Dead Island 2 Trailer: Bring on the Sun and Chaos

After the success of the multiplayer action RPG Dead Island, it's no surprise to hear that a sequel is on its way. What is surprising, based on the trailer below, are the ways that the sequel is stepping away from its predecessor.

The first Dead Island focused heavily on melee combat— it was just you and your friends smashing hammers, machetes, and boat paddles into the heads of every shambling undead you could find. While there looks to still be a fair bit of martial mayhem in Dead Island 2, there seems to be a stronger emphasis on wild gadgetry. So far we've seen freeze rays, weed whackers, and what seemed to be a lightning-spewing shotgun.

Set in sunny Los Angeles, it looks like there will be a lot more room to run around and cause mayhem, which is always a good thing. Multiplayer will still be a strong component of Dead Island 2, as will curb-stomping zombie scumbags, but it looks like we might get to spend a little more time running and gunning and a little less time trying to repair our busted level eight croquet mallets.

Dead Island 2 arrives on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in Spring 2015.