Team Fortress 2 Review

Game:  Team Fortress 2
Year (s):  2007
Company:  dev.  Valve Corporation
            pub.  Valve Corporation
Engine:  Source
Type:  Multiplayer Online FPS

Price (as of January , 29 2012 )

Regular price on Steam:  Free
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping):  $13

Game Time:  mindlessly infinite

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyNuriXG3BQ


Plot

There is no plot.  You are either red team or blue team.  Complete the mission before time runs out.


Graphics

I would argue that Source was the best engine of its time.  Now, it's getting somewhat dated.  TF2 looks cartoonish compared to other Source games, making it comparable to Borderlands rather than the more realistic new engines.


Combat

TF2 has nine classes, each with different strengths.  A Heavy has the most health and is devastating in close to mid-range combat, but is the largest and slowest character, easily taken out by a sniper.  The other eight classes are similarly balanced, and particularly suited to specific roles.  A good team makes wise decisions on classes upon re-spawning based on what the opponent is doing.

Rarely, servers have bots.  However, this isn't an option available when creating a server, so I'm not sure how some pull that off.  Servers are not all created equal.  TF2 has absolutely no tiering system, so sometimes I was like a god, and sometimes I was sniped fifteen times in a row and killed no one. 


Achievements and Gear

A few years back, different (but not superior) weapons for each class could be unlocked by completing achievements.  Many an hour did I spend to get these extra items.  To date, TF2 has 394 achievements.  For those that like earning achievements, that's a lot of potential game time..

When TF2 was made free, things changed.  Random item drops became part of the game.  These drops can be the same item that could have been earned by achievements, making achievements less alluring.  Valve added a TF2 store, to buy swag outright.  If you don't want to spend real dollars, you can smelt items in hopes of then making a good item.  I estimate that smelting would take, at a minimum, dozens of hours of time to get anything useful.  Sound like WoW, anyone?  Items can also be traded between players.

After playing on the new incarnation for ~30 hours, I found a supply box.  This was a rare box that would have a rare item.  All I had to do was spend $2 of real money dollars to purchase a key to unlock it.  You know what I got?  A tweed hat, for the Spy class.  You know what this rare item does?  NOTHING.  Then I deleted TF2.


Final Thoughts

I think this is Valve's attempt to be World of Warcraft for shooters.  From a money perspective, they figured out a good way to profit off of a several-year-old game.  Most of the players I played against had all sorts of unique items.  WoW has you kill five orcs, then five dragons, and so on.  In TF2, there isn't even that level of distinction.  All games are essentially the same, with only a couple of official maps for each game type.  While it's tempting to play for a few hundred hours, unlock achievements, smelt, trade, and spend real money, I have better games to play.  Not a terrible game for multiplayer, and the different classes are well constructed.  I really hate the new item system though.  That tweed hat moved me from mostly neutral feelings about the game to being a little pissed. 

It is, however, free.  So if you're bored and want something mindless to do, well, one can't beat free, I guess.