Team Fortress 2 Review

Team Fortress 2 is the final new part of The Orange Box. Although I have been playing it for awhile, I still can't say I am done exploring all the elements it brings to the table. When I reviewed Episode 2 and Portal, I had beaten both games. I will never beat Team Fortress 2. For this, I am a glad.


This multi-player masterpiece is made up of 3 game modes, 6 maps, 9 classes, 22 weapons, 8 pieces of equipment, a multitude of abilities, and a countless number of good design decisions. When it comes to core gameplay, Team Fortress 2 hits it out of the park. It also accounts for every detail as well as it can, and radiates personality unseen in anything but the most finely crafted role-playing or adventure game.

The core gameplay of Team Fortress 2 is a beautiful thing. The battles take place across symmetrical and asymmetrical maps, with varying objectives, and against varying opponents. Although there are 6 maps, 4 of them are a game type called cp, which stands for capture. The cp gametype is itself, broken down into sub-games. Sometimes the map will call for an attack and defend dynamic. Other times the teams will be responsible for both attacking and defending. There may be 2 points, 3 points, or 4 points. As you can see, there is a lot of variety. Ironically, despite all of these cp options, ctf, one of the other gametypes, is the most popular on the internet. ctf_2fort is by far the most popular map in Team Fortress 2, just as ctf_2fort was the most popular map in every other edition of Team Fortress, no matter which engine it was implemented on. The last gametype is tc, territorial control, and is basically a campaign version of cp, where the winner of the match is determined over many maps, and which maps are played is determined by who wins the previous round. On all these different map types, dwell 9 classes, which are balanced and fun to play. They all have differing play styles. One class, the scout, is based around fast movement. Another class, the pyro, is based around close-quarters combat and ambush tactics. Yet another class, the sniper, is based around long distance support. It doesn't stop there, but I will spare you from a summary of each class. If you take one thing away from this review though: all the classes are fun to play as and they are all beautifully balanced. You will see heavies killing soldiers, soldiers killing medics, medics killing heavies, and every other permutation of every class killing or otherwise dominating every other class. It is truly a site to behold.

The designers of Team Fortress 2 did more then dwell on the core gameplay and make it amazing, they also added little details to the entire gameplay experience. When you load a map, you will be shown your all-time playtime of each class, as well as your best moments and who they were with. For instance, you may have an all time record of 10 kills with a soldier, but did the most damage (lets say 2000) with a Heavy. Also, you will be given tips which tune you into the more subtle parts of the gameplay. A demoman can charge his shot to make his projectiles fly farther. Soldiers can rocket jump. Medics have an uber-charge that renders them and the person they are healing invincible. Engineers can harvest metal from fallen enemies by gathering their weapons. The list goes on. After every time you die, you will also be clued in on how well you did that particular round. For instance, "You were close to breaking your record for kills with this class: this round 8, your best 10". There are more details then can be listed here, but you will be noticing new ones for a very long time after purchasing the game.

The personality is really what makes this game. If you have seen screenshots or movies, which of course all of you have, you know the game looks very much like Toy Story in its rendering style. This really works in the games favor, and if you listen to the included commentaries you will hear the designers rational behind their choices. Each character feels like their own person, from the Australian sniper, to the German medic. When the spy disguises as an enemy, he wears a paper cut-out over his own face, that the friendly team will see. When the heavy shoots for a prolonged period of time, he begins screaming maniacally at the top of his lungs. When you are blown apart by enemy ordinance, the game happily points out where your head, lungs, heart, and other body parts are currently located. Everything comes together perfectly, and has to be played to be fully understood.

Of all the parts of The Orange Box, Team Fortress 2 is the best. Previously, I said I enjoyed Portal more then Episode 2, but they were both in the same ball park. Team Fortress 2 is in another ballpark, and is better then both Portal and Episode 2.