"Indie Underdog vs Undisputed Champ"
The squad based survival horror genre is a relatively untapped market. When Left For Dead first came out, people were confused as to what exactly they were playing however, that fact did not prevent LFD from becoming a critical and commercial success. Its been about two years since people first discovered the importance of being team players while surviving against hordes of the undead and in that two years we've seen the arrival of the much improved Left for Dead 2 and the new kid on the block, a former Unreal Tournament 2 mod converted into a stand alone game called Killing Floor. Both games involve gruesome enemies, frantic combat and a focus on team mechanics, but which is the top dog and what kind of gamer is going to enjoy either or both of these titles?
Game Play-In LFD, your motley crew of gruff survivors must navigate their way through zombie infested locales, all the while battling off the undead and doing their best to stay healthy. While there is a bit of path finding to be done, their is a goal destination that your characters must reach in order to either win the scenario or move on to the next area. KF feels closer to the horde type mode seen in Gears of War 2 where waves of enemies spawn from random directions, their difficulty increasing which each wave that you eliminate. One cool thing about KF is the ability to seal doors off from attacking monsters, an ability that brings about all kinds of different approaches to the many levels. Each game has a "safe zone" where players can restock and take a breather, but KF has a shopkeeper that allows you to buy weapons and ammo, LFD just has piles of weapons and ammo strewn about. KF is the more organized safe zone of the two, but LFD is slightly more realistic. Why that saleswoman is hanging around in those horrific areas is beyond me.
While KF is loads of fun, it can grow a bit monotonous at times. You can switch weapons and levels, but the best strategy utilized isn't too different throughout. LFD seems to throw different challenges at you as you move through each level, which makes for some interesting scenarios. I give the nod to LFD by a slight margin.
Story- Comparing the stories of these games is like comparing the protein content of apples and oranges. This isn't a bad thing, but neither is going to strike a chord with Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid fans. LFD has a host of subtle story elements, such as the banter between the survivors and environmental details like writing on walls, but you never really know what happened to cause the zombie outbreak or too much about the characters back-story. In KF, the genetic monstrosities that have overtaken England are the result of experiments by the Horzine company (a very Umbrella like corporation). Aside from a few bodies and bloody words on the walls, the world you're battling in feels pretty stale and there is not much to be gained from exploring the environments. Your characters have little bios that pop up when you select them before a game, but KF lacks the interactions that the LFD crews had.
I like that each game made you fill in the gaps, but LFD did a better job of making you want to imagine what happened. That’s not knocking KF in the least, any excuse to kill monsters is good enough for me, but I didn't think about the game too much after I stopped playing.
Umbrel...I mean Horzine is up to no good again.
Combat Mechanics-There is a pretty drastic difference in the style of play these games offer. While LFD has a game play style all of its own, KF is geared more towards your experienced shooter fan. The best way to describe the feel of each is in the actual characters you control. The survivors in LFD are not experienced fighters (except LFD's Bill, but he's an older chap) and it shows in their combat mechanics. The "spray and pray" approach to gunplay is seen heavily in LFD, and besides a sniper rifle, there is not any sort of down the sight style aiming. In KF, you guide soldiers and police officers into battle, and the gunplay feels tighter and more shooter like. On top of that, the crew from KF have perks that they can level up through combat, each resulting in a bonus to a specific characteristic. LFD feels much more like a survival horror game, as ammo and other important items are strewn about the level sparingly. KF gives you about a minute in between waves of enemies to visit a shop, stock up on ammo and buy new gear.
While LFD is going for a more realistic approach to combat, KF just feels tighter and the hardcore fan is going to pick it up rather quickly and without feeling too handicapped by the controls. It'd be interesting to place the LFD crew in the world of KF and vice versa, but I don't think Lois would far as well dealing with chaingun fire and invisible creatures.
Environments-LFD has a very cool approach to environments in the way it links levels together to make you feel like your frantically running to safety. Each location has a particular feel, from hospitals and office buildings to freeways and farmhouses. The environments look very lived in, and its cool to spend time looking at the subtle little details that were put into the game to make you feel connected to the places you're escaping from. KF has some nice looking environments, but because of the style of game, they often feel fairly similar. Also, KF is going for a more claustrophobic feel in most of its environments, which is fine except when you're playing long sessions in one of the inside levels. You'll get tired running down hallway after hallway, and its easy to get confused as to where you should head. The KF environments were a lot creepier than the ones in LFD though as there were very few area in the game I could imagine sleeping in, before or after the Horizine crisis.
LFD takes this one hands down. There is just more to look at and each place you go has a unique feel.
