Arguably, the best multiplayer game ever created.
Team Fortress 2 is the award-winning, critically acclaimed sequel to the Quake mod, Team Fortress. Team Fortress 2 ditches the realistic,
war-torn style of the original and goes with a cartoon look resembling a
Pixar movie. The reason
VALVe went with this look is because they stated that having
a realistic game presented too many issues of gameplay restrictions and it resembled Counter-Strike too much. They went for their very own distinct style and many people agree it's much better than what was shown earlier than in development. The RED team has bright colors to match the rural,
woodworking side of the map while the
BLU team sports cool, soothing colors to match their industrial side of the map. The art design in general is extremely well done, both aesthetically and to help make everything extremely distinguishable.
Team Fortress 2 was originally
slated for release back in 1999, but it was delayed for 8 years and years after silence from
Valve the game was officially labeled as
vaporware. Finally, Valve presented Team Fortress 2 in all it's cartoon glory at E3 2006. The reception was overwhelming positive. Fans were awe struck at the great graphics and animations the game sported, along with a distinct personality, hilarious voiceovers and backstory for each class to help bring the game to life. Each class was specifically designed to be so unique that you could pick them out with ease in a
silhouette lineup. Valve also was focusing on the casual gamers this time around, simplifying aspects like removing unnecessary
sidearms and grenades(thank the lord for this). Each class has a unique primary weapon, a
sidearm(usually a pistol or shotgun), and a unique
melee weapon. This time around, VALVe made sure to focus the player on
teamwork rather than fancy jumptricks and
grenade spam. The game was finally released in October 2007 alongside
the Orange Box, with
unanimous praise from just about every gaming review site/magazine in existence.
Team Fortress 2 may seem overwhelming at first due to the sheer chaos of the game and the distinct play styles of each class, but you will get used to all of it within a few hours. The pace of the game is slower than the first to help the newbies out. The gameplay is pretty simple once you work out the mechanics. As of now there are 6 gameplay modes. There's your standard
capture the flag. There's Capture Point which is basically to Capture designated points on the map as specified. Then there is Territory Control which is basically Capture Point but the map changes around depending on who wins. There's also the popular
Payload mode which is the BLU team has to push a bomb on wheels into the RED team's base, while the RED team does everything it can to stop the bomb. There is Double Payload which is just Payload but the teams are racing each other. Finally there is Arena mode, which is basically like Counter-Strike where you try to eliminate the opposing team in a single-round.
Team Fortress 2 contains 9 unique classes all designed with specific strengths and weaknesses. They are split into categories: Offense contains
the Scout, Soldier, and Pyro. Defense contains the
Demoman, Heavy and Engineer. Special contains the Medic, Sniper and Spy.
The 9 years of development really payed off for this game, as it's constant emphasis of teamwork and balance truly make this one of the best multiplayer games of all time.
Teamwork is the only way to succeed in this game, and solo play is generally frowned upon. The ease of the game combined with the almost unlimited depth make this appeal to everyone, whether you play once a week or 8 hours a day, you are sure to
enjoy yourself without getting frustrated, as the game was designed for those exact reasons.
There is also a huge amount of ongoing support from VALVe, overhauling each class one at a time with new weapons, new voice lines, new achievements and new maps all for free. As of this definition, 6 of the 9 classes have been overhauled. The game also sports an extensive modding community with over a thousand custom maps so far.*
I'm going to wrap this up now since it's getting long and I could go on and on forever about this game but I will leave you with this; every self-respecting gamer should own this game. It really is that damn good.
*The above is only specific to the PC version.
