While the Orange Box’s release is still a couple of weeks away we were lucky enough to get invited to the Team Fortress 2 Beta, courtesy of World Wide CDRoms.
For all those who’ve just emerged from a bomb shelter, the Orange Box is a compilation of various Valve games that include Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2.
This compilation will be available for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 by October 9, but today we’re not here to discuss the Orange Box; the game on hand is Team Fortress 2 – and yes, it will own your soul.
I never managed to play the first Team Fortress so I really can’t draw any comparisons here; instead I’ll tell you why this game has the potential to dominate any multiplayer game on the block.
TF2 is a MP -only (no bots sadly) class-based game that allows players to battle it out against each other as one of nine classes. Even though this is a beta, all nine classes were available straight off the bat and they go something like this:
- Soldier
- Pyro
- Sniper
- Heavy Gunner
- Demo
- Scout
- Medic
- Engineer
- Spy
As you have seen from the numerous screens and videos, Valve has opted to go in for a cel-shaded approach instead of the tried and tested realistic/gritty look used by most first person shooters today.
By doing so they’ve come up with something that not only looks sharp and clean, but when you combine that sort of art style with the awesomeness that is their very own Source engine you have one very uniquely stylized – not to mention visually appealing – game.
Even though the game sports a cartoonish look it’s got enough blood and gibbage to satiate the gore hound. That’s right people; every time you pwn someone with a rocket launcher or a grenade, his body explodes in a glorious shower of blood and body parts and the bigger the body… you get the drift right?
TF2 Beta has good good reviews from many players. The price is really killer for the orange box!
