Team Fortress 2 is a fantastic team oriented class based multiplayer shooter that no PC gamer should miss out on
The simple story revolves around the forces of Blu (Builders League United) verses Red (Reliable Excavation and Demolition) across a mammoth 36 maps. Game modes are all unique team variants including Payload where Blu must push a cart to destroy the red base, attack/defend where Blu must capture red control points to advance the map, control points where Blu captures three points and then the teams are swapped and arena where the aim is simply to be the last team standing. Player counts can stretch all the way up to 36 players on the more advanced servers and there are many, many maps to choose from with even more being made using mods to earn achievements or create new maps like pl_2fort. Valve has added hundreds of new items for each class each having their own benefits and drawbacks The quick match and server browser features both work efficiently despite having to wait for downloads and load times for servers. The developer has also included detailed stat tracking showing your records for each class as well as notifying you on broken records for longest life among others and earned achievements. Many frame rate and server issues have also been addressed on PC with patches, along with the game becoming free to play there's nothing to distract from TF2 now. The addictive nature of the game, combined with the hundreds of items and achievements to unlock, Team Fortress will certainly keep your interest will a long time to come
The game play is incredibly fun, yet balanced to perfection. The nine character classes all have their own benefits and drawbacks. The offensive classes include Scouts who can run and capture points faster but have low health, Soldiers have a lot of health but move slower, and Pyros who are deadly at close range but lack strength in frontal assaults. These are built to be up on the frontline, attacking enemies head on. The defensive classes include the Demoman who is very versatile but has long reload times, heavies are the strongest of all the classes but chew up ammo fast and move very slowly and engineers can deploy a powerful sentry gun but are very weak against all the other classes. Defensive classes hang back in their team's base Lastly the support class includes the medic who can heal classes but lacks offensive power, the sniper who uses an immensely powerful sniper rifle but is weak against enemies close up. The spy sneaks behind the enemy, turning the tide of battle with his deadly back stab but cannot take on any enemy head on. The game never feels frustrating as a result and the new items provide new ways of playing as a team, like the snipers jarate which can extinguish burning team mates and reveal disguised spies. Teamwork is key to success in TF2, so Valve has provided a voice system to call out spies or say where to put a sentry, though headsets are definitely recommended for the hardcore player. Some servers force limits on how many of each class there can be on team which further emphasises teamwork. Be prepared to lose and lose a lot with uncooperative team.
Despite using the source engine, Team Fortress 2 features a gorgeous looking art style that also extends to the environments and character models, even on low PC settings the game looks great and the audio is top notch, especially the character personalities rarely seen in multiplayer shooters which give the game a hilarious sense of humour. Characters will taunt the opposition, utter blood curdling death cries and screams among many epic lines spoken by each class. It's a feast for the ears and thanks to the patches the game runs more smoothly than ever.
Team Fortress has everything you'd expect from a PC multiplayer shooter, balanced gameplay, dazzling graphics, great sound and detailed statistics all jammed into a free to play shooter which constantly rewards the player for their loyalty. What more could you want? Download this game off Steam now!!!