TeamFortress2
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Joystiq hands-on: Team Fortress 2
We know that a lot of you who pre-ordered the game through Steam have already been playing around with the beta version of Team Fortress 2. We just wanted to put this message out to those of you who may still be on the fence. We've been enjoying the beta version of the game for a while now and, to put it mildly, we're extremely impressed.Let us give you the quick version, if you're a complete TFC noob. Two teams, each competing for one objective. Each team is populated by very different classes of characters, each with their own special abilities. Team Fortress Classic is one of the all-time favorite multiplayer shooters, and as 1/3 (or 1/5, depending on your view) of the Orange Box, TF2 is looking to reinvent the game.%Gallery-1634%
TF2: an extended look at the engineer
With the release of The Orange Box fast approaching, we're itching to get all the info we can about its delicious contents. We're probably most excited for the collection's multiplayer offering, Team Fortress 2. So far, we've been enamored of the clever character class videos that Valve has released, but we haven't seen too much focus on how these various classes actually play. Enter Eurogamer, with a video of our personal favorite, the engineer. The video pretty much covers the things you'll be doing as an engineer, namely building things and dropping fools with your shotgun. Unfortunately, Eurogamer doesn't support embedded videos, so you'll have to leave the comfy confines of X3F to view it. We know it can be scary, but we also know that you can do it. Go ahead, click that "read" link. It's not nearly as scary as it seems.
Drool: Orange Box goes gold!
The wait is almost over, as Valve's The Orange Box mega-compilation has gone gold! October 10 is the date to circle on your calendars, as the package (which comes stuffed with Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2) heads to retail that day for both Xbox 360 and PC. The recently delayed PS3 version is still expected to ship a few weeks later. Maybe now the folks at Valve can take a break and finally deal with those Little Sisters.In case you've been living under a rock, The Orange Box will retail for $50 for the PC at retail, with the console variety demanding a bit more from your wallet with a "next-gen price" of $60. Of course, those who pre-purchased the collection over Steam will enjoy an additional 10% cost savings, though it's likely they're too wrapped up in the Team Fortress 2 beta to care.%Gallery-1634%
Take a tour of the Team Fortress 2 maps
Alright, so we're beginning to understand the characters of Team Fortress 2, but what about their environment? In what sorts of places will we be wreaking havoc? A series of videos has been released giving a brief glimpse of each of Team Fortress 2's six maps: Hydro, Gravel Pit, Well, 2 Fort, Granary, and Dust Bowl. Unfortunately, all the videos are done in a grainy, almost black-and-white style that doesn't exactly mesh with YouTube. Hopefully we'll see some high resolution versions of these videos soon. Still, you can get an idea of the layout of each map and the game types available on them. We've embedded the rest of the videos after the break.
Team Fortress 2: Meet the Engineer
We love all of the Team Fortress 2 character videos. We're just going to abandon all journalistic integrity and say that. They are sweet. The latest video in the TF2 character series introduces the Engineer. We never would have guessed that the Engineer had a sensitive side, but he spends the entire video playing the guitar. Then again, that's the joy of being an Engineer, right? You get to set up turrets to do the killing for you, and that's exactly what you'll see in his video. We won't spoil the fun, but suffice it to say that the Engineer's facial expressions are priceless. Watch, laugh, enjoy.Oh, and if you haven't seen them already, be sure to check out the Soldier and Heavy videos.[Via Joystiq]
The Engineer tells his tale in Team Fortress 2 trailer
The Engineer tells how he solves "practical problems" in the continuing series of trailers about the psychopathic characters from Team Fortress 2. If for some strange reason you've missed The Heavy and The Soldier trailers, we've gone ahead and added their videos again after the break for your easy viewing pleasure.Now's a good a time as any to remind people that if you really need to play Team Fortress 2 (and you're a PC owner), all you need to do is pre-purchase The Orange Box on Steam and you can start playing the TF2 beta next week. Although we don't exactly know how, but we hope some of the humor from these trailers translates to the gameplay. Then again, we've gotten used to the possibility of well-designed trailers being more interesting than the games they are for.
Pre-purchase Orange Box on Steam, play TF2 beta next week
Valve announced today that those who pre-purchase this holiday's über-value The Orange Box on Steam will be invited to the Team Fortress 2 beta next week. Beginning Sept. 17, those who bought the game can download and activate the TF2 beta. If that's not enough, Valve will also toss in Peggle Extreme, a special edition of the game that'll have themed Half-Life 2, TF2 and Portal content.Those who purchase The Orange Box before Oct. 10 via Steam also get 10% off the $49.95 price on PC. Meanwhile, the console versions of Orange Box will both be the "next-gen price" of $60 -- although Amazon currently has the Xbox 360 version for $55 as part of a pre-purchase deal. The PS3 version was recently delayed. The PC and Xbox 360 versions of The Orange Box will be ready to peel on Oct. 10.
