Over the summer, I’ve been playing this zombie-apocalypse game called Killing Floor. I’m not a big investor when it comes to putting my money into gaming, but after six months or so, my friend finally convinced me it was worth the $19.99.
It doesn’t play much different from your typical shooter, but what’s attractive about Killing Floor is that so much of the actual game play is dependent on whether or not you’re willing to work together as a team. In comparing it to another popular zombie game, Left 4 Dead, my friend had told me that one of the things he likes about it is that you can’t just pick up any weapon and be incredibly proficient with it. There are individual classes you can pick from (Medic, Sharpshooter, Firebug, etc), and a leveling system to go with it. I know that people who play on higher difficulties will actually ban players if they play a class too low.
There are some moments where my team will be waiting for a map to start, and one of us will be locked outside of a door by our teammates. While Dante will argues that betrayal will land you a ticket to the lower circle of hell, the players of this game embrace it. In a recent match, one of the players was playing a medic, so I just assumed that he would be healing people. I ran in his direction, only to have him pass me, and the zombies chasing him to surround me. Then this little dialogue appears to let your team know what killed you:
And then they laugh. Sometimes teamwork will only go so far. At the end of the game, there isn’t much payoff. It doesn’t matter if you betrayed everybody or saved the lives of your comrades. The map just changes and the waves begin again. Maybe this empty gratification is the source how and why we play the way we do.
I guess it isn’t fair to call them ‘zombies,’ because the small plot that the game does give them the name ‘specimens’ of this scientist creature which you fight at the end of each game. They call him The Patriarch, and for what reason, I’m not exactly sure.
If you have a steam account and enjoy survival horror, then I do recommend this game to you. You can download it on Steam, and if you want to totally destroy me, my account is frightforyou.
Stage Fright 