Let me start by saying that I didn't intend to write this review as I feel the games quality speaks for itself. However having purchased it the day the EA started, I was on ground zero when the somewhat irrational hatred and minor trolling of this game started and recently noticed a negative review that boiled down to ' This game is fantastic but EA OMG WTF BBQ! '. To try and balance out this odd reaction I am going to go into length and address some of the hate with some common sense and some facts. It's up to you to chose to read it but the TL;DR is that this game has been consistently fantastic and has grown into a decent successor to the original.

Counter Hate:

1. EA Length - The game was in EA for 19 months. Compared to other titles that is a standard amount of time allowing for staff changes at some intervals.

2. EA Launch State ( EA Done Right ) - It is often complained that when Tripwire announced that Killing Floor 2 was going to be Launched in Early Access and that it would be ' Done right ' that that would imply anything from having the game out faster to there being no bugs and that tripwire failed the community by not releasing the game fast enough. However, when the EA launched it did so will multiple levels, multiple perks and a fully working core game. Contrast this with many other EA titles on Steam. The difference is night and day. You were able to play KF2 straight out of the gate allowing the dev to steadily improve and add perks, levels and so on. When you purchase an EA game on steam you have to expect to run into issues you normally wouldn't have to deal with in a fully released product. As far as I am concerned I have thoroughly enjoyed the EA time and feel that they more than fulfilled this promise.

3. Micro Transactions - During the EA Micro Transactions were added into game. Initially with very limited cosmetics however over time this has been expanded to include crate drops etc. Now, as far as I can tell, there seem to be three different hate groups on this subject. Those that believe that Micro Transactions are fine in a full release but not EA. Those that believe Micro Transactions are fine in a full release but not a highly priced full release and those that believe Micro transactions are never ok.

Micro Transactions are everywhere. They have become a fairly common thing in gaming and like it ( CS:GO ) or hate it ( Mostly any other game ) they seem to be here to stay. The EA addition of MT's happened about 7 months into development and to this date provides only cosmetic changes that also have a chance of dropping for free during gameplay. As far as MT's go this is a pretty decent and standard approach. They had a solid playerbase and provided MT's to those players. At no point in the game does having a particular skin improve your gameplay or have any affect what so ever. This issue comes down to choice and to me the choice seems simple. If you don't approve of MT's then do not purchase any skins. Let them drop by chance. I believe black listing a game for adding in Micro Transactions that do not affect gameplay is a little daft. But, as I said, it depends on your stance.

4. Vs - This one baffles me. A fair few people in the community hate that a new game mode was added to the game. The main concept and mechanics of the game were nailed down early on in development and by the time Vs was added the traditional Killing Floor gameplay was solid, save tweaks and bugs ( EA ). The Vs mode ( Player controlled Zeds vs Player controlled Humans ) had balancing issues ( EA ) but, again, was not forced upon players but rather is an option. It was an often requested mode for the original Killing Floor and is an enjoyable addition to KF2.

5. The Devs don't listen / Work on X,Y,Z - During EA the devs were often accused that they were not listening to the community. This is a problem in most game communities. The devs have acknowledged that while they do answer questions not everyone receives the answer. To combat this, as well as reiterating their views and answers on frequent live streams they also have a development schedule that shows where they are putting their work into. In my view they have gone beyond trying to accommodate the community and are very open with what is in the pipeline.

The Love:

1. This game is rad. Its a savage and bloody mess of lovely graphics and fluid gameplay. Equally easy to jump into a quick game before work or chain up a long stretch of gut ripping madness! I was a huge fan of Killing Floor and am a huge fan of KF2. The community can be a bit brittle and daft at times but the vast majority just want to enjoy the game!

2. The company itself has a pretty decent track record and supported the previous Killing Floor for years with additional content, both free and DLC. You can tell that this was a passionate project for them and to my mind they have been very connected and open with the community. Sitting in Live Streams and watching them effortlessly answer the bizarre demands of some of the community shows their commitment.

3. Full disclosure. I have played KF2 since the first day of EA and as soon as I could I purchased the Metro Police Officer Skin from the MT store for like £4. Do I regret it ? Hell no! I look like a policeman now!

4. Nothing beats hitting reload just before Zed Time hits and you slow motion throw your empty magazine into the face of a charging Fleshpound!

5. The sound design and music are spot on. The community complained about the sound the starting pistol made when fired and Tripwire reworked it. ( And rightly so, it sounded like an empty plastic bottle hitting a slab of Gammon! )

6. The use of Perks in this game are far better than the original. Progression feels solid and the rewards are actually useful.

7. Gameplay swings wonderfully from gliding around one shotting Zeds with ease to soiling yourself as you run past the corpses of your team mates while being chased down by Fleshpounds.

8. Seriously just play it. I mean if you don't like it just get a refund but if you enjoy FPS action and plenty of limb ripping madness then hop on in!