Enemies- LFD has zombies, KF has mutated clones, the source material is not that different. Each game has your standard low level zombie(or clot in KF) your bile blowing fat guy, your powerhouse and the creature you do your best to not piss off. Each LFD enemy had its own particular function, which made the game interesting and at times super terrifying. For example, while lowly zombies were pretty much cannon fodder, a hunter had the ability to leap onto a character and take them out of the battle until a teammate came to help. This gave tension to the game as running around a corner too quickly could result in your group going from 4 to 3, and numbers count in LFD. While KF enemies had different abilities, very few of them prompted the kind of fear that the LFD unique zombies did (except for maybe the end boss called a Patriarch, but the bright red letters announcing his arrival took the steam out of his appearance). However, the KF enemy design is much more varied and up close they are truly horrifying creatures. You'll also see the more powerful versions of the KF enemies more often, which is cool. To top if off, the KF enemies show up with weapons like rocket launches and chainsaws fused to their bodies, the LFD group only have the biological abilities that resulted from their zombification.
This is a tough one. Functionality wise, LFD enemies really pump up the tension, however the varied designs and incredible bloodlust that the KF enemies exude gives them a slight edge. I feel like I would have a far better chance in LFD than I would in KF.
Shit just got real
Team Play-This category is a tough one to judge as different gamers are going to flock to one or the other based on multiplayer mechanics. It comes down to the importance of teamwork. In LFD, surviving with 4 people is tough, 3 risky and anything below that is nearly impossible. You must stick with your crew throughout, and the lone gunmen types have little function in this game. The weakest link can't be ignored, and as frustrating as it can be, babysitting becomes almost as important as watching each other's backs. While KF is easier with more people (the average is 6) its not entirely unheard of to stand alone and actually survive, especially on the beginner difficulty level. The asshole player who likes running around by himself and causing problems is more than welcome to, his death will probably be advantageous. Its not to say teamwork is unimportant, I saw a huge difference in experience when grouped with a solid squad, its just not a deal breaker the way it is in LFD.
If you're not a people person, try KF but you're going to need to take some happy pills and a cupful of patience if a trip into LFD is what you want.
Graphics- Real gamers don't care about graphics except to enhance an already great package. That being said, neither game is going to win awards for their looks. Both games have an outrageous amount of action going on onscreen, so Crysis like graphics would make most systems explode with the power needed to throw a hundred zombies on screen.
I'm going to go with KF in this category, as much as it pains me to rate the looks of a game. It just has a grittier feel and LFD seemed flat at times.
Multiplayer Options- LFD is really cool because not only do you get to shoot zombies, you can jump into the saddle of one of the unique undead and stalk your friends. I actually played the versus mode more than just running through the solo game online, and had a lot of good times planning guerilla like attacks on the unfortunate souls that got separated from the pack. On top of that, the addition of Realism Mode, Scavenge Mode and Last Stand add to the variety or game types and I believe there is something for everyone in that package. KF is KF, and even with certain mutators (which LFD now has) and the ability to play games with 24 people, it doesn't stray too far from the formula that it started out with.
Again, LFD takes this one without a struggle.
The Verdict-Both are great games and its hard to say one is better than the other because they are slightly different. When looking at who produced them, the comparison compliments KF more than LFD. Valve is arguably one of the greatest developers out there, and Tripwire even being considered a worthy adversary will probably get a few people hot and bothered.
LFD is a classic and its unique game play puts it ahead of KF for me, but if you want to take a quick 15 minutes to blast some baddies, KF is a good investment. At 20.00( I got it for 13.00 on Steam) KF shines even more at half the cost of LFD, but I feel the price of LFD is worth it, especially with the intense mod community being a Valve tradition.
We are the ambiguously chosen champions!?
Who wants LFD? The multiplayer fanatic that understands teamwork and has grown weary of by the numbers online shooters, but doesn't want to stray from FPS genre.
Who wants KF? The bargain shopper who wants to have a fun online experience without the constraints of babysitting a newbie.
What I'd like to see in LFD3? Aside from more levels included in the base game, I'd love to see some type of character progression and/or customization. Sure I liked playing as Coach, but I'd rather play as myself. Character progression could be subtle, and feature perks like in KF or Modern Warfare 2, while also retaining the feel of the game. Perhaps you character has better aim but isn't as fast or can deflect unique undead attacks with a timed parry. I don't want to shake up the formula too much, just make me feel like those hundreds of matches are giving me something to work for besides achievements.
What I'd like to see in KF2?- Intermingle the horde mode levels with progressive levels ala LFD. Fighting is fun, but fighting your way to a destination opens up more diverse scenarios. Destructible environments would definitely add to the game (obviously they would add to most games) but I could imagine hiding behind a sealed door only to have a weakened wall burst open and spew forth clots. Character customization would be nice here too as well as a more refined progression system. I also think class functionality could be tweaked and KF could lend itself to a Battlefield Bad Company 2 model.
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