TF2
Team Fortress 2 Review (it’s a bit old, hence inaccuracies)
Teamwork is an ancient concept, dating back further than most histories stretch. It predates the human race and most recognisable species – even the earliest animals could hunt in packs. It should therefore be of no surprise that, like all real-life normalities, once the internet is involved teamwork goes out the window. “I can’t see his face, why should I help him?” syndrome is rampant among the tube-going masses and has hindered many a game that has gone before (prime examples: the Battlefield games, both major Counter-Strike iterations and any public 2v2 RTS you’ve ever played). It is therefore a miracle, and a credit to developers Valve, that TF2 manages to convince people to actually help each other. But how has it done so?
Firstly, through basic game mechanics. A team consisting of a balance of classes specifically tailored to work well together with each player knowing his role in the bigger picture will succeed, without fail, over a team without. This is not an original concept – the examples used above also had this feature – but it is perfectly executed here. Every class has hard and soft counters meaning one person cannot completely dominate an opposing team – but two or three working in tandem against uncoordinated opponents can. An example of a base design decision that encourages team work would be turning off friendly fire by default. The inability to hurt or be hurt by a member of your own team engenders you to them and means mistakes (which are easy to make in the hectic environment that is a TF2 battleground) won’t result in vindictive or angry compatriots.
Another success is managing to make helping fun and this is primarily shown in the Medic. The concept seems off for a shooter: weak primary weapon with limited range, a small amount of health and a main role which involves holding the fire button until a bar fills up. However, in practice it is highly enjoyable. The Übercharge is just the right mix of anticipation, timing and a “WHO’S AWESOME? I’M AWESOME” feeling when it all goes as planned; point gains have been well balanced so that a good medic can place high on a scoreboard and the addition of achievements has given people a reason to play the class even if they wouldn’t normally be interested. In fact, achievements have been a primary way of coaxing teamwork out of players with many of them focusing on this aspect. The unlocked weapons themselves can also be seen to have this focus, the Heavy’s Sasha (slows a target that is being fired upon), the Medic’s Übersaw (every melee hit gives 25% Übercharge) and the Pyro’s Axetinguisher (always crits a target which is on fire) all being very powerful when used in conjunction with an allied player of the same class.
The unique artistic style of the game is also important for allowing teamwork to come to the fore. The over-the-top caricatures give each player a feeling of confidence in their team-mates (who isn’t a little happier when they know a guy with a machine gun bigger than most people is covering them?) and allow for certain classes to be picked out easily. This is useful for both identifying targets for focus fire and for finding certain allies to assist or heal. More in general, the art of the game is simply brilliant. Playing on the highest graphical configuration is a beauty to behold and the “cartoony” style so suits the game that it is hard to imagine it in a more realistic setting.
The only flaws which can be found in Team Fortress 2’s repertoire are ones of repetition. Essentially, the game is the same thing over and over. Particularly at release, it was possible to become bored with the limited number of maps and situations that a team could find themselves in. A low number of choke points could be found on each map and some of these were unfriendly to certain classes. However, the addition of two new game modes post-release along with several new maps and the weapon unlocks have given it new life. The amount of time between class patches could do with being lowered but this is Valve – the quality is guaranteed so the delay must be weathered. Considering that it can be picked up along with some of the best single player action available on the PC in The Orange Box there is simply no excuse for not sampling Team Fortress 2’s brilliance.
92%