Killing Floor, that other zombie shooter

Killing Floor delivers what one might expect from a game referring to itself as 'survival horror'.

Zombies? Check.

Lovely big guns? Check.

What about Story? See 'zombies and guns.'
















So where is the campaign and what are perks?

So having those expectations in mind, I loaded the game. There was no intro cinematic and I was dropped right into the game screens. At this point I'm not really sure what to expect, but I notice my menu options and one stands out called, 'profile and achievements'. I'm wondering what kind of a 'profile' does one have in a zombie shooter?'.

I was pleasantly surprised to see something akin to other modern shooters, I have some kind of perk options and character customization. The character models don't offer much to choose from however, and If you want more, you can pay for a few additional downloadable models.

What are perks? At first I can't tell, but over time I deduced that this was a way of simply choosing what in game bonuses I would like to have on a given map. It took me awhile to understand the mechanics here because the in game help is very weak.


I made the mistake of starting my first game with the 'berserker' perk. Based on the description, the berserker is a specialist in melee combat. Unfortunately no one warned me that everyone starts with only a knife and a 9mm pistol. Let me be clear that it is ill advised to take on a zombie horde with a knife.

So I proceeded to load the 'single player' game. The screens take me to a map selection menu. I find this curious because I'm expecting to see some kind of campaign settings. Instead there only seems to be an option to choose a map similar to what one would expect of a more sandbox or a death match game.

Where am I? and Where are the Guns?

Ok so that seemed simple enough. I'm loaded into the game, I have my perk chosen and I'm ready to go 'berserk'.
The graphics aren't bad but they seem dated, the designers relied on some really nice texture mapping to make up for the less advanced lighting and shaders from an older Unreal engine.

I'm in some kind of hospital or something, there are large double doors and the occasional room with what looks like an operating table. I seem to only have a knife and a pistol, and there appears to be a counter timing the next 'wave'. I decide that perhaps I should look around for weapons, but it isn't long before waves of zombies start piling onto me. I also discover very quickly that I'm much better off with the pistol trying to keep the hordes of attackers at range instead of engaging them close up with the knife.

As you can imagine, this ends badly for my in game avatar and he winds up as so much zombie chow.

The good news is that there is some mysterious voice who speaks in my head and wants to sell me weapons if only I would stop dying. Judging by her speech I can deduce that perhaps I'm in England?

Oh, you meant COOPERATIVE Survival Horror!

So where did I go wrong? I have to be honest, I'm not sure. I resist the urge to search online for a guide. Is this what 'survival horror' means? I'm not sure, so I take another look at the box which clearly reads: 'co-op survival horror'. How could I have missed this?

I decide to take another stab, but this time I go all out and go online. Understanding now what weapons I'll be starting with, I choose the 'sharpshooter' perk. This gives several bonuses with the 9mm pistol I'll be carrying at the start. I read that the sharpshooter 'levels' by making headshots.

It doesn't take me long to find a low ping server labeled as 'beginners'. I join the game, and my strategy changes significantly. There are a couple of other players present and before long I'm taking down waves of zombies with my 9mm like a pro. The headshots are particularly satisfying as the zombie heads seem to burst like a melon. I think I'm actually starting to have fun at this point.

All the little things I had questions about, the players are more than happy to answer. Some of the weapons even had a 3rd mouse button option (how was I to know that?). It is also alot easier to fight waves of zombies if someone has your back. For instance, players can weld doors shut while someone else covers a corridor from attackers.

Another gimmick of the game is a built in 'bullet time' mode that seems to activate periodically during heavy firefighting. It seems largely random and never lasts more than a few seconds. Distracting at first, it actually gives you an opportunity to take in some of the gibs as they occur. At the very least you can chuckle at the voice acting on very low speed. This is a feature that probably would have benefited more from a newer graphics engine as you really have a time to take in visuals and animations as they are happening.

Weapons matter here!

So we cleared the first wave, and that mysterious saucy Brit woman is enticing me to her shop again. There's a particle effect and arrow in game directing me toward her but I have a limited amount of time to get in and look around.

At this point I realize that as I've been killing zombies, I've been amassing a small cash reserve as well. I can use this for new weapons. As a sharpshooter I choose a pair of hand cannons and a lever action rifle.

Each of the items has an icon next to it indicating which perk generally benefits from its use. I'm also given the option to change perks now before the next 'wave' of zombies.

I have to draw a comparison here with Left 4 Dead. The biggest problem I had with Left 4 Dead were that my weapons meant little, I simply had to choose whatever could put the most lead in front of me.

This is not the case in Killing Floor. Each weapon has strengths and weaknesses and they all create a slightly different 'feel' of play. To further this experience, the perks are tied to the weapon types and the weapon graphics are well above Left 4 Dead's simple models. These weapons have working actions and a good deal of detail so you really get a 'feel' for them.

The hunting shotgun for instance is a simple breach loading double barreled shotgun. This might seem inferior to the pump action, however the double barrel packs a serious punch and the alternate fire can use both barrels at once creating a wall of destruction in front of the player. If used correctly, this can give them adequate time to reload.

That's It?

After a few waves of mindless zombies, we are tasked with killing the 'Patriarch'. A really big nasty boss with cloaking abilities. I've got to say that the patriarch feels fairly anti climactic. He's hard to kill and once dead, your reward is that you get to start the process over on a new map without weapons again.

Conclusions

In some ways, Killing Floor suffers some of the same problems as Left 4 Dead. The 'content' simply isn't there. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep playing, although the alternative perks probably give this game more replayability than L4D.

The maps themselves would also do better to incorporate a more 3d or leveled approach in their design. Some of the zombies have the ability to move over walls but we rarely get to see this. The game is 3d but much of the game play feels 'flat', like a modern Wolfenstein. It could benefit greatly if there was more opportunity for attackers to come from above or below or if players could jump to higher ground more often. The good news is, there are some well thought out 3rd party maps available online that address just this.

The biggest problem for the game I think though comes in its presentation. I simply isn't polished. I had to go online to read about the back story. There was no starting tutorial, no intro cinematics, and no 'high scores' or special screens at the end of a wave. It may turn players away before they've had an opportunity to see some of the good game play it has to offer.

As for game play I think it exceeds its contemporary L4D. I can overlook the older engine, and the 'flat' maps because so much detail was spent on the weapons. Face it, in a zombie shooter you are going to spend alot of time using a weapon and not doing or thinking about much else.

For what it promises, Killing Floor is a good game. The lack of content leaves the single player experience lacking, this game really should be played in coop to fully appreciate it. It could also be so much better if the levels had more vertical considerations and if they had spent more effort on the new player experience.

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