I am Colonel Ryder White of the Banoi Island Defense Force. My mission is to help contain the infection that is spreading throughout this island, but it is also my duty as a husband to protect my wife, a doctor at the Banoi Prison. If the conflicts of my two priorities weren’t enough, my helicopter just crashed in the middle of the city of Moresby, and I’m surrounded by the infected. I need to find a way out.
This is how the first five minutes of Dead Island’s new Ryder White Campaign DLC makes players feel. Ryder is torn between his two loyalties from the very beginning and the campaign promises to answer many questions left unanswered by Sam B’s, Logan’s, Xian Mei’s, and Purna’s story.
In this new single player content, players take control of the antagonist from Dead Island. The gameplay is largely intact from the original content. Players will find supplies strewn about the environment from customizing materials to melee weapons and firearms. Healing items like food and health kits can also be found in the environment. Players can break or cut off body parts from their (mostly) undead enemies.
There is a heavier emphasis on action and gunplay this time around with far more abundant ammo pick ups. The BIDF has left weapon crates throughout White’s path. These crates usually contain ammo for Ryder’s guns, but sometimes shelter grenades, Molotov cocktails, or more firearms. Along the way, players will even find a blueprint for the brand new Stun Gun weapon. The Stun Gun is a pistol that does not use up pistol ammo. It does pathetic damage, but instantly knocks enemies down to the ground with its 100% critical rate. It is akin to a long range version of the Left Hand of Glova without the stamina drain.
Some of the RPG elements of Dead Island have been removed in exchange for the faster pace of Ryder White’s story. Players will be locked at level 15 for the duration of the story with 15 inventory slots, and the skill tree has been completely removed from the game menu. Despite this, Ryder White does have some of the main characters’ upgrades like a Fury attack, the slow version of the instakill stomp attack, and access to all of the slots on the quick select weapon wheel. White’s Fury weapon is a pistol that does not auto aim like Purna’s, but slows down time and can be fired far more quickly than Purna’s revolver. The faster pace, however, provides players with some exciting set pieces including a gas station standoff against innumerable running Infected.
Ryder White’s Campaign is new one player content scheduled for release on February 1, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PC, and Playstation 3 for 800 Microsoft points or $10. Be sure to check back for our full review.