Compared to some other shooters, Team Fortress 2 a bit simple at first glance,
with only a handful of maps and modes of play. The nine different
classes have a few weapons, which seems like it might not give them
that much to do. But the depth of design you discover once you actually
start playing is impressive. The wildly different character designs
make it easy to know exactly what you're dealing with, which gives the
game a more strategic feel than it might otherwise have with such a
fast pace. You're going to react differently when you see a soldier
coming at you than you will when you see a sniper or a pyro. There's a
lot of interesting dynamics, like the common heavy/medic relationship
and always being on the watch for a spy in disguise. It's a very
addicting, fun game that I'd probably play a lot more if something
about spending a lot of time on multiplayer didn't rub me the wrong way.
The
game deserves credit for its graphics too. It was a big leap to go for
a cartoony style instead of the typical realistic graphics in an
M-rated shooter, but it paid off and made the game even more enjoyable.
It's really easy to tell who is who, which affects the gameplay
greatly, and it's also just cool to look at. There's something much
funnier about the content/graphic clash than you see in most games. The
amount of personality they injected into the characters of a team-based
shooter is noteworthy. I don't know about the community on the
consoles, but it's still really popular on PC, so if you don't have The
Orange Box, just get it already.
