review

WHAT: Combining elements from Counter-Strike, the Horde mode from Gears of War 2, and the kind of visceral shooting action from the Call of Duty games, Killing Floor is a game that is light on story but heavy on scares, firepower, and teamwork.  While it won’t dethrone the King of the Co-Op Zombie Killing Hill, the Left 4 Dead series, Killing Floor is great for short sessions of pure action game play.  You and up to five other players take on the role of special military and police forces as you work to clear various areas in post-apocalyptic London of bizarre and grotesque specimens that are the result of (what else) science gone terribly, horribly wrong.  You’ll fight against hulking creatures that have chainsaws welded onto their arms, quick and fast specimens that can turn invisible, creatures  that resemble overgrown rats with spikes sticking out of their backs, and numerous other vile things, all against the back drop of abandoned farms, office buildings, raves, and even an insane asylum.  The specimens come in waves, and the players have an opportunity to visit a trader and upgrade their equipment between waves.  Last until the final wave, and you take on the Patriarch, a specimen that wields a chain gun and a rocket launcher and can turn invisible.  You can weld doors shut to help slow down specimens, but they’ll eventually get through your barricade.  You can use a med-kit to heal, but it takes time for the med-kit to recharge, so you can’t use it constantly.  In short: you’re probably not getting out of here alive.

WHY: Killing Floor is a cooperative game; players work together to achieve a common goal–namely, killing zombie-like creatures.  It promotes and encourages good communication skills, communal strategy development, and watching your friends’ back.  Like most multiplayer FPS games of late, Killing Floor uses a class system.  Before each game, players pick one of several perks, which gives boons to weapons and abilities and discounts to items at the trader.  For example, the Commando perk grants the player additional damage with assault rifle weapons, faster reloading, and a discount on assault rifles at the trader.  Sharpshooters get damage bonuses on headshots.  Support Specialists can weld doors faster.  If your skill with the keyboard-and-mouse doesn’t allow you to be a pinpoint sniper, maybe you want to be a Field Medic, whose primary responsibility is to heal your teammates.  Like things that go ‘splodey?  Then you’re fit for Demolitions, who specialize in grenade launchers and other explosive weaponry.  With the players relying on each other so heavily, everybody has a place in this game.

WHO: With this being a cooperative games as opposed to a competitive one, gamers who want to work as a team in an intense game play environment but don’t want the difficult experience that competitive play can be will find much to love here. However, between the constant threat of danger, impending sense of doom, often panicked pace, and buckets and buckets of gore, this is NOT a game for children or the faint of heart.  If the films 28 Days Later or its sequel 28 Weeks Later is too much for you, this game is probably too much as well.  Also, most libraries focus on games as a service for kids and teens, but there are lots of adults that game as well–this would be an ideal game for an adults-only gaming night, what with the blood and violence and disturbing imagery.