AceGamez

AceGamez - Score: 8
With the gloriously (or should that be gore-iously?) brilliant Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil 5 and Call of Duty: World at War going down a storm with the gaming public, it is clear that zombies are growing in popularity (and in case you were wondering, World at War has a Nazi zombies co-op mode that's a fan favourite online).

At last I can hold my head up with pride as a long time zombie fanatic. Since this increase in activity surely means that a full-scale apocalypse is imminent, we are fortunate enough to have oodles of great games to keep us occupied until the fateful day arrives - and educate us in the necessary survival tactics. The latest among these champions of wisdom is Killing Floor, developed by Tripwire Interactive. You can never have too many zombie games, but does Killing Floor really deserve its place among the other heroes? It sure does! It may be a bit closer to the door in the hall of greatness than its contemporaries, but some seriously entertaining gameplay earns it a spot.

The story of Killing Floor is straightforward enough. It all kicks off with a bunch of angry protesters banging on the walls of a secretive Biotech company in London called Horzine. The police and some Special Forces soldiers arrive on the scene to subdue the revolting mob, only to find that the protestors have vanished and all that remains is an unnervingly large hole in the wall of the Horzine complex. Suddenly, a naked protestor comes shambling out of the gaping chasm, sinking his teeth into the first officer he reaches. Naturally everything goes a bit haywire after this unprovoked aggression; shots echo through the streets of London, followed by screams of "he's got a bloody chainsaw!" as the more vicious enemies show their faces and the whole of London descends quickly into chaos.

You see, the enemies, or "specimens" as they are known, gruesome and seemingly mindless creatures that are sure to become tainted with the generic label of "zombies", come in a range of shapes and sizes. Some are quite weak, such as the shambling Clots that love to give you a great big hug and not let go, while others are fearsome indeed, such as the super-creepy Crawlers, genetic hybrids of manand spider. The problem with the story is there is just no explanation of how these specimens came into being. How did some evolve differently to others? Were they created by some evil villain or did they just break loose? If they were created, what purpose did they have? How did all of London become deserted - was there a 28 Days Later inspired evacuation?

I know I am being a bit picky, but I really think the story contains too many unanswered questions when there was a multitude of opportunities to create something outstanding. It is true that many games in the survival horror genre share this trait, and it is often the tradition with zombie films, books and games to leave the source of the plague open to speculation, but even so, a more detailed explanation would have really pushed this game above the rest. Fortunately however, the story has almost nothing to do with the gameplay. The basic concept for the multiplayer game is a team of up to six riot policemen or Special Forces marines - strangely there are no female characters available - doing battle with hordes of terrifying creatures. You are one of these brave men.

Specimens attack in waves - groups of thirty or more depending on the difficulty setting - and at least one of your team must be left standing at the end of each wave if you are to emerge victorious. Things start out quite easy; the first wave sweeps in almost immediately, mostly comprised of weak Clots. Six of you will have no problem filling them full of lead, though the difficulty soon scales up dramatically; later waves feature many more specimens to take down (or to take you down) and stronger, scarier types are introduced, meaning that you'll have to work well as a team in order to make it to the end. The difficulty keeps on building, with the onslaught of harder and harder waves until a dramatic crescendo arrives in the form of the ultra-powerful Patriarch, a special kind of specimen that's capable of ripping you limb from limb in seconds.

Your teamwork, accuracy, reactions and tactical decisions regarding where to stop and fight are put to the test as you work towards this final wave, and if you don't make the grade you quickly end up as specimen-chow. You are going to die a lot to begin with, although thankfully you always rejoin the team after the current wave is over, a clever design element that means you're never out of the action for too long. Helping you to stay alive is a wide variety of weapons, ranging from lightweight 9mm pistols to heavy-duty flamethrowers. It's a shame that you can't carry them all at once - the monumental weight being too much for one man to handle - but this does bring some welcome realism to the often comical and never too serious action. Each player is therefore limited to a melee weapon, like a knife or an axe, and two guns, such as a pistol and a missile launcher.

You're not stuck with your initial selection for too long, either, as you can switch weapons at the trader's store, your main source of ammo, grenades and armour between attacks. However, the trader is a cruel mistress and, even when she can see you are in dire need of some more ammunition, she makes you pay cold hard cash for the supplies. You earn currency - British pounds to keep in line with the London setting - by killing specimens, so the more you contribute to your team's survival, the better the prizes on offer. You occasionally find weapons to collect, although these are rare, and while ammo is a little more plentiful, the trader is still your best bet. Make sure you stock up well whenever she's around though, because she shuts up shop whenever an attack is imminent, dutifully returning in a new location once the threat has passed. Until then you're on your own, and if you're forced into the fray ill equipped then you're almost certainly doomed.

