Despite being similar, they're both very different games, especially when it comes to tempo, Left 4 Dead is a fast paced game whilst Dead Island is much slower, instead of going in guns blazing, its best to take note of what weapons you ave available and what condition they're in before going head to head with a horde, its more realistic in that sense too, if you are playing alone and you come across 6-8 Zombies, its quite difficult to make it out alive whereas in left 4 dead you can take down 30 Zombies in seconds, so in my opinion Dead Island is better in terms of realism and Strategy, but if you want something quicker and more chaotic, then Left 4 Dead is better. It all depends on what your preference is though. I see Dead Island as being a cross between Dawn of the Dead and The Walking Dead, so if your a fan of those epecially, i would recommend it, but i'd still wait untill its lowered in price slightly and they've released the first patch for the console version, after that, its a must buy! lol