No. I have not woken in a puddle of my own urine.
You'll be pleased to know that not
every post i make on this blog will contain a depressing cross-section of self-analysis. For instance, today i write to inform you of my positive hysteria over a brand-new update for one of my favourite games, Team Fortress 2!!
Don't know what TF2 is? I shall shed some light. If you do, then scroll away 'til you see the glorious blue flames!
Team Fortress 2 is a team-objective based multiplayer shooter available for the PC (and in a very... modest form on consoles as well, as part of the
Orange Box), and it's free to play, so you should start.
Right now. The game see's you donning your mouse and keyboard to take on an enemy team to complete a number of different tasks, some of which are well known, such as capture-the-flag, and others which are not so well known, such as payload-escort maps that see one team push a mine cart containing a huge explosive into the enemy base (if they can.)
You can play as one of nine different classes in TF2 (pictured above):
- The Soldier - Using his rocket launcher to damage multiple enemies, the soldier, while a little timid in his stride, is a great starting point for new players. But remember to shoot at your enemies feet to increase your chances of landing a hit, and in some cases lending them a nice bouncy rocket trampoline that's sure to hurt their ankles when they land!
- The Scout - Quick-paced and blessed with the ability to jump while in mid-air; the scout, while delicate, is great for harrassing the enemy team. Be it by flanking and attacking from behind, or simply jumping into an opponents face and giving them a good lead-based makeover with your shotgun, after which your unmatched speed will allow you to make your escape before going back in to do it again!
- The Demoman - The demoman is one of the more strategic, skill based classes, or at least he can be when used as an attacking class. For the most part the demoman is a great defensive class thanks to his sticky bombs, which can be stuck to any surface and detonated at will, place them out of sight to surprise your opponents and deal huge amounts of damage!
- The Pyro - Nothing much need be said about the pyro (who happens to be the subject of this weeks update!) just click the mouse button and charge at your enemies!! The pyros flamethrower deals massive damage up close so try to ambush enemies for the best chance of making your opponents nice and crispy.
- The Engineer -Essential when there's a long distance between the spawn-room and the front line. The engineer can build a number of items to aid their team, including a teleport which can be used to make the journety instantaneous, to protect their teleport engineers can build autonomous sentry guns to keep enemies at a distance if they dont want to become walking colanders.
- The Heavy - Slow in motion but a heavy hitter when he winds up his minigun, he makes a deadly companion when teamed up with...
- The Medic - Often the deciding factor in any given game, the medic can heal his teammates and help move a game forward by ubercharging a teammate. An ubercharge grants the player and whomever they are healing a few seconds of invulnerability which doesn't sound like much, but it can make all the difference.
- The Spy - Arguably the most difficult class to play as, but certainly the most rewarding when played well. The spy can disguise himself as a member of the other team to take down enemy fortifications and players with a simple stab in the back. It sounds simple, but once you try it in game, you'll find this is definitely not the case!
You can find out more out more about each of the classes
here. (For different classes click the icons underneath the "Select a Class!" banner) and be sure to watch the "Meet the Team" videos for an insight into the more comedic side of the game! You can find all the videos and a few more on
this page.
There's plenty more i could tell you about TF2, but at it's most basic level, that is all you need to know to get started.
Now for the matter in hand, a new update!
Updates are a huge part of what makes Team Fortress 2 great. The game originally came out in October of 2007, since then there have been almost three hundred updates, some more significant than others. For instance, over the years we have seen an update for each of the classes, giving them brand new weapons to play with that will often introduce brand new strategies, keeping the game fresh and interesting. New maps, game modes and weapons have been added to the game over the last five years, and the best part of these updates is that they are all free!
If you want to see a few of these updates then follow
this link. I recommend reading up on the
Classless Update if you wish to understand why Team Fortress 2 is now often referred to as a "war-themed hat simulator".
Now, on to the main event:
Another Update!
If you are new to team fortress and you checked out the "Meet the Team"
videos, you'll have noticed that one class has a video conspicuously
absent. The Pyro.
Tomorrow the wait will finally be over for every class to have a hilarious introduction video and according to the website, they've saved the best til last. I cannot wait!
In the meantime, as is customary with a significant update, we have a number of days of hype-building to get through (thankfully in this case it's only two.)
The first day has seen us introduced to a brand new map featuring a brand-new game mode! The page really doesn't give much away about how this new mode will play out, beside the fact that it will culminate in a rocket launch.
In just a few hours Day 2 will be unveiled, but before that be sure to click on the banana peel at the bottom of the main page!
