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Team Fortress 2 Review
by Nikhil Singh
Good:
- Looks and plays great
- Very scalable
- Well-implemented class system
- Promotes and rewards team play
Bad:
- Too few maps (that should be fixed by the community though)
In a bid to mimic reality, most multiplayer games focus more on gun physics and realistic visuals to make the action seem as authentic as possible. But here‘s a game that goes right past all of that and doesn‘t care about how realistic it feels.
Team Fortress 2 is a class-based multiplayer game that features some over-the-top gameplay that‘s enhanced by exaggerated character design, and extremely stylized cel-shaded look. We‘ve been playing it ever since the beta was released, so please run through Nash‘s Beta Impressions before you read this review, since I‘m not going to bore you by repeating what he‘s already said.
Unlike other multiplayer games like Counter-Strike and Battlefield, Team Fortress 2 shifts its focus from mastering your gun, to mastering your class. Even the most powerful weapon has absolutely no recoil; instead of balancing the power of its weapons with mechanics such as recoil, the game balances itself class by class, making for a very well-rounded experience.
You can choose any one of the nine classes the game has to offer, each of which – unlike most other class based multiplayer games (Battlefield 2142, Quake Wars) – is vastly different from the other both visually and gameplay-wise.
If you see a Scout at a distance, you‘ll know he‘s a Scout (the same for other classes too), thanks to the great cel-shaded character design merged brilliantly with the 3D cartoony surroundings of the game that makes each character stand out from the backdrop.
This is a big plus for the game, since it allows you to distinguish a Heavy from a Demoman or a teammate from an enemy even at a long distance, taking away the meaningless challenge of spotting enemies (that most games task you with) when you‘d rather be killing them.
Going past the clean visuals, the game picks from its predecessor the diversity of the way each class plays, and tweaks it to a level that makes each class easier to pick up, fun to play and diverse enough to offer a different experience from any other class.
This in turn prompts you to play a class the way it‘s meant to be played – a Pyro for instance is a devastating force at close quarters. Send him in the open, however, and he‘ll be sniper chow in no time. This compels you to set up ambushes in tight corridors when you play as a Pyro, which is exactly what the designers expect you to do.
Although most of you will have a favorite class, you‘re likely to play more than just one class to suit the situation at hand. The reason for this (as I‘ve already mentioned) is that each class fits a specific role and some roles aren‘t really cut out for certain maps.
For instance, playing a Sniper in a close corridor battle is not advisable. I love playing the Sniper class, but if I had to get up close and personal, I'd opt to play as a Medic. Playing each class offers vastly different experiences, which is what most class-based shooters try fruitlessly to achieve – but Team Fortress 2 accomplishes effortlessly.
If you‘re an online shooter hog and you miss this title, you‘re missing out on the best multiplayer shooter of the year. While being extremely well-polished, Team Fortress 2 is high on the fun factor and is easily the best class-based shooter available today.