Killing Floor Review

Take Left 4 Dead’s viscous horde + B-Horror film action + creature design along the lines of Clive Barker and you have Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor.

Hit the jump for the full review.

Gameplay

Similar to Valve’s Left 4 Dead, Killing Floors main focus is survival. But instead of trying to travel from point A to point B, KF is all about holding up in one map and surviving. Between each wave of the mutant zombie hybrids, you and your team can go to a traveling Shop run by a very feisty sales woman who will only stay open until the horde arrives. This frantic gameplay mechanic forces players to leave their fortified areas to restock on ammo and increase their arsenal. From melee weapons such as axes and chainsaws to heavy weapons like the flamethrower. Killing Floor’s weapon variety is pretty dam good. “ZEDtime” has to be one of the coolest features in KF. Yes, it is basically Bullet Time but the way its implemented is something original and exciting. ZEDtime is an automatic slow motion burst when the action is getting tense. Its even available online. Time slows and bullets, enemies and sounds all become muffled. Watching a head shot in ZEDtime is easily the most gratifying element while playing KF.

Like Call Of Duty 4, KF has a perk system that grants players with boosts and bonuses. These evolving perks add a level of satisfaction more so than just killing and killing with the same damage and effect each time. With 9 different types of enemies, evolving perks is a must to get an edge over the swarm.

Multiplayer allows up to 6 people to fight in any of the 5 maps (SDK available for custom maps). Sandbox mode allows for a custom amount of Specimens to appear per wave. This heightens the thrill and challenge of multiplayer.

To some the gameplay may get tedious after a while and warrants a break. The frantic gameplay may be a bit much after several full games. After all there is one task: stay alive. But since this game is marketed as such, we doubt anyone would be surprised when they purchase KF.

Graphics

Killing Floor was created from a tweaked version of the Unreal Engine 2.5 and boasts some nice locales and environmental effects. God rays, fog and weather effects add a nice touch to the maps. It certainly is not an eye sore for this generation with Gears Of War 2, Killzone 2 and Crysis being available. The engine may be outdated but the gameplay certainly makes up for it. Some maps have a primary color tone that just makes the whole look of the map complete. Such as the “Biotics Lab”.

The creature design is fantastic despite the last gen look. Enemies show that their humanity is long gone. Their bodily contortions and disfigurements add to the disturbing history of their creation. Once human, the Specimens range from the simple zombie look to bloated or shriveled corps-like creatures with violent appendages that belong in a tool shed. Games like Left 4 Dead and Killing Floor aren’t meant to be graphical power houses do to the high resources needed to run so many enemies on screen but its fine when you having so much damn fun.

Sound

The ambient industrial tracks in Killing Floor are top notch. They set the eerie mood pre combat. As for the combat music, it was fast and hard. Perfect for the ambush of mutated specimens that lie ahead.
Voice over work is a bit amateur and campy, but that may appeal to some B-Horror fans. The light hearted soldier dialog occurs when giving out money, healing or reloading. Some of its humorous and while some can get annoying if heard too often.

Controls

Killing Floor plays like any other PC FPS, the good ol’ W.S.A.D. We don’t have much experience with PC gaming but the controls were easy to adapt to.

Overall

Killing Floor is a great game for a cheap price. At $20 you can experience hectic waves of mutated freaks that will overwhelm you and just plain scare you. 6 player Co-op is a blast and is a contender with Left 4 Dead’s.

Graphics don’t mean everything. This game is about gameplay. There were some exploits in some maps and some bugs, but they have been quickly addressed. One was the motion blur which was thankfully reduced. So if you love Left 4 Dead and want a similar but also different experience, then Killing Floor is for you. Here’s hoping Killing Floor becomes a series and we can see it grow and evolve in a later iteration.

+ SDK included for custom maps “Out Of The Box”.
+Frantic Gameplay.
+Great creature design.
- Some menu glitches call for the game to be reset.

Special Thanks to all online team mates.