In-Depth Look: Team Fortress 2

As vaguely hinted in my introductory post, one of the games I'm going to cover is the widely enjoyed Team Fortress 2. This game is one of my all time favorites, and there's actually too much to cover in one post, so I won't go into extreme detail. For more general info, check out the official site, or the official Wiki, located here and here. If you're in a hurry, skip to the Pros/Cons section at the bottom of this article, everything here is summarized there. This game has a rather large following already, but I know many people personally who have never even heard of this game, so this is for them and anyone else in the dark.

OK, let's start off with some specs:

Name: Team Fortress 2 (TF2)
Developer: VALVe
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Online: Yes; in fact only online, with a few exceptions. More on that later.
Platform: PC/Mac, XBOX 360, Playstation 3
Number of Players Per Game: usually anywhere from 10-36
Price: In stores, about $10. On Steam, about the same, unless you get it on sale which happens rather frequently.
Medium: Two teams (RED and BLU) try to best each other in a variety of game modes by utilizing the special abilities of the 9 different classes.

I'll just skip to the conclusion here and tell you this game is EXTREMELY addicting, as evidenced by the estimated 6,647 people who play A DAY on the PC alone. I find myself playing at least twice a week. This game is very complex yet also very easy to pick up (though becoming proficient at certain elements will take some practice). To save time and space, for this review I am only going to explain the bare necessities needed to play this game, and even then this might take a while.

I'd say the best place to start with this game would be to explain the nine unique classes. If you've played any other hit FPS, this probably sounds familiar: choose a primary weapon, a side arm, maybe a melee weapon like a knife, and maybe a hand grenade or health pack. Customization is limited to appearance and weapon set only, and weapons usually consist of assault rifles, machine guns, maybe shotguns and the odd rocket launcher or flamer. The beauty of TF2 is that it performs a complete overhaul on the typical system, and turns out a fresh, new style of gameplay. The nine classes are as follows:


Attack:

Scout: The fast one with the relatively short range power weapon. Only class that can double jump.

Soldier: Slow and sturdy with an easy-to-aim rocket launcher. Good for beginners and pros alike.

Pyro: Good for close range and flanking, with the ability to set foes on fire for additional burn damage.

Defense:

Demoman: Only class with grenades in the form a pipe bomb launcher and sticky bombs that act like mines.

Heavy: Slowest class with an enormous mini gun (why the hell do they call it that?) for mowing down enemies.

Engineer: A somewhat weaker class with the ability to build powerful sentries: large, stationary, auto-targeting, turret-like guns. He can also build teleporters for quick movement around the map, and dispensers that provide ammunition and health to teammates.

Support:

Medic: Using a unique Medi Gun, the medic is there to heal teammates and to activate "ÜberCharges" which grant invulnerability or guaranteed critical hits.

Sniper: Exactly what he sounds like, has a sniper rifle and goes for head shots.

Spy: The most complicated and unique class, the spy can turn invisible and disguise himself as the enemy. This allows him to go for 1-Hit KO backstabs.

The first thing you'll notice when you start playing is that weapon selection is limited. You won't see a Demoman carrying around a flamethrower; that's what the Pyro is for, obviously.

Sorry, no gunblades.

 The key words here are "Class Based". Every class has it's strengths and weaknesses, and you'll get a kick out of playing any of them because gameplay changes dramatically for all of them. This is why you're never bored.

Also, take note that while the classes are grouped into "Attack", "Defense", and "Support", the different classes are useful for different things in different situations. Demomen and Heavies are commonly used for attack, and a Pyro can defend the base by lighting invisible Spies on fire, or by defending Engineers as they build Sentries.

On top of all of this, there are six distinct game modes to play. These are as follows:

Arena: Simple Team Death Match; both teams try to kill off the entire other team. If this takes too long, a  control point (see below) opens up to be captured by either team.

Capture the Flag (CTF): A traditional mode where one attempts to nab the enemies flag (which is in the form of a briefcase known as "the intelligence") and kill anybody who attempts to take yours.

Control Point: This mode actually has it's own sub game modes because it can be played a couple different ways. In either, the point is to capture all the "control points" on the map by standing on or in close proximity to them without interruption by the enemy.  Control points must be captured in a certain order, with the points further back locked until the ones up front are captured. In the primary mode, both teams are trying to capture the points, each pushing towards the other's base. In Attack/Defend only one team tries to capture, while the other team tries to hold out until a timer runs down.

King of the Hill: One control point, and two three-minute timers. Once a team captures the point, their timer runs down. If the other captures the point, the first timer stops, the second one starts. The winning team is the one that can run down their timer first.

Payload: In this mode, there is a cart that must be pushed to the other side of the map before the timer runs out. There are control points that act as checkpoints along the way and instantly add time when the cart reaches them. In another version of this, there are two carts and the two teams race to get theirs to the end first.

