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Summary
Team Fortress... To many these words spur different images, different ideas; To some it entices the hate of broken promises and Vapourware that was only seen once or twice in its seven year development, Others may remember the fluid class based shooter of Team Fortress Classic - a game meant for fun and hilarity. People new to the words will think of Cell Shaded action and Rocket Jumps to classical music. To all Team Fortress 2 is a game that has been eagerly waiting in the shadows to appear on the gaming scene, a new breath of fresh air to the industry that many are waiting for.
Team Fortress 2 is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer game developed by Valve. A sequel to Valve's previous Team Fortress Classic, it was first released as part of the compilation pack 'The Orange Box' on October 10, 2007 for Windows and the Xbox 360. A PlayStation 3 version of The Orange Box then followed on November 22, 2007. The game was later released as a standalone package for Windows on April 9, 2008. The game was also distributed online through Steam.
History
The game was first announced back in 1998 and developed on Valve's old Half-Life engine, GoldSrc. Since then it has been through various concepts and designs. In 1999, new screenshots were released showing the game to be pursuing a more realistic and militaristic style of gameplay. The final rendition released in 2007 has done away with the realistic graphics other Valve games use such as Counter-Strike. Instead it uses a more stylized cartoon like approach which hasn't been seen in a first-person shooter since XIII was released in 2004. This was developed on the new Source engine, which is also used by the Half-Life 2 series.
Gameplay
Much like its father project Team Fortress 2 has stuck closely to its roots, while many new games are trying to show a gritty experience with massive maps and fearsome guns - Team Fortress 2 remains as a beacon, a game that looks like its just fun to play. The game itself revolves around two teams, each with access to nine distinct characters, battling in a variety of game modes to complete an objective. These teams, Reliable Excavation & Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU), are meant to represent two rival corporations.
The game was released with six official maps, although extra maps have been included in subsequent updates, and many more have been promised. When players join a level for the first time, an introductory video shows how to complete its objectives.
Team Fortress 2 is the first of Valve's multiplayer games to provide detailed playing statistics. They include the time spent playing as each class, most points obtained and the most captures or objectives achieved in a single round. Team Fortress 2 also features numerous "achievements" for carrying out certain tasks, such as scoring a certain number of kills or capturing points. Achievements unlocked and statistics from previously played games are displayed on the player's Steam Community or Xbox Live profile page.
Game modes
The objective of the game is defined by the game mode in use. There are currently five game modes to play with.
There is classic Capture the Flag, the objective is for both teams is to obtain a intelligence briefcase from the enemy base and return it to their own while preventing the opposing team from doing the same. Control point modes are varied. In some levels, the objective for both teams is to secure all points on the map. On other levels, one team must defend all points from the other for a set amount of time. In Territorial Control, introduced with the map Hydro, the teams must secure all sections of a map to be able to attack the other team's base directly. An additional game mode, Payload, was introduced in April 2008 with the map "Gold Rush". In Payload maps, one team has to work to escort a rail cart carrying a bomb along a track through a series of checkpoints, eventually detonating the bomb in the other team's base. The other team has to prevent the cart from reaching the end within a time limit. Arena, was released in August 2008 and is a deathmatch style mode with smaller maps and no respawning. The newest game mode introduced in May 2009 is Payload Race, a mode where both RED and BLU attempt to escort a payload along parallel tracks to a final point.
Classes
Just like the original game you can choose to play as one of 9 player classes, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. The classes are all back - Heavy, Scout, Spy, Demoman, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, Soldier and Pyro, although weapons and abilities have changed slightly. Each class has at least three weapons: a unique primary weapon, a secondary weapon such as a shotgun or pistol, and a melee weapon.
Ongoing Development
Since the release of Team Fortress 2, Valve has continuously released free updates and patches for the game. Currently, Valve are releasing updates that focus on particular classes - giving them new alternate weapons with different abilities. They also give each class new achievements to work towards.
