Oscar: eSports is about playing at the highest competitive level and winning. Hardware corporations want to sponsor syndicates and teams only if the professional gamers involved are playing a game that demands computer upgrades. Team Fortress 2 is visually stunning, though not physically demanding of the highest costing hardware on the market today. Thank the Source Engine for that. It's the best of both worlds for companies interested in selling video cards and for the average gamers bank account. The rich gameplay boasts spectator-friendly visual cues that come with the inherent design of the game. From the team colors to the arrows pointing out directions, Team Fortress 2 is the same capture the flag game any layman can understand. What can potentially catapult the game into the stratosphere is the sheer technical offensive and defensive mechanics. Clever teams will find ways to use the class system in ways previously unseen and develop a level of competitive gameplay with enough adrenaline to create an entertaining product.

It's all there in front of us waiting to grow from being a grassroots game to a headliner at the next big-name tournament. This doesn't even touch the entire stats system that Valve has now integrated into Team Fortress 2, effectively creating another layer of competitive juice that friends and strangers will come to love just as much as their console counterparts do on Microsoft's Xbox Live. There are pitfalls along the way, and the very same concepts that can help bolster this game can bring it down as well. I found myself wondering as to why users weren't communicating as often as random people did when I first started playing Insurgency, what's your take on this Jason?

Jason: That is a very good question. In fact from my time pubbing TFC since back in the day I’ve noticed a decidedly different atmosphere in comparison to games like Counter-Strike. In comparison to Insurgency, a game with a smaller niche market that is seeking that tactical communication shooter, TF2 appeals more to your lets-go-out-and-frag attitude. Even though TF2 is more team based it has always seemed to me that for the most part people don’t communicate as much as they should. Of course the first game one could go off on their own with conc jumping, pipe jumping and the like, and cap flags themselves; now that kind of solo effort is much more rare and communication is nearly essential. Hopefully it will be something people will pick up on, as a whole new era of Team Fortress players are developing as we speak.

I have to say my favorite parts of Team Fortress 2 are the small things; Valve went above and beyond by adding so much stuff that you really don’t think much about it as you first play. For instance the personality that each class has with their own accent, or the audio notifiers like when a engineer yells out “spy’s sapping my sentry” as spy tries to disable his machine, or a heavy shouts “you are a good medic” as he gets healed up. Or the whole dominating, revenge, nemesis concept that entails you vs. opposing players. Continually get owned by an opposing player and they become your nemesis on the scoreboard and it really makes you want to head over and own their ass to get revenge. How many FPS games actually make you chuckle and laugh during gameplay all the while giving you a competitive and balanced game; not many in my book and TF2 excels at this. There is a lot of crazy and funny things that can happen. And to you Oscar, what is your favorite aspect of the game?


Oscar: Team Fortress 2 has been in development for so long, it would have been a massive disappointment had Valve delivered anything less than what we've seen in the beta so far. As you alluded to some things have changed, but from my perspective it's all for the better since what we've played with reeks of success on the part of Valve. So far, according to the stats I've played the Medic class more than any other, and with good reason. I've always agreed that the best offense is a good defense, so being in the front lines and frantically healing one teammate after another while dodging enemy fire is one hell of thrill, especially if you're running out of time and need to capture a point. Being able to pick from such a wide variety of styles has actually extended my play period several times. I've found myself getting frustrated at getting continually owned by enemy turrets as a Scout and instead of just exiting out of the game I simply pick something else like Demoman that'll enthrall me for another couple of hours. This is my favorite part of the game, the sheer addictiveness that keeps you sucked in. Just a couple of days ago my Xbox 360 RROD'd on me but I'm not too concerned since I've got Team Fortress 2 instead of Halo 3 to get my frag on. I've got my medic gun ready for uber-charge Jason, what's your favorite weapon?

Jason: Weapons, weapons, weapons, TF2 has a ton of them. I don’t know if I have one that stands out as my utmost favorite. I feel the sniper rifle is the easiest for me to get kills with as my CS sniping skills transition well to Team Fortress. Overall I would probably choose the demoman and his grenade launcher. Its versatile, can take out sentry guns, heavyweapon guys, and the sticky bomb launcher can get some serious range. Plus he allows you to sticky bomb/pipe jump to out of the way places much like the soldier can do with rocket jumping. The heavyweapon guy’s machine gun is always a blast to use with its high rate of fire, and the scout’s new shotgun has some serious power and really moves them into the assault class. The melee weapons are an absolute blast to use. The first time you get a kill with the heavy’s fists you will laugh your ass off. It’s a total riot. Running around bashing people in the head with the scout’s ball bat, or the sniper’s Kukri (think machete-like thing) is not only rewarding but they are actually useable and an asset at close range.

Map wise there is a lot of diversity and play styles. From the multi-site push map gravel pit, to the control push map like hydro there is a lot of fun to be had. You can play hydro 10 times and not have the same gameplay experience the way the map control positions work. It’s quite interesting. 2fort of course is back as a capture the flag map (or capture the intelligence briefcase as it’s called now), and it’s as fun as ever. I guess really my only complaint so far would be the lack of more CTF maps. Well is now a control map, and not CTF which is a slight bummer, but the new well is quite fun to play. Hopefully between now and release we see a couple more capture the flag maps. Here's to Team Fortress 2 one of the many games we play.

Conclusion
As you can tell we are loving Team Fortress 2. Valve really has a winner on their hands here. I don't know of many games with such a long and delayed history that have really payed off like TF2 has. This game is the type that appeals to n00bs, and should even bring back memories for those old school Team Fortress Classic players. It may not be perfect for everyone, and a few minor adjustments are needed, but this is damn near close to a ready for retail game. If you enjoy FPS games, Team Fortress games, or just enjoyable games in general, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

 

Thanks for browsing by our latest issue of Games We Play. Hope you enjoyed it. Keep checking back for continued issues especially in the coming months with so many great PC games on the horizon.

Extra Reading:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia Entry
A must read pointer for TF2