Changes are coming to Dead Island. A new patch for consoles is scheduled to go live for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions this week. Highlights include a level cap increase to 60, new blueprints for weapon mods, and New Game Plus "improvements." Low lights include, well, there's only one; "kick ability balanced, now requires stamina." What the hell? When I played the demo at E3 the developers accentuated the fact that kicking didn't use stamina. Weird. You can see all of the patch details after the break.

Dead Island is out now for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. It supports four player online co-op. It also happens to be one of the best co-op games of the year, earning our Editor's Choice award in our Co-Op Review.

The patch should be live on the PS3 at midnight tonight, followed by the Xbox 360 version at noon tomorrow. Both times are GMT 1. I'll let you do the math for your own respective region.

1. Gameplay improvements

Level cap raised to 60

New blueprints for weapon mods added

Infected damage reduced

Infected no longer interrupt player attacks

A series of improvements to subsequent playthroughs implemented:

quest XP rewards adjusted

XP rewards for challenges adjusted

in subsequent playthroughs XP is awarded for all quests completed in co-op

Purna's ammo carrying capacity increased by 50%

Character state from a save game can now be loaded when using the Start from Chapter option

New balancing option added: enemy levels can now be adjusted independently for each co-op player

Players respawn with more health

Picklock skill level required to open a lock is now clearly indicated

Improved rewards in weapon crates

All weapon crates now contain rewards

Kick ability balanced, now requires stamina

Items can now be picked up instantly; this is reflected in adjusted animations

2. Fixes and interface improvements

Fix: players are no longer left without a weapon after dropping the equipped item and healing with a medkit.

Fix: equipped items no longer swap mysteriously after drinking an energy drink

Tweak: healing with medkits from inventory works better, makes smarter choices of medkits

Fix: loot from dead enemies is now always identical for all co-op players

Fix: Purna no longer finishes her Fury with fists equipped

Fix: map tracking after death

Fix: zone info in the quarantine zone (City of Moresby)

Tweak: respawn point selection is now smarter

3. General

Improved stability and network performance in co-op

Quest and reward fixes implemented

Source: Deadisland.deepsilver.com