Game Review: Team Fortress 2
The last game in the Orange Box is
also the one that gives it the replay value it needs. Valve realized
that their Orange Box, while great, has lots of short games in it. To
make up for it they put a game in the genre that never dies, Online
First Person Shooters.
Team Fortress 2's development took a long
time, a very long time. It was often compared to Duke Nukem Forever in
the way that both of them were highly anticipated, yet constantly
pushed back and delayed. The TF2 team made a few prototype games, one
of them revolving around the concept of one player being a commander of
one team and having an RTS like interface to assign orders, before they
finally settled on the game we now know as Team Fortress 2.
Ok,
now lets get on to the real review! First we will discuss the graphics.
They are fantastic. The graphics in this game are amazing to say the
least. The art style is really off the wall and makes you feel like you
are in some sort of comic book, unlike the other games based on the
source engine which take a really realistic approach. This is a breath
of fresh air in a genre that I would personally say takes itself too
seriously. The style of the graphics really sets the mood of the entire
game and makes it less dreary and gloomy like some multiplayer shooters
tend to be. The graphics are also highly scalable which allows for
weaker computers to handle the game as well, this is a good trait
shared by pretty much all the games running on the source engine.
But
graphics are nothing without gameplay right? The gameplay is also top
notch. The game revolves around two teams, the RED and the BLU (Not a
typo) fighting for supremacy in a number of different locales, all of
them sharing that same distinct TF2 art style. The original Team
Fortress is often called "The granddaddy of class-based shooters" and
TF2 sets the bar even higher. There are nine classes, all of them
completely unique and brimming with personality. The Heavy Weapons Guy
is a giant Russian man obsessed with his gun and killing people. The
Scout is a skinny kid with a New England accent who seems to love
bashing people with his bat. And the Demoman is in his own words, a
black Scottish cyclops. Anyway, you get the point.
The
personality complements the graphics well, once again establishing the
light-hearted feel of the game. Each class has its own weapon loadout,
and all of them are wacky and once again, complement the rest of the
game. Nothing feels out of place. The medic has a syringe gun which
fits its purpose of last resort fallback weapon perfectly. All of the
melee weapons in the game are based around the classes personality, the
psychosis of the Heavy Weapon Guy coming through perfectly in his melee
weapon, AKA: His fists.
The balancing is great for the most part
as well. There is a class for every person and situation. You have bad
aim but like to be in the front lines? Heavy Weapon's Guy is for you.
You like being a supporter? Engineer or Medic is a perfect fit. A team
really has to work together to win in Team Fortress 2, unlike some
other online FPS games. If the enemy is defending a lot your Medics and
Heavy Weapon's Guys can team up and get an Ubercharge ( If the medic
heals enough, he gets the ubercharge which can make one teammate
invincible for a short period of time, essential for breaking defenses.)
The
only problems with the balancing are mostly intentional things on the
developers part. The critical hit system, while good, is a bit too
random. It is a blast for the person who happens to get lucky and have
a critical hit, but not so much for the person on the receiving end.
The worst offender is the Soldier class, who's rocket launcher when it
gets critical hits is absolutely devastating. But these small problems
can be ignored considering the game is for the most part very well
balanced.
Sound is also great, the best part of it being the
things the characters say. There is a large library of voice commands
you can make, these are all fully lip synced by your character model
and are really well done. Also, some are automatic, when the Heavy
Weapon's Guy kills a lot of people in a short period of time, he starts
singing this jolly old song which is really hilarious. And there are
dozens of voice commands for every single class, which if used
effectively can actually give you an advantage over someone who doesn't
use them. Other than the v
oices,
the sound is still very good. The music is original and catchy, even
though you won't be hearing it much (This isn't a single player game)
Map
design is very well done, and the maps are a shining example of TF2's
art style. The RED team's bases all use warm colors in their design and
have a very country-side feel to them. The BLU team on the other hand
has a very industrial look and have very angular structures all around.
Both the team's bases hide highly exaggerated arsenals of missiles and
such, once again fitting in nicely with the overall theme of the game.
The only problem with the levels is that there aren't enough of them.
Although one new map has been released since the debut of the game, the
selection still seems very thin. This is remedied by the quality of the
maps though, which are all of the highest caliber.
Also, worth
mention is the increasing depth of the game. Valve, the creators of
Team Fortress and other wonders, has recently released an update not
only containing a brand new map, but also new unlockable weapons for
the Medic class. Doing specific things in the game beats things called
achievements and once you have enough of these you can unlock some of
these weapons for the medic class. This is fantastic, and awesome.
Also, new weapons animations have been released for pretty much all the
melee weapons, another plus. The unlockable weapons system is said to
be in production for every single class in the game, adding more and
more depth and enjoyment to this already great experience.
Team
Fortress 2 is not a game you should miss, it is simply of the highest
quality. It has also been released individually recently, and while it
is still more of a deal to buy it in the Orange Box if you have some
sort of vendetta against the other games in it (For instance, if one of
those games killed a beloved family member) you can now get TF2
separately. If you like shooting games, not just online ones but even
regular FPSs you should get this game. It is one of the best executed
and best crafted games I've played in my entire life, and I can see
this game being played for years to come. So, buy it now!
5/5
4.5/5 individually
