Dead Island: Epidemic (with Beta Gameplay)

Dead Island: Epidemic is Deep Silver's upcoming free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. Developed by Stunlock Studios, Dead Island: Epidemic takes a different angle than Deep Silver's previous games, Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide.

This time around, the horror series takes points from the likes of League of Legends and Dota 2, placing itself in the MOBA genre and straying away from many of the elements we loved to hate in its predecessors. Players are again trapped on a tropical island swarming with the undead and are tasked with securing objectives, defending bases and taking down enemies -humans and zombies alike.

Currently in closed beta, Epidemic has two modes available to players: Horde and Scavenger. Horde sees a team of four capturing and defending bases, hitting checkpoints and eventually, if all works out, succeeding in defeating a zombie boss. Scavenger, on the other hand, has players fighting against more than just zombies. Three teams of four are tasked with capturing supply points, collecting supplies and bringing them back to the team's base. The first team to survive and fill their supply bar is declared the victor.

After each match, players are rewarded with experience points and currency, used to upgrade and advance players' weapons. Free usually sounds too good to be true, and of course, the option to obtain experience and currency will be available with the final game using real money.

For those unfamiliar with MOBA's, Epidemic is quite easy to pick up on. Cooperative team-play is made simple, yet remains entertaining, with basic controls, logical objectives and a varying degree of challenging enemies. Players will quickly catch onto the logistics of the game, and shortly after will enjoy fine-tuning their character and creating/modding weapons.

Four characters are currently available, each having different specializations, skills and weapons. Many weapons are recognizable from the previous games in the franchise, and are modded and created in a similar fashion. Add barbed wire to a melee weapon or blades and scopes to a firearm, increasing your offensive and defensive stats, and making them a more powerful, more accurate zombie slayer.

More modes, characters and weapons will be made available with the completed game, and it will be interesting to see if the free-to-play game will stick with the gaming community - veterans and rookies alike. See if it's your thing and check out the playthrough of Dead Island: Epidemic's prologue below, or skip ahead and see the horde mode in action.

For hardcore MOBA fans or those new to the genre, Dead Island: Epidemic is worth a look. It currently has no release date; however, those interested in Epidemic can get in on the action and sign up for the beta on the game's website.

Megan Bethke (@XboxBetty), NoobFeed.com