As of writing this, it has been one year to the day that I started playing tf2, I thought it appropriate to finally write a review on this wonderful game, as a mile stone of sorts. In one years time, I've accumulated a little more than 3,000 hours. More time than I have sunk into any other game so far. The re-playability of this game is something you rarely see in an average First Person Shooter, and its charm is something that has kept its fanbase happy since the games release in 2007.

Some of the things that set this game apart from its rivals is its unique brand of humor, and its beautiful art style. In interviews with the games creators, it was explained that in development, they drew heavily from the art style of beloved American illustrator, Norman Rockwell. In this well thought out game, there are 9 classes to choose from, each with their own unique weapon arsenal, strengths and weaknesses, and personality. Scout, soldier, pyro, demo, heavy, engineer, medic, sniper, and spy.

Scout being a very frail, fast class with burst damage output at close range, he can also capture control 2 times as fast as the other classes. Soldier having balanced health and mobility, comfortably played in all situations. pyro being of lesser health, and balanced speed, allowing him to flank enemies and ambush them. Demo man with overwhelming damage output, lesser speed, and a fair amount of health. Heavy being the bullet sponge of the game, massive health, slow movement speed, and decent damage output. Engineer with the ability to construct buildings that will help allies, and hinder enemies with area denial. Medic being able to heal team mates back up to full health, sending them back into a fight. Sniper having the devastating ability to pick off enemies from a distance, but having the disadvantage of low health, and normal speed. And lastly the spy, able to become invisible, disguise as enemies, and one hit kill anyone, with the major disadvantage of low health, and close range combat.

When it comes to gameplay, this game is about as balanced as it gets. You start out the game already owning all the best weapons, and you slowly earn, or randomly receive items with different stats, better in one area, worse in another. The fact that everyone is given the most balanced weapons from the start, make this a game heavily based around skill. The hilarity of slapping someone with a fish, a ham, or a frying pan make the game enjoyable for more casual players, where as the mix of good art style, balanced weapons, and numerous tournament modes make it enjoyable for more serious players.

On the topic of serious game play, there are competitive gaming leagues from all over the world hosting tf2 tournaments and events. All with special objectives, rule sets, and banned item lists, making the outcome of each game different.
There are several divisions of skill, so even the best have something to work toward.

The economy of the game is something that has a controversy surrounding it. Although this games target audience is mature, young adults, several children find there way in. With so many children actively participating in a global scale open economy, it can lead to unbalances, unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious circumstances. Hats are what make the TF2 economy go around, everyone wants to find a hat that showcases exactly what they want their character to represent. Finding just the right hat, with just the right color, and possibly a special particle effect, can be rather expensive, making most people pour more money into pixelated headwear than is reasonable.

In the end, this is the most interesting, quirky, an beautiful game I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I recommend it to any gamer, and will continue to enjoy its charm for years to come.

As of writing this, it has been one year to the day that I started playing tf2, I thought it appropriate to finally write a review on this wonderful game, as a mile stone of sorts. In one years time, I've accumulated a little more than 3,000 hours. More time than I have sunk into any other game so far. The re-playability of this game is something you rarely see in an average First Person Shooter, and its charm is something that has kept its fanbase happy since the games release in 2007. Some of the things that set this game apart from its rivals is its unique brand of humor, and its beautiful art style. In interviews with the games creators, it was explained that in development, they drew heavily from the art style of beloved American illustrator, Norman Rockwell. In this well thought out game, there are 9 classes to choose from, each with their own unique weapon arsenal, strengths and weaknesses, and personality. Scout, soldier, pyro, demo, heavy, engineer, medic, sniper, and spy. Scout being a very frail, fast class with burst damage output at close range, he can also capture control 2 times as fast as the other classes. Soldier having balanced health and mobility, comfortably played in all situations. pyro being of lesser health, and balanced speed, allowing him to flank enemies and ambush them. Demo man with overwhelming damage output, lesser speed, and a fair amount of health. Heavy being the bullet sponge of the game, massive health, slow movement speed, and decent damage output. Engineer with the ability to construct buildings that will help allies, and hinder enemies with area denial. Medic being able to heal team mates back up to full health, sending them back into a fight. Sniper having the devastating ability to pick off enemies from a distance, but having the disadvantage of low health, and normal speed. And lastly the spy, able to become invisible, disguise as enemies, and one hit kill anyone, with the major disadvantage of low health, and close range combat. When it comes to gameplay, this game is about as balanced as it gets. You start out the game already owning all the best weapons, and you slowly earn, or randomly receive items with different stats, better in one area, worse in another. The fact that everyone is given the most balanced weapons from the start, make this a game heavily based around skill. The hilarity of slapping someone with a fish, a ham, or a frying pan make the game enjoyable for more casual players, where as the mix of good art style, balanced weapons, and numerous tournament modes make it enjoyable for more serious players. On the topic of serious game play, there are competitive gaming leagues from all over the world hosting tf2 tournaments and events. All with special objectives, rule sets, and banned item lists, making the outcome of each game different. There are several divisions of skill, so even the best have something to work toward. The economy of the game is something that has a controversy surrounding it. Although this games target audience is mature, young adults, several children find there way in. With so many children actively participating in a global scale open economy, it can lead to unbalances, unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious circumstances. Hats are what make the TF2 economy go around, everyone wants to find a hat that showcases exactly what they want their character to represent. Finding just the right hat, with just the right color, and possibly a special particle effect, can be rather expensive, making most people pour more money into pixelated headwear than is reasonable. In the end, this is the most interesting, quirky, an beautiful game I have ever had the pleasure of playing. I recommend it to any gamer, and will continue to enjoy its charm for years to come.