Loads of new Team Fortress 2 vids
GameVideos has posted a handful of new videos of Team Fortress 2 gameplay. In all, we get to see the engineer, spy, sniper, scout, and soldier doing their thing. We noticed yesterday that the camera can pull away from the player in order to show off an emotion. Seeing these new videos, it has become clear that this is a player controlled action, so you can use it to taunt your living (or dead) opponents whenever you wish. Beyond that, the game plays out as you would expect. You have sixty seconds to prepare before each match, during which time you can select your class and figure out your strategy. The rest is pure mayhem. Our favorite video, embedded above, features the spy infiltrating the enemy base and laying waste to them with his butterfly knife. Everything we've seen of Team Fortress 2 points to good times ahead. Check out three more videos after the break.
Team Fortress gameplay video emerges
After several videos detailing the characters and style of Team Fortress 2, GameVideos has finally uncovered some actual gameplay footage. It is, in short, chaos, and a more wonderful chaos we could not imagine. Throughout the video, we get to see the soldier, medic, spy, sniper, and engineer in action. The game looks to be pretty much non-stop action, with plenty of opponents to go around. In perhaps the most intriguing moment of the video, the camera pulls out to a third person perspective as the engineer laughs at the poor soul he just bludgeoned to death. It doesn't look as though this has any more value than simply rubbing in your kill and pissing off your opponent. Then again, how much more value do you need?
The Orange Box delayed on PS3
Gamespot reports that Valve's Doug Lombardi confirmed to them the PS3 version of über-value The Orange Box will be delayed on PS3 by "a couple weeks." The PC and Xbox 360 versions will move forward with their Oct. 9 release. Wonder if those poor Valve employees still won't be able to play BioShock until the PS3 version is done too. Valve overlords, have a heart and let them play, everyone seems to be getting stuck on these delays -- for real, no joke.Per the usual of all these PS3 delay announcements, Valve would not identify the reason for the delay, the game is being ported by EA. Lombardi also wouldn't talk about a specific date, he merely let the "couple weeks" quote float out there. Hopefully Sony can craft some message to explain these delays away, maybe it'll be the first memo by Karraker's replacment.
Halo Wars and TF2 videos on XBLM
A new day brings some new Xbox Live Marketplace content, and while we don't have any new demos to enjoy, there are some decent videos. The first video is the Halo Wars walk-through that was supposed to go up earlier this week. If you haven't already seen it on the intertubes, it's definitely worth checking out. The second video has also already been seen on the web, though it's probably worth watching in hi-def with some popcorn on the couch. We are talking, of course, about the Team Fortress 2 video featuring the soldier. We said it before and we'll say it again: comedy gold. Download both videos at your earliest convenience, but please, watch responsibly.
The Soldier talks to the troops in Team Fortress 2 video
Hilarious and slightly disturbing, The Soldier video for Team Fortress 2, the game bundled with The Orange Box, makes us laugh in that uncomfortable way. Not cute like "The Heavy" video, this clip of The Soldier is just a little bit darker. Team Fortress 2 through brilliant marketing is really turning into the game we've become excited about in The Orange Box. Sure it'll probably be just another frag-fest that the average person won't stand a chance in, but it's oozing with dark charm.The Orange Box continues to be the value bundle of the year. With Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 -- that's a lot of value in a little box, especially if you've never played Half-Life 2. We're definitely looking forward to seeing more of these clips, even if we don't think we'll stand a chance in an online match with the actual game.%Gallery-1634%
Valve staffer: Modders setting bar too high
There have historically been few companies more supportive of the modding scene than Valve. Now, in a new interview with ShackNews, two Valve designers are giving advice to what many perceive to be an ailing mod community. John Morello, an animate and designer at the company, insists that the problem stems from modders thinking too big."Mod developers are setting the bar higher than people require--a fun game is a fun game," he said. "I honestly don't think the community is setting the higher standards as much as the mod developers themselves." While that may be true, when Morello begins talking about the Team Fortress 2 design crew being comprised almost entirely of former modders, one can't help but wonder if the mod scene might in some way also be suffering from its best and brightest being recruited away. What do you think? Have you downloaded a good mod recently? Have you ever tried to make one yourself?
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 30
Finally, after a long E3-related hiatus, PSP Fanboy Theatre is back with an all new edition. Every weekend, PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.)New for PSP: Get selected videos delivered automatically to your PSP via our new RSS feed. Legend of the Heavenly Sword: Part 2Download MP4 (13.1MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: Folklore (PS3), Jericho, Stranglehold, Team Fortress 2, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.
