Tasked with keeping the workers of Jakob's Cove alive,the crazy and yet familiar looking Dr. Ned does his job a little too well, creating flesh eating zombies and other monsters that now run amok in this new region exclusive to the expansion. Your task is to explore the cove and its surrounding locales, shoot up plenty of zombies and discover the spooky truth behind the goings on here. Setting you back a mere 800 points Borderlands: The Island of Dr. Ned sounds like a worthwhile undertaking, but is it?

Gameplay:

The gameplay remains pretty much the same as you'd expect with a number of 'go get' missions and boss encounters making up the meat of the game. You'll be spending a lot of time shooting the undead as well as collecting the remains of their brains, although be warned they are useless before you activate the associated side quest. As well as a number of new side quests, you'll discover a whole host of new enemy types exclusive to this new and quite expansive area. There's certainly a 'Halloween' feel to the level and almost appears to have hit the Live Marketplace a month late.

Without spoiling the story you'll be working alongside the good ol' doctor and generally fighting for your survival, but predictably things take a turn for the worse as you delve deeper into the murky goings on here. It's an interesting story and perfect excuse to let rip with all those guns and grenades you've amassed from regular play. The good thing also, is the enemy scaling to your own level, so if you want to charge right in from the offset with a level 1 character, you can do so.

Graphics:

The graphics are very good and offer a neat contrast to the main game, there's certainly a spooky feel and with a hospital, cove, complete with abandoned craft, plenty of wetland areas and you've got quite a varied (albeit somewhat dark) area to roam around. The new enemies are fun to take down and are as varied as you'd expect for feet shuffling zombies.

Audio:

The sound is also of an eerie nature and rarely intrudes so much as to detract from what you're doing. The constant chime of an electronic bell can be heard alongside the puking and groaning sounds of your enemies. Seeing as they are drawn towards you, it's quite spooky having the sounds of your enemies approach from all sides, obviously this being more noticeable for those of you with surround sound set ups. There are some additional sound bites on offer and which won't be spoiled here, but if the lovable claptrap is your friend then you'll like the new lines he's been given.

Longevity:

800 points is pretty decent value for money here considering you'll want to replay this area again to carry on the process of levelling up your character and hunting for even more weapons and items. Expect a longer haul if you're playing solo but on average you'll garner 3-6 hours of extra game time here. Be warned, if you want to share the experience with Live buddies then make sure they too have downloaded the content otherwise you won't be able to play it...goes without saying really.

Overall:

With a dark and gritty seasonal feel to the level design, an endless stream of undead cannon fodder and a mad Dr. You can't go wrong with this DLC. For fans looking for an additional layer of gaming from their Borderlands experience, should be pleased with the 800 point offering despite a lack of new items. That said, if you've not got mates buying the content, then be prepared to play online with randoms, which might not always be favourable. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is enjoyable and a welcome dlc pack for the game and well worth the investment considering what's on offer.