This is where tactics and team play come in; you really must think carefully about where to fight, as your choices can make all the difference between survival and defeat. If you are caught out in the open, where enemies can come from any direction, you stand little chance in the later waves, even with six guns blazing. Staying inside is often the best option, although if you wait around in the same place for too long, you might not reach the trader before she moves on. With this added time pressure, the best tactic tends to be a concoction of staying holed up for the heaviest waves and then charging forwards, attempting to secure a new staging ground before the next assault hits. Things get wonderfully intense when the really big waves hit and you have chosen a location that restricts the ways your foes can attack. With one or two players on each potential entry point, you feel like you're making a desperate last stand.. The air is filled with the sounds of gunfire and bullets streak past as you and your team fight to keep the torrent of enemies at bay, dashing to lend your team-mates a hand when they're in danger of becoming overwhelmed before returning to your own position and unleashing another barrage of lead, while messages flash up in the chat box at the bottom of the screen from people who need assistance. It's pure, chaotic beauty!

Further adding to the tactical nature of the gameplay is the ability to carve yourself a specific role within your team, thanks to the Perks system. It's a bit like the class system in Team Fortress 2, except that you have to prove you can play in that role before perks are unlocked, rather than just selecting it. So, if you constantly play with the flamethrower for example, you gradually -improve; it does more damage to enemies, it doesn't hurt as much when you accidentally burn yourself and the trader gives you a discount price. You have to fulfil certain requirements to unlock the perks, such as killing a set number of a certain enemy type, but generally, the way you play determines the skills your character has, a great feature that works really well and adds a feeling of personalisation to the characters.

When it comes to personality, the sound is nigh-on incredible, enhancing the gameplay at every turn. The music both in the main menu and in-game is suitably quiet, keeping the focus on the audible booms that convey the brutal killing power of your weapons in a marvellous fashion. The moans of the specimens are also top notch, fitting the grotesque fiends that make them perfectly. However, the pinnacle of the audio achievement is the comical British accents of the soldiers, shouting things like "Money, money, money!!!" or "Mag change, give me a tick!" There are a few ruder ones too that I shan't mention but are just as excellently voiced!

Unfortunately, the graphics aren't quite as accomplished, although they are very impressive in places - the guns look dangerous and appear battle-worn, while the specimens are suitably ugly and move smoothly through environments that are packed with everything from red London buses to benches and streetlights. However, the game doesn't really have that 'next-gen' feel - it's far below the standard set by Crysis, although since Killing Floor runs on outdated UT2004 technology, Tripwire Interactive has done a truly amazing (and unbelievable) job of squeezing every last ounce of graphical quality out of the ageing engine.

There's no disputing the longevity, though; Killing Floor could potentially last you for years! At the heart of this virtually unlimited lifespan is the Software Development Kit and Level Editor, two extras that allow you to create your own content, not only new levels but new game modes and even complete overhauls of the game mechanics. What you can achieve with these tools is limited only by your imagination, although anything major requires some degree of technical know-how. If creation isn't your thing and you just want to play though, in addition to the main multiplayer game there are two other modes available from the off: Solo and Sandbox.

Solo mode is a single player version of the multiplayer shenanigans, except this time, as the name suggests, you're on your own. As you can imagine, the game becomes much more difficult with no one to watch your back, so the option of enlisting some computer-controlled teammates would have been much more preferable. Still, Solo mode offers the chance to practice your skills before going online, which is definitely recommended for newcomers. Sandbox mode is a game type that you can enable when starting your own multiplayer game (instead of joining someone else's match) or when playing Solo. The gameplay remains the same but now you can tinker with certain gameplay variables, such as setting the amount of money you start with, the type of specimens in each wave and the number of waves.

Having spent many hours playing Killing Floor, I am delighted to report that it's really, really enjoyable - sometimes even more so than the amazing Left 4 Dead. The overpowering sense of fun and satisfaction when working in a team and co-operating to achieve victory against insurmountable odds is the main reason to snap this game up right now. It may not be the prettiest game out there and it doesn't have an impeccable storyline, but these elements do not detract from the sheer joy of playing it; even as I write, I'm itching to fire it up and get stuck in. If you can't play online or don't enjoy co-op modes then it's not really worth a purchase, but everyone else should head over to Steam and download a copy of this amazingly entertaining game right now.

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