Summary
As one would expect from a game likeDead Island 2, the most enjoyable aspect of the game is its combat. While the story is decent enough and the slayers have quite a bit of personality, it is the satisfying combat mechanics that will keep co-op fans engaged for a few dozen hours. While guns are a part of that, and they certainly feel better than they did in the original game andRiptide, they are not nearly as fun to use as the many melee weapons that can be found inHell-A. In fact, the close quarters combat inDead Island 2is so enjoyable thatCoDZombies may want to consider reassessing its own melee weapons to better resemble its fellow zombie title.
Every aspect ofDead Island 2’s melee combat works well. Players do not only feel the difference between bladed and blunt weapons, but see the effect of the item they are using as they sever limbs or indent parts of an undead foe’s body. Putting on a fire-related mod will allow players to actually see the zombie they hit getting crisper while it’s burning, and special finishing moves for everything from a rake to a machete can make players feel unstoppable. WhileCall of DutyZombies has added more melee weapons in recent years, all its weapons feel the same, so keepingDead Island 2in mind when makingCall of Duty2024 could help.
More Animation Details on Enemy Models Could Go a Long Way in CoD Zombies
The biggest issue with usingCall of Duty’s melee weapons in Zombies is that they feel like little more than cosmetic differences. While the Tonfa may be anoverpowered weapon inModern Warfare 3Zombies, beyond that, players will feel little difference if they are using a knife or dual swords. A flashy animation makes each melee weapon’s attacks look different, yet landing a sword kill feels the exact same as hitting the enemy with a Sledgehammer. IfCall of DutyZombies is going to feature a variety of melee weapons, they need to feel more varied.
The quickest way to accomplish this is to have Zombies react differently when hit with a bladed or blunt weapon, just like inDead Island 2. If players stab them with a knife, they should see arms, heads, and legs being severed wherever they hit the body. Similarly, being able to crush a zombie’s head with a blunt weapon would make it feel different from a bladed one. The small detailsDead Island 2has, like blade marks on each zombie, are not viable in a mode where players are fighting giant hordes, but making the impact of each melee weapon a bit more distinct is doable. Features like thePS5’s reactive triggerscould also help with this, as they can be used to make the swings and impacts feel unique.
To replicate the effect ofDead Island 2’s elemental weapon mods,CoDZombies could give ammo mods unique melee animations. For instance, hitting Zombies with a Brain Rot melee weapon while its cooldown is active could make them melt, hitting them with Blast Furnace could cover their bodies in burns, and so on.
More Obvious Weapon Differences Can Make CoD Zombies’ Melee Combat Deeper
Beyond just making the impact of bladed and blunt weapons noticeably different inCall of Duty2024 Zombies, Treyarch could make each melee weapon more different from a gameplay perspective. For instance, each weapon could have a heavy attack when players hold down the trigger, with a small knife’s charge attack dealing serious damage to a single target like a Mimic but having the downside of players being stuck in a brief melee animation. Similarly, a large staff could have a charge attack that hits multiple zombies at once, dealing a smaller amount of damage in a wide area in front of the player. Pack-a-Punching a melee weapon could be acquired to unlock its special ability, and each could have different benefits and downsides that push players to try out every melee option.
Call of DutyZombies has come a long way from the days of the Bowie Knife and Sickle being the only melee alternatives, asBlack Ops 3marked the beginning of more and more CQC tools being added. However, despite new melee weapons being added to Treyarch’s Zombies modes regularly, they do not feel different enough from each other like the series’ guns tend to do.Learning fromDead Island 2, both in terms of how the weapons impact Zombies and more noticeable stat differences for each one, could see melee combat being a defining feature ofCoD2024’s Zombies mode.
Dead Island 2
WHERE TO PLAY
The open-world zombie slaying action RPG makes its long-awaited return. Dead Island is back, and with it comes a host of enhancements to its winning combination of creative first-person zombie slaying, pitch-black humor and open-world exploration. Welcome to HELL-A. The City of Angels has been transformed into a hellish sprawl, its populace now mutated into disgusting zombies with an insatiable appetite for humans. In this extensive, visceral RPG experience you’ll journey to iconic LA locations, taking on quests, meeting eccentric survivors and enjoying a joyously pulpy narrative along the way. The game’s brutal melee combat gives you access to an expansive array of inventive zombie-slaying weaponry that lets you slice, smash and tear through the hordes before they get the chance to do the same to you. Can you survive HELL-A?
