"A Great Shooter that finally strays away from ultra-realism"

I heard about this game over a year ago and couldn't wait to play it since. So I bought Team Fortress Classic to tide me over and get me used to the way it plays. Then I waited. I know some people have waited for over a decade for this game and I would hate to wait that long for this masterpiece, too. Well, it finally arrived and now we get to play it! I immediately scavenged for money to pre-order The Orange Box on Steam to play the beta. I've been playing it for weeks and it's still fun.

Sound: 9/10
When playing the game, the gun sounds are good and easily distinguishable between the classes. The sounds are appropriate for the power. When the Heavy is firing off his Chain Gun you know that it isn't good to get in his line of fire. When a Sentry Turret is firing, the sound is unmistakable. You hear that as a scout are your immediate reaction is to get the hell out of there. There are taunts, battle cries, and voice commands for each character. The taunts and battle cries are a nice touch. Nothing feels better than walking in as a Heavy while continually yelling out, "Cry some more!" And taunting your latest kill after whacking him in the head with a bat feels awesome. The commands are clear, fit the characters and have a certain charm.

Graphics: 9/10
If you have been following the games development after they announced that they're using a Pixar Cartoon style, you know that the forums were abuzz with complaints on how Team Fortress is a gritty, military game, not a cartoon. And that it won't express how it feels properly. Well, the game came out and they can go shove their complaints up their... sorry. Anyway, the game's graphics fit the feel of the game better than a realistic approach would have. The game is not realistic. It's an un-realistic, comedic game. I'm sure they build bases 50 meters from each other in real life. The game has somewhat of a dark humor feel. You shouldn't laugh at people getting blown to smithereens but they way the game portrays everything is just funny. The characters look great too. When you put the spy and heavy side by side, you know the spy will take less hits than the Heavy. You know what everything does just by looking at it. The medic doesn't carry a med pack but a med gun. One look at the beam with its medical crosses and you know what it is doing. The medic can characters invulnerable for a short time when he has enough charge. When he does the characters become shiny and are completely covered in either red or blue for the team. When you see this you know not to charge them. The blood effects and gibs also look great. They have the same cartoony feel.

Gameplay: 10/10
The most important part. The game play is awesome. This isn't just a Source Engine port of TFC, it's a sequel. The game composes of Capture the Flag, Territorial Control, or Control Point game modes. All of the games modes are fun to play. If you ever get bored of one mode you might just have a craving for another mode. The game also composed of 9 classes to play with. The Heavy, the Medic, the Spy, the Pyro, the Soldier, the Demoman, the Engineer, the Sniper, and my favorite, the Scout. All of them have their uses and you'll never be a class that is completely useless to the team. Every class has their uses. A Spy can completely obliterate a turret defense set up by an Enginner who's turrets stopped the team's advance. Then a Heavy comes in on a killing spree while being kept alive by a Medic but then it's stopped by a Sniper killing him with a headshot. A Scout then rushes the Sniper being too fast to get a target on and kills the Sniper then goes for the flag and is ambushed by a Pryo who can kill people almost instantly in close quarters. The Pryo goes outside to be blown up by Soldier's rocket. The Soldier then goes in to be blown up by a Demoman's sticky grenades. As you can see they all have their uses.

Content: 8/10
The game doesn't have many maps now. Only around 6. But, the community is already churning out maps. And these aren't half-assed maps. These custom-maps are fun to play. It won't be soon before they remake some Team Fortress Classic maps. Heres to hoping for a mooncheese and hunted remake.

Overall: 10/10
Overall, the game is a satisfying experience. I would highly recommend it. Go out, buy the Orange Box and play some Team Fortress 2. You won't be dissapointed. Unless you're weird.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07