat as its predecessor. 
Judas
Judas Official Reveal Trailer | Game Awards 2022
We finally got a look at BioShock creator Ken Levine's first project in almost a decade at The Game Awards 2022, and its reveal trailer didn't disappoint. We're introduced to the main character Judas and the eccentric cast of characters they'll have to form alliances with pretty quickly, and we then get a look at the creepy sci-fi setting and gameplay that's certainly reminiscent of BioShock. While this trailer doesn't reveal much more about the game, we can't wait to see what Ken Levin has in store for us with Judas.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Official Reveal Trailer
There's nothing else quite like a good Star Wars trailer, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's The Game Awards 2022 trailer hits all the right notes. It not only sets the stage for a story that will be a little more intense than Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order but introduces us to new characters like mercenary Bode Akuna and awesome gameplay mechanics like dual-wielding lightsabers, riding animals, and freezing time with the Force. Ending it on a March 17 release date confirmation also proved that this great-looking game is coming much sooner than viewers may have thought.  
Death Stranding 2
DEATH STRANDING 2(Working Title)- TGA 2022 Teaser Trailer
Hideo Kojima is a master of releasing trailers that don't really tell players much about the game but still get the viewer very hyped. Most of the original Death Stranding's trailers were masterpieces, and Death Stranding 2's reveal trailer lives up to that quality. We see some cultists, then Lea Sedouyx playing with and then fleeing an attack with an actual baby. She fails, and we then flash to a corrupted BB tank, the game's logo, and then a conversation between her and Norman Reedus' Sam Porter Bridges. After the cast and credits of the trailer, we then get a look at Troy Baker's character, who seems to be the cultist villain of the game, as well as tentacles emerging in a BB tank. As always with new Kojima games, we're utterly intrigued.  
Crime Boss: Rockay City
Crime Boss: Rockay City Announcement Trailer [ESRB 4K]
Crime Boss: Rockay City's reveal trailer was memorable because of how it unveiled this first-person heist game's star-studded cast. After a quick intro introducing us to Rockay City, we get looks at Michael Madsen as Travis Baker, Kim Basinger as Casey, Damion Poitier as Nasara, Danny Trejo as The Dragon, Danny Glover as Gloves, Michael Rooker as Touchdown, Vanilla Ice as Hielo, and Chuck Norris in this smoothly edited trailer. Crime Boss: Rockay City certainly leaves a strong first impression; let's see if the gameplay lives up to that. 
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON – Reveal Trailer
Following Geoff Keighley's introduction to this trailer, it seemed like this trailer was for a new FromSoftware game, but we couldn't be sure. The post-apocalyptic sci-fi landscapes don't look like anything the developer has made recently. Slowly, it becomes clear that it's a new Armored Core game as the game's tagline "Feed the fire. Let the last cinders burn" and PlatinumGames logo show up. The Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon announcement trailer climaxes with some awesome mecha action, getting us very hyped for FromSoftware's first project post-Elden Ring. 

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