Team Fortress 2 was released on October 10, 2007, incorporated with the much anticipated Orange Box collection, which consisted of Portal and Half Life 2: Episode 2. Team Fortress 2 is a game that is focused around a two team system, with both teams trying for an objective; that objective may vary depending on the game type. The two teams, Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU), are meant to represent two holding corporations that between them secretly control every government on the planet. You as the player have the option of choosing one of nine unique characters that have their own specialties. When the game first came out there was only six different maps. Since then the game has released an additional eleven new maps with sequential updates, which I will get into later. Along with the maps there was the option of two different game types; capture the flag and control point. With that said I will start off by talking about the different game types.

Game Types

The first game type which was famous from the original Team Fortress was capture the flag, or, capture the enemy intelligence. Both teams are set up on either side of the map with bases in which they have to protect their intelligence, while simultaneously trying to capture the other teams’ intelligence. The second game type was control point. The objective of this game type was to simply control certain points around the map. Of course, each and every map varied on how you were to capture or defend those points. Some maps have you capturing all of the points while others have your team already controlling those points and you then have to defend it from being captured by the other team.

Since its original release, Valve has produced several updates which added new content including maps, and different game types. One of the new game types is payload. In this game type your objective is to “push the little cart” full of explosives(mind you it looks like a jerry-rigged atom bomb strapped to a mine cart, playing perfectly well to the map name goldrush). The next game type that was released in an update was the arena game type. In arena, the objective is much similar to Counter Strike. Both sides spawn and then attack each other. The last team standing is the winner. Then Valve released a similar game type called payload race in which both teams push the payload cart to try and make it to the other side of the map before the other team. The most recent update from Valve is the king of the hill game type. Similar to control point, the objective is to simply capture a single point and then hold it for set amount of time.

Classes

The game allows you to choose from nine different classes, all of which have their own characteristics, quirks, and specialties. The characters can either be categorized into offense, defense, or support roles. Each character has at least three weapons, a primary weapon coordinating with the character, a secondary weapon such as a pistol or shotgun, and a unique melee weapon also coordinating with the character. Of the offensive characters to choose from the first is the Scout. Portrayed as a baseball fan, the Scout is a fast and agile character armed with the scattergun, having a specialty to double jump in the air. The downside with the scout is that he cannot take much damage, leaving him more prone to die faster. Next is the Soldier class. Slower than the scout, the Soldier is a little more durable when it comes to sustaining damage. His primary weapon is a rocket launcher which he uses for his special ability; the rocket jump, propelling him high into the air and able to get to higher positions other characters cannot reach. The last character of the offensive class is the Pyro. Wearing a full fledged Pyro suit and mask, the Pyro carries a flamethrower as his/her main weapon. (No one really knows if the Pyro is male or female.) With the flamethrower they are able to use a compressed blast to push enemies away or projectiles such as grenades and rockets.

The Demoman, the Heavy, and the Engineer make up of the defensive classes. The Demoman is a black, one-eyed Scotsman, who drinks heavily. He is armed with a grenade launcher, which he too can use to jump to higher heights, and a sticky bomb launcher which can be used to stick to walls and then detonate later. The Heavy is portrayed as stereotypical Russian man, with a huge figure and heavy accent. The Heavy is able to sustain the most damage of any of the characters, but is slow to move which makes him an easy target. The Engineer is able to built multiple structures which support the team including a sentry gun, dispenser which is able to heal near by teammates and give them ammo, and a teleporter.

The final category of the classes is the support group which consists of the Medic, the Sniper, and the Spy. The medic is a German doctor equipped with a medigun able to heal his teammates and also giving them a short period of invulnerability, once the gun is fully charged. The Sniper is an Australian character, looking like he was pulled straight from the Outback itself, equipped with a sniper rifle to attack enemies from afar. The last support class is the Spy. The Spy is equipped with a revolver as his main weapon but is also equipped with a disguise kit, allowing him to change into the other team’s characters. He is also supplied with a watch that turns him invisible so that he can easily sneak past the enemy.

Graphics / Gameplay

While this is not the top of the line graphics game displaying breath taking new technologies, Team Fortress 2 looks amazing. Part of that is due to the way Valve meshes good graphics with the cartoonish style of the game. The style of the game seems to blend extremely well with the characters themselves. It would most definitely not be Team Fortress 2 without the humorous looks of all of the characters. The maps are also very well done. They too play well into the overall style of the game and the characters. Valve also did a nice job giving every character a distinct set of taunts which you can manually activate and watch with pleasure, jump around, yell at someone, air guitar with the pyro axe, and so on. The animations again blend in nicely with each character.

The game types themselves are extremely fun, especially with the latest updated giving the game an almost never ending gameplay. Capture the enemy intelligence is the classic game type allowing for full though of proper defense and offense. My favorite game type is the payload variations. It never seems to get old to try and simply push a cart across a map. The newest iteration of king of the hill is also a fun favorite. Another factor that’s adds to the gameplay is the achievements Valve incorporated with the game. Each character has a set of fun and humorous achievements that you as the player seem to be always in pursuit of.

Updates

Valve has hit spot on when it comes to updating the game. Along with the achievements, Valve has incorporated upgradable items for certain characters such as new weapons and special items once you earn a certain amount of achievements. For example in the heavy update you can now get a new mini gun that slows your opponents down, the samvich which gives you a boost of health, and the boxing gloves. So far Valve has added updates for the Heavy, Medic, Scout, Pyro, Spy, and Sniper. Along with the updates, Valve has released video on those particular characters which have become very popular across the internet. They have also recently incorporated new head gear items that will randomly be obtained by players. Again the head gear goes perfectly with each individual character.

Overall

Team Fortress 2 is an extremely fun and addictive game. The cartoony look gives it a unique style that seems to suit it well. With Valve continuously adding to the game with new content and game types, it continues to add to the replay value, fueling everyone’s desire to continue playing the game. The game has been out for almost two years now and I have not stopped playing it. Because of this factor it scores high on my list of favorite games. So if this article wasn’t enough to satisfy you, go to your local store and pick up a copy. This is a must buy.

Vicis Viator’s score: 9.2 pixels out of 10