Deep Silver Prepares For The Zombie Apocalypse With the Dead Island: Riptide Pickup Truck (Watch the Episodes Here!)

To help promote the next chapter in the successful Dead Island series Dead Island: Riptide, Deep Silver has teamed up with London based custom vehicle fabricators Xquisite. Hopefully, this will provide a little more fanfare than the Zombie Bait Edition.

The team has took a standard Ford Ranger pickup truck and transformed it into a fully fortified zombie killing machine, complete with armored windows, rear mounted mini-gun, spiked wheels and a menacing front end barricade.

"The truck is the perfect tool to help us push the Dead Island Riptide brand," stated Nick Turner, Product Manager at Deep Silver. "Pickup trucks play a large role within the Dead Island series and we've brought this to life by building our own fortified truck." Fans will remember stocking pickup trucks with supplies, and outfitting another vehicle to mow down Banoi's various zombies in the first Dead Island game. I know it definitely proved advantageous when I met a butcher or two in the jungles.

The truck build has been documented exclusively for the YouTube Original Channel, "Fast, Furious, and Funny," in an episode featuring FFF regular 'K' and his team of master craftsmen at Xquisite. The episode has been split into two parts, both of which you can watch below!

Between this, and the Robert Kirkman designed Zombie Survival Honda that premiered at Comic-Con, I'm hard pressed to choose between the two. Kirkman's features a front-end custom zombie plow with spikes, armored window coverings, a roof hatch so passengers can fend off (read - obliterate) attacking walkers, a trunk full of electric and pneumatic weaponry, front and back end floodlights, spiked all-terrain/rally type tires, a CB radio system and much more.

Since I'm so easily swayed by free prizes, I'll go with the pickup. Deep Silver's truck will be appearing at various events and promotions, and will be giving away Riptide prizes to fans. Spot the truck, upload the photo to Twitter with the hashtag #RiptideTour, and you've earned yourself a chance to win.

Riptide takes place almost immediately after the events of the first game. All the survivors thinking they would ride the helicoptor into safety are in for a rude awakening. After getting caught in some choppy weather, the helicoptor is forced to land, and the survivors eventually make their way into the town of Henderson, on the island of Palanai.

Joining the cast of survivors is a new one, a former navy cook named John Morgan. Also new to Riptide will be new zombies, weapon types, defense hubs, and as the name alludes, the threat of the weather itself. Rain can limit player vision, and many areas can only be navigated by boat. The weather will also lead to environmental changes as well, so while one area was once nice and dry, a torrential downpour could flood the area completely later on. 

And for those who played the first Dead Island, you'll be able to keep your original character and use it again in Riptide.  

Dead Island: Riptide is planned to release in 2013 for Windows PC, PS3, and XBox 360. Check out Sam B's recent video "No Room in Hell" featuring Chamillionaire, released by his record company to keep his memory alive, following his recent disappearance on Banoi. You can also see the Riptide trailer here.