Video: design philosophy of Team Fortress 2
We are all about Team Fortress 2 here at X3F. While we certainly look forward to the classic gameplay, there can be no doubt that its luscious visual style is a big draw. The above video from Gamersyde shows off just how much work goes into all the environments and characters of Team Fortress 2. The team at Valve drew their inspiration from commercial drawings of the early 20th century. Hell, they even mention the work of Hayao Miyazaki as an influence. One of the overall goals of the design process was to make every character unique and easy to identify at a distance. With this in mind, the team set about creating unique color schemes and silhouettes for each character. There are also lots of technical elements discussed in the video. We're not really sure what a Phong highlight is, but if it makes Team Fortress 2 this pretty, we really don't care.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
The Orange Box gets a much needed makeover
Ever since we laid our eyes on the Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover art we have been a little perplexed by its simplistic design. The cover art featured a mostly orange background with white text explaining the contents and that was about it. We accepted the cover though and never made a fuss. But now it looks like Valve has had a change of heart and design philosophy. TeamXbox is reporting that Valve decided to re-design the Orange Box cover and now it actually features artwork! Indeed, it shows off beautiful Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal artwork! We're glad to see Valve add more art to the cover art and spiffy up the Orange Box, because it really looks good. Check out TeamXbox's supplied Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover viewable after the break.
TF2 devs play cross-platform, but you won't
So, Shacknews posted a lengthy preview of Team Fortress 2. At first, everything was normal, no different than what we expected. Multiple classes, fun gametypes, cool maps, protestations that the Medic is fun to play: everything was copacetic. According to the review, Team Fortress 2 will not feature cross-platform play. That's all well and good, except Valve -- developer of the PC and Xbox 360 versions (EA UK is handling the PS3 version) -- "regularly play cross-platform multiplayer games." Why then, are we denied such pleasure? According to Valve's Doug Lombardi, it "introduces more problems than it is worth." He further notes that Valve would only implement cross-platform play in a title that was designed for it from the start.Ah well, looks like we'll have to be satisfied with fragging fellow 360 fanboys.[Via Joystiq]
Valve: our downloadable content will be free
When perusing our comment threads, you may see comments from Team Fortress 2 fans that will be opting for the PC version over the 360 version? Why? Lots of free content. Specifically, lots of free user-made content. While it may be some time before user-made content heads to the 360, we are happy to report that any downloadable content for the Orange Box will be free. Eurogamer reports that Valve will not charge for its DLC. According to Team Fortress 2 designer, Robin Walker, "You buy the product, you get the content," who adds, "We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers." We imagine that someone at EA -- publisher of the Orange Box -- has just imploded. Free content is always good, especially when you consider that TF2 will ship with only 6 maps.[Via Joystiq]
Team Fortress 2 classes get broken down
It seems Team Fortress 2 is fast becoming the best reason to own the Half-Life 2 Orange Box. In every preview of the game, various outlets are describing it as the most outstanding feature of the entertainment-packed package. With some particularly impressive visuals and reportedly rock-solid gameplay to boot, it's easy to see why. IGN recently got their turn to try out Team Fortress 2 and have done us the favor of breaking down every single character class in the game. With 9 classes from which to choose, finding your favorite might be a difficult task, especially considering that the support classes are actually fun to play.Honestly, we're torn so many ways we don't know what to think. Do we pick the Demoman and his sticky bombs, the Pyro and his flamethrower, or the Engineer and his deadly turrets? What about the chameleon-like Spy, or the cool-as-nails Sniper, or the well-rounded Soldier? Of course, there is the Medic, who's capable of making players and himself briefly invulnerable, and there's the Scout, who can change direction mid-jump. Then again, there's always the Heavy Weapons Guy ... and his beloved Sasha.Who's your favorite so far?%Gallery-3424%
Team Fortress 2 shaping up nicely
Eurogamer got to try their hand at Valve's upcoming Team Fortress 2, and they came away impressed. In particular, Eurogamer notes that the developers of Team Fortress 2 have gone a long way towards solving problems with good art direction. For example, when using a spy to infiltrate the enemy base, you can physically change your appearance to look like any enemy class. Rather than have your own team see an icon over your head representing this, they will see a spy wearing the appropriate mask. This is both visually interesting and solves the problem accordingly.Also mentioned in the preview, each class has several defining characteristics that make them fun to play. For instance, wrench kills with the Engineer give bonuses to build speed, though they also put you in harm's way. Like Snipers? If you stay zoomed in for a few seconds before you make the shot, you cause more damage, but you also risk someone sneaking up on you. Each class has these trade-offs that increase tension and entertainment.Honestly, with the campy art style and seemingly endless variety, Team Fortress 2 just may sway a few players from the juggernaut that is Halo 3. Hit the "read" link for the full preview.[Via Evil Avatar]