Disclaimer : you may disagree on my views ( I am counting on it, really ) and that's cool! Because you are handsome and life is good! Take care champ ; )

Let me start by saying that I didn't intend to write this review as I feel the games quality speaks for itself. However having purchased it the day the EA started, I was on ground zero when the somewhat irrational hatred and minor trolling of this game started and recently noticed a negative review that boiled down to ' This game is fantastic but EA OMG WTF BBQ! '. To try and balance out this odd reaction I am going to go into length and address some of the hate with some common sense and some facts. It's up to you to chose to read it but the TL;DR is that this game has been consistently fantastic and has grown into a decent successor to the original. [b]Counter Hate:[/b] [u]1. EA Length[/u] - The game was in EA for 19 months. Compared to other titles that is a standard amount of time allowing for staff changes at some intervals. [u]2. EA Launch State[/u] ( EA Done Right ) - It is often complained that when Tripwire announced that Killing Floor 2 was going to be Launched in Early Access and that it would be ' Done right ' that that would imply anything from having the game out faster to there being no bugs and that tripwire failed the community by not releasing the game fast enough. However, when the EA launched it did so will multiple levels, multiple perks and a fully working core game. Contrast this with many other EA titles on Steam. The difference is night and day. You were able to play KF2 straight out of the gate allowing the dev to steadily improve and add perks, levels and so on. When you purchase an EA game on steam you have to expect to run into issues you normally wouldn't have to deal with in a fully released product. As far as I am concerned I have thoroughly enjoyed the EA time and feel that they more than fulfilled this promise. [u]3. Micro Transactions[/u] - During the EA Micro Transactions were added into game. Initially with very limited cosmetics however over time this has been expanded to include crate drops etc. Now, as far as I can tell, there seem to be three different hate groups on this subject. Those that believe that Micro Transactions are fine in a full release but not EA. Those that believe Micro Transactions are fine in a full release but not a highly priced full release and those that believe Micro transactions are never ok. Micro Transactions are everywhere. They have become a fairly common thing in gaming and like it ( CS:GO ) or hate it ( Mostly any other game ) they seem to be here to stay. The EA addition of MT's happened about 7 months into development and to this date provides only cosmetic changes that also have a chance of dropping for free during gameplay. As far as MT's go this is a pretty decent and standard approach. They had a solid playerbase and provided MT's to those players. At no point in the game does having a particular skin improve your gameplay or have any affect what so ever. This issue comes down to choice and to me the choice seems simple. If you don't approve of MT's then do not purchase any skins. Let them drop by chance. I believe black listing a game for adding in Micro Transactions that do not affect gameplay is a little daft. But, as I said, it depends on your stance. [u]4. Vs[/u] - This one baffles me. A fair few people in the community hate that a new game mode was added to the game. The main concept and mechanics of the game were nailed down early on in development and by the time Vs was added the traditional Killing Floor gameplay was solid, save tweaks and bugs ( EA ). The Vs mode ( Player controlled Zeds vs Player controlled Humans ) had balancing issues ( EA ) but, again, was not forced upon players but rather is an option. It was an often requested mode for the original Killing Floor and is an enjoyable addition to KF2. [u]5. The Devs don't listen / Work on X,Y,Z[/u] - During EA the devs were often accused that they were not listening to the community. This is a problem in most game communities. The devs have acknowledged that while they do answer questions not everyone receives the answer. To combat this, as well as reiterating their views and answers on frequent live streams they also have a development schedule that shows where they are putting their work into. In my view they have gone beyond trying to accommodate the community and are very open with what is in the pipeline. [b]The Love:[/b] [u]1.[/u] This game is rad. Its a savage and bloody mess of lovely graphics and fluid gameplay. Equally easy to jump into a quick game before work or chain up a long stretch of gut ripping madness! I was a huge fan of Killing Floor and am a huge fan of KF2. The community can be a bit brittle and daft at times but the vast majority just want to enjoy the game! [u]2.[/u] The company itself has a pretty decent track record and supported the previous Killing Floor for years with additional content, both free and DLC. You can tell that this was a passionate project for them and to my mind they have been very connected and open with the community. Sitting in Live Streams and watching them effortlessly answer the bizarre demands of some of the community shows their commitment. [u]3.[/u] Full disclosure. I have played KF2 since the first day of EA and as soon as I could I purchased the Metro Police Officer Skin from the MT store for like £4. Do I regret it ? Hell no! I look like a policeman now! [u]4.[/u] Nothing beats hitting reload just before Zed Time hits and you slow motion throw your empty magazine into the face of a charging Fleshpound! [u]5.[/u] The sound design and music are spot on. The community complained about the sound the starting pistol made when fired and Tripwire reworked it. ( And rightly so, it sounded like an empty plastic bottle hitting a slab of Gammon! ) [u]6.[/u] The use of Perks in this game are far better than the original. Progression feels solid and the rewards are actually useful. [u]7.[/u] Gameplay swings wonderfully from gliding around one shotting Zeds with ease to soiling yourself as you run past the corpses of your team mates while being chased down by Fleshpounds. [u]8.[/u] Seriously just play it. I mean if you don't like it just get a refund but if you enjoy FPS action and plenty of limb ripping madness then hop on in! [b]Disclaimer[/b] : you may disagree on my views ( I am counting on it, really ) and that's cool! Because you are handsome and life is good! Take care champ ; )