Territorial Control: Put simply, there area a number of areas with control points called territories that must be captured. Either team can capture these and the first to capture them all, then the opposing team's base wins.

 The game also has a unique scoring system, awarding points based on the difficulty of the feat you just pulled off. Most kills are worth one point, but if you pull of a tricky backstab with the Spy, or a clean head shot with the Sniper, that's two points. Building a teleporter as an Engineer will score you points the more your teammates use it. And a Medic gets points just for healing people.

"Boom. Headshot."

The kill system even has a few quirks of it's own, with the game awarding you a domination if you kill the same person four times without them getting you once. If you're being dominated, hunt that jerk down and tear him to shreds for a revenge kill. Also, a nice feature has been implemented to prevent any real kill stealing. If you played a vital role in killing another person, aka dealing most of the damage or healing the attacker while he made his assault, you will get an assist, even though officially the other player got the kill.

This is all a lot to absorb, believe me, I know. You would think it would be extremely difficult to know where to start, right? Well fortunately, the game has the courtesy to recommend the training mode the first time you load the game. This let's you play as the Soldier with his Rocket Launcher, Shotgun, and Shovel. It teaches the basics of different ranged weapons and in what situations to use your primary, secondary, or melee. Unfortunately, due to the diversity of the classes, these rules almost never apply twice, making this really only useful in order to teach you the controls.

The game then has you play a few practice rounds on the Attack/Defend Control Point map, Dustbowl. You're not allowed to switch classes for this, so I'm beginning to wonder how many people played Soldier the first few weeks they owned the game, just because they didn't know how to play anything else. You'll probably never play against the bots used in this practice mode again, as the AI isn't very good as of now. They can detect invisible Spies and friendly Medic's often ignore your desperate pleas.

One of the only problems I have with this game is its sharp learning curve, especially with the more complicated classes like Engineer and Spy. Unless you really know what you're doing beforehand by watching tutorials or something of the like, you're screwed the first few times you play these classes. Learning to be effective can be difficult, as other players have no mercy on noobs, and you'll end up dying a lot before you gain any real skill. Luckily for me, I researched a lot before buying this game because IT LOOKED THAT AWESOME. Seriously, any game that can get me to do homework on it deserves a fricken medal. In the game's defense however, classes like Heavy, Pyro, and Soldier are on the opposite side of this spectrum and are rather easy to get used to.

OK, so the gameplay, though it might take a while to learn, is good, but what about everything else? Does it have good graphics? Is there exciting music? Are there memorable sound effects when you blow an enemy to bits with a rocket?

The answer to all of these is "yes", however it has its own unique brand of each. The graphical style of TF2 is colorful, with many things clearly color coded so it's easy to identify enemy from ally. Red and blue, how much more different does it get? Everything in the game from the weapons to the clothing is rather cartoony and silly. With comical character models,bright environments, and interesting effects, the graphics are full and complete, despite a sense of simplicity. The shading has a very direct contrast from light to dark, making it look almost like a painting. If you've played games like Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, these graphics might seem like a step down, but the less busy design of the game is yet another identifiable feature of it, and part of what makes this game quite entertaining.

2Fort, one of the many TF2 maps.

The characters each have a different voice recorded specially by some very talented actors, and each illustrate the class very well. If you play this game long enough, you'll start thinking every soldier is American, all engineers are from Texas, and every good spy must come from France. Here are just a few examples of in-game dialogue that occurs during matches: Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, Spy. The dialog is covers a lot of ground, meaning there seems to be something for every situation. Whether you're calling for a Medic, or announcing the location of that pesky Spy, the characters always have something interesting (and often hilarious) to shout out.

As far as music goes, this game is rather typical of other FPS's; in other words little music at all. There are a couple of neat little tunes that play when you win or lose, and when you dominate another player or get a revenge kill.

One final thing that really shows the effort put in by the developers is something you might not expect from  an online FPS game with no campaign. The events that take place in game, especially the updates, are very story driven, with a crazy and ridiculous plot that adds a lot of character to the game. It explains the reason you're fighting, and where any new weapons or maps added to the game came from. I'm not going to reveal anything, but you can check it out for yourself if you're curious. You'll find it here.

This game is fantastic, and despite the length of this article, there is still much to cover. I haven't even told you about all the unlockable weapons, customizable aspects, and mini games TF2 has to offer.  I probably can't tell you much else about game mechanics that you can't learn from the Wiki, so I highly recommend checking it out as well. With the different art style, engaging and well balanced gameplay, and an entirely new concept for first-person shooters, Team Fortress 2 will offer you hours of fun.

Pros: Excellent gameplay, memorable characters, distinct and refreshing style, LOTS of replay value.

Cons: A bit difficult to learn certain aspects, the graphics might seem lacking depending on your preference.

Final Score: 9.9/10


Looks like this game achieved my High Score.

Information provided by the TF2 Official Wiki.
Pictures provided by the TF2 Official Wiki, marredme (Photobucket), casualtygamer.com,