DC Portfolio: Valve Re-engineers Gaming Legacy

For this article, I reviewed a game I love: Team Fortress 2. If this endorsement alone does not swing you, continue reading...


MULTIPLAYER gaming has made the videogame industry strong and prosperous - and now it’s going to get even better.

After the release of Half-Life 2 in 2004, the long-awaited sequel to the 1998 ground-breaking first person shooter, Valve Software has brought out another successor to an award winning game series - this time in the form of Team Fortress 2.

Through the development of their Source game engine, Valve have pushed their limits to deliver a truly incredible multiplayer experience.

Team Fortress 2’s appeal comes directly from the nine characters that are yours to control. Upon division into either Team Red or Blue, you are prompted to pick from a Heavy, Soldier, Spy, Medic, Engineer, Sniper, Scout, Demoman or Pyro. With each having distinct characteristics and weapons, the team element comes into force from the word go.

The game has three modes of play - Control Point, Territorial Control and Capture the Flag. Although the game only comes with six maps - with chance for player-made maps, of course - a number of gameplay styles keep things fresh.

"Granary" and "Well" feature five control points in a row, as teams push back and forth trying to reach the other's starting point. "Dustbowl" and "Gravel Pit" puts teams in attacking and defensive roles in a strategic assault. My personal favourite "Hydro" has a map with six areas, each team controlling three and fighting over two in turn, until one team controls all six.

Team Fortress veterans favour the remake of the “2Fort” Capture The Flag map, where a team seeks to take an intelligence briefcase from the other’s base and return it to their own without getting killed. The classic layout is undisturbed, and rightly so - it encourages extraordinary camaraderie and is probably the best map to explain the game’s beauty.

The nine characters - divided into three groups of offence, defence and support - serve purposely-tailored roles to the team’s effort. If you get the balance wrong, you lose.

For example, my favoured character, the defensive Engineer, is responsible for creating structures such as sentry guns (for defence), teleporters (for team transportation) and dispensers (for ammunition and health distribution). Engineers need to maintain and fix these, and as a result do not come with powerful personal weaponry.


The attacking Heavy, on the other hand, comes with a huge gatling gun, more than twice the health of an Engineer and is slower to move due to size and strength. With the provision of the supporting Medic, who can “over-heal” team-mates to 150% of their usual health, a Heavy can expertly clear out an area in no time.

The main fun comes from being a Spy - a balaclava and suit wearing camoflage expert who can disguise himself as any member of the opposition or cloak out of view completely. On top of this, he can kill people instantly with a stab to the back with a knife.

Team Fortress 2 expands rivalry by creating competition through the “Domination” function. If you die at the hands of the same player three times in a row, the game will announce their domination of you to everyone playing. By killing them, you get “Revenge” status, which can save face in the heat of the battle.

But regardless of who you choose, you are automatically forced into a certain method of attack - if you do not comply, the other team will exploit your faults. You become completely aware of those around you and your approach to the game is a brand new challenge with every round.

With the gameplay being so strong, you would expect the graphics to be a match. A vast departure from the more serious original, Team Fortress 2 is like a cartoon come to life. You will struggle to keep down a smile as the violence is boiled down to ridiculous slapstick humour.

The attention to detail is most noticeable upon your death, where the game will happily point out your remains on the floor. You are sometimes made aware of items such as your pancreas, head and hand after you perish to a Soldier’s rocket.

If you look carefully, you can see a Heavy smile and grimace during a firefight, and the Scottish-accented Demoman will mock you with a cheeky grin after setting off a variety of explosives. With the addition of player taunts and voices, players will often use them to their advantage to annoy their opposition.

Even the creation of structures by the Engineer is fascinating and you will often find yourself shot to pieces as you watch the clever unpacking and assembly of a sentry gun.


The inclusion of personal achievements and statistics is another great addition. While a game loads, you are presented with a performance report and a table of “best moments”, including most kills, damage, headshots, sentry kills and healing. If you die with a certain character, the game will often present you with your updated record, or how close you came to breaking the previous one.

The great thing about Team Fortress 2 is that you come to hate the characters of the game, as opposed to the players behind them. Most people hate Snipers for their scoped rifles and Pyros for their flame throwing, but never the people who like them enough to play as them - unless they are dominating you, of course. This factor speaks volumes for the situations the game creates - you feel like a part of the action.

The game does have its drawbacks, though. Respawning after a death, while only 20 seconds, can feel like forever - particularly if your base is besieged by the opposition.

The lack of bots - computer controlled opposition - is also a loss particularly in light of their inclusion in Valve’s CounterStrike: Source of 2004. However, this is probably obvious given the complexity of the game, and is also great as you know that every character on the field is prone to human error.

Valve do make sure, despite this, that the game is very easy to get into. During loading, you are constantly presented with tips on how to get the best from characters. A projection screen is automatically played to newcomers to show them the basics of a level, too.

If you want to lose yourself in a cartoon fantasy of violence then Team Fortress 2 is the game for you. However, you can not depend on yourself in this experience and the game’s title explains the emphasis. If your team is acting up, unbalanced or selfish, then you will suffer. Having said this, the framework of the game, combined with the graphics, is enough to stop you from verbally insulting your team-mates and will give you all the fun you could ever want.