Killing Floor (2012 Update) Review

The Final Boss – Think BIG Weapons For This One

Patriarch – Also known as Kevin Clamely, the Patriarch is the strongest ZED in the entire game. Genetically enhanced, Clamely’s goal was to become the perfect being, injecting the most advanced tech Horzine had into his body. As such, he sports a chain gun, rocket launcher, retinal and sensory enhancement, cloaking system, speed and charge ability, syringes to heal himself, devastating melee attacks, and a large protrudable chest tentacle to knockback players too close to him. In a nutshell, he is every ZED fused into one. At range, he will use his rocket launcher and chain gun, both of which do horrendous amounts of damage if hit. The rocket launcher is an AoE attack and will cause knockback. He is also the fastest possible character in the game, running even faster than the Fleshpound, and can close distance between targets extremely fast. If damaged enough, he will either continue attacking or run away and heal himself via syringes.

The easiest way to dispatch him is by using pipe bombs and planting them in a path most taken as traps since the Patriarch’s spawn point is always random, and he does not register them as a threat. His rocket launcher will destroy any explosives it hits in the immediate vicinity however. Grenade launchers, rocket launchers, explosive, shotguns, sniper rifles, crossbows, melee weapons to the back of the skull…use anything that can take him down quickly. A shell of his former self, the Patriarch is one of the fairest bosses you will ever fight in any game.

“All eyes are on you. Don’t choke. It would be a shame if you were to suffer a brutal death”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

There are two things you’ll notice right off the bat when you enter the game: there is no tutorial, and there are character classes. Personally, I enjoy figuring things out for myself, but for a person wanting to try the game, or play as soon as possible, it can be intimidating not knowing what exactly to do. The concept is simple: survive. Achieving that is where it gets messy.

The basic controls have your standard layout. You have your left mouse button to fire, middle mouse for flashlight (also bound to the F key), changing the rate of fire, healing, and/or changing weapons via scroll, and the right mouse button for ADS (aiming down sights). Alternatively you can switch between weapons using numbers 1 through 5, and use Q for a self-heal. E is the use button for opening doors/interacting with surroundings, V brings up say-sounds, T and Y are for text chat, CAPS for mic communication, \ for dropping weapons, B for dropping money, and last but not least, WASD for movement.

Luckily you have a class system to get used to the layout, each perk having specific specializations. The seven perks are Field medic, Support specialist, Sharpshooter, Commando, Berserker, Firebug and Demolition. All classes start off at level 0 and max out at level 6:

“Need to borrow my specs, mate?”