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You only have to spend two minutes with Team Fortress 2 and I guarantee that you’ll laugh. It’s not an accident that you find yourself giggling while you play the game either. The cynic will tell you that TF2 is a game with cartoon graphics but the gamer who appreciates TF2 will tell you that the game has a distinct, quirky artstyle that presents emotion deliciously. Despite its critical success (93/100 on Metacritic) it isn’t a game for everyone. The amount of classes (9 in total) all offer a completely different play style and as a result it isn’t really a game you can just jump in. If class-based multiplayer, team shooters are your thing then you are probably going to love TF2, even with its beautiful ‘Pixar’ looks. (Let me clarify something for the Team Fortress purists; I didn’t play TF1 or TFC so please bear that in mind while you read the review.)
If you still haven’t played or even seen Team Fortress 2 yet then the most logical place to start is the art style. Think Toy Story meets video games. There isn’t really a more adequate way to describe how TF2 looks, bar looking at screenshots. On a quick glance, the game looks childish and visually obscure, but its ‘cartoony’ style really fits the game. Don’t get me wrong, even with its animated look it’s still fantastic looking. There is a lot of variety within the art. For example, the way in which each class moves differently is subtly delectable. The outfits are caricatures of reality and are all meticulously detailed. Most noticeable is the emotion conveyed on the characters faces. In multiplayer FPS games, attention to detail is often ignored, but TF2 reeks of care and polish. The game is practically dripping with personality; like when the Heavy grins evilly as he lets his minigun rip or the way the spy smirks after backstabbing someone. As well as that, the art style has a practical use. With so many players and classes all interacting each other, the art style allows the player to see who is who and what is what. Once you’ve seen TF2 the way it is you can’t imagine it looking like a normal game. Its visuals suit its frantic gameplay and for it to look any different would be a travesty.  It’s not only Valve’s artistic talent being showcased by TF2. Their ability to create absurdly fun games is hard at work in the experience that is Team Fortress 2. It’s so difficult for multiplayer games to be correctly balanced (making it fun for both teams) but Valve has cracked it yet again. Every single one of the nine classes can outperform each other. You just have to know how to play them. On offer are three offense, three defence and three support classes and their grouped and labelled that way to help the new player. On offense is the nimble Scout that can double jump, run at a high speed, capture at a double rate and spray players down with their shotgun. There’s the Solider, a no frills rocket man that can take a lot of damage and deal the equal amount. Then there’s the Pyro, a close combat speciality that burns his enemies to a crisp shade of black. If you’re more of a cautious player then one of the defence orientated classes. The Demoman is armed with two types of grenades (one normal, one sticky) and ideally protects capture points. The Heavy has a mini-gun that churns ammo by the bucket load, huge amounts of health and a cheeky smile. The Engineer can construct turrets, health/ammo dispensers or teleporters and is vital to defending. If those still don’t quench your thirst then there are support classes, like the annoyingly effective Sniper. The disguised backstabbing / cloaking Spy can get behind enemy lines and take out those irritating targets. Finally is the Medic who can heal friendlies around him, until fully charged, when he and an ally can go invulnerable for a short period of time. You are bound to have favourites (and Steam logs which, with statistics like time played for each class, as well as a whole bucket load of other persistent statistics. With so much variety on offer it is extremely difficult for a fan of FPS’s to not enjoy TF2. It’s fast paced, humour ridden and dangerously addictive. You’ll often find yourself saying “one more round!” and then it being 3 in the morning. The game really comes into its own when you’re playing with friends. Armed with VOIP, you can become a deadly taskforce that destroys anyone in your path. The weapons are tied to the classes (no Scouts running around with Miniguns) which means there will always be more ‘newbie friendly’ classes being played (like Scouts, Soldiers and Engineers.) This doesn’t spoil the experience because all the match needs is a proficient Spy or Demoman and the battlefield changes drastically.  There are six levels to partake in and they, like the classes, are so evenly balanced that every game is different. There are four Control Point maps which have you fighting over capture points. Two of them, Dustbowl and Gravelpit have one team defending and one attacking. There’s often a minute setup time for Engineers to raise defences and then carnage begins with the defenders attempting to hold back the wave of attackers. The other two Control Point maps (Well and Granary) have both teams attacking each other and it’s a constant see-saw as power goes back and forth. There is one Territorial Control map (Hydro) which has each team in possession of one point and depending on who captures whose, a differing second part follows. Finally is the Capture the Intelligence (Flag) mode, which takes place on 2Fort, (a symmetrical ‘evil genius’ lair hidden within a barn.) It would have been nice for Valve to include some more CTF maps at least. Six maps, while perfectly balanced, are just not enough and on occasion the game can become tiresome. Luckily on PC (the version reviewed) custom maps are aplenty (due to the update to SDK) so that should disband your grumbles. If you’re playing on X360 or PS3 then it’s a shame because it reduces the longevity of the game. Valve are hard at work on new maps but there is no ETA as of yet. There are in game achievements for the PC version but after three weeks of play we had gotten them all without intentionally trying. There are 35 new achievements solely for the Medic class on the way (at time of writing) which will once again bring a much needed breath of fresh air. Even if team based FPS’s aren’t your thing, Team Fortress 2 is still worth the look. For fans on the original it may not be the game it was, but its extravagance is extremely difficult to ignore. If you’re into multiplayer games then this is a highly recommended title. Being an online title it can only get better which is fantastic news for a brilliant game. Score: 9/10 (PC Version Reviewed)
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