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Team Fortress 2
Author: Joe MartinPublished: 10th October 2007
Now, a presentation...
Now that the obvious things are out of the way, it’s time we talk about some of the little things and tweaks which you might not have heard of.One of the things which I really like about Team Fortress 2 is the way that it charts and monitors your gameplay in a number of different ways, drawing n00b players in and encouraging them to learn how to play better.
The most obvious way that this is done is via the loading screen for any map, which appears as a performance card tracking your play history. It lists not only how much time you have spent as each class, but also your kill record for each character and a load of other information which is handy for learning your weakspots.
Deaths are informative in Team Fortress 2 as well, and after you’ve been killed then the camera will zoom in and freeze-frame on the player who killed you so you can see who got you and how. You can then choose to ‘save this moment’ by pressing F5 to grab a screenshot of your death.
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At the same time, the monitoring system will tell you who killed you. Get killed enough by the same player and that person will be declared your nemesis, earning you a special Revenge Kill if you manage to get them back in your next life. It’s something so incredibly simple that it could easily be overlooked, but it brings an enormous sense of personality to the game and makes even anonymous, randomly chosen matches start to brim with friendly competition.
Finally, the monitoring system also does its best to keep things light and fun by offering you a “Look on the bright-side” message when your clogs get inevitably popped. This means that the game will tell you that you’ve survived longer this round than before, or that you’ve got more kill assists with this class, etc.
The news is helpful and different each time, which is keeping with the fun, Mickey-Mouse-spin which has been plastered all over this team-based slaughterfest.
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The game also uses this cartoon feel to help give it more of a camp tongue in cheek feel, akin to No One Lives Forever, XIII or an Austin Powers film. Each map starts off with an introduction relayed to players via a slideshow presentation and players are quickly told the server rules, map objectives and the like. Then you have a choice between three toilet doors, one for each team and a third for letting the game auto-choose, all of which lead to a class selection menu which is laid out in a similar style.
The levels too have been redesigned to fit with this new comic-book theme and although there are only a handful of maps initially available, each of them is excellently done. The cold, muted colours of previous Team Fortress games have been removed and that palette has since been replaced with a richer, deeply vibrant set of hues which would most typically be found in the bedroom of any interior decorator worth their salt. But that’s a good thing and it really helps Team Fortress 2 feel like a more fun game to play.
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