First person shooter games in general, have always been one of the best online experiences with games that one can get. Fromgames like Counter-Strike to Quake 3, these games have been cherished by online gamers ever since their birth, December 10th 1993, the release date of Doom. But despite their awesomeness these games can get quite boring after a while, always the same process, respawn, grab a weapon or two, maybe get a few frags, dying, respawning again. After countless cycles of this, one can get quite fed up with it all. This dilemma however, is solved by Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress 2 is a first person shooter game that is based off of a class system. There are a wopping 9 classes to choose from. And to make things even more diverse, each of the classes has at least 3 different weapons to choose from. This solves the problem of boredom after playing the same thing over and over. In this game, if you get bored of one class, you can merely switch to another. All it takes is press of a button to bring up the class selection screen, and another press to choose which class you want. Another important aspect of this game, is that almost everything is team based. Each class can work well together if played right. These 9 classes are broken up into 3 types, Offence, Defence, and Support. From Offence, there are the Scout, the Soldier, and the Pyro. In Defense, the Demoman, the Heavy, and the Engineer. Finally in Support, there are the Medic, the Sniper, and the Spy.
The Scout is the class with the least health, but makes up for it with his extremely fast speed, and ability to double jump. This is a very important class if you are playing in one of the various modes of gameplay that involves capturing command points. The Scout can capture command points at double the speed of any class. He wields a sawed-off shotgun, a pistol, and a baseball bat. Another great thing about this game is that the managed to integrate unlockables into this first person shooter. The scout for example, after completing a few achievments, can choose to change the type of shotgun he wields, or instead of a pistol, wield an energy drink, that allows him to dodge any amount of damage he might sustain. A noticeable feature of this character is that he is from Boston, and likes baseball.
The Soldier is another offensive class, however he is quite different from the Scout in terms of health and speed. Having the second most health out of all the characters in the game, this slow moving unit wields a rocket launcher, a shotgun, and a shovel. The Soldier is excellent for clearing enemies that are bunched together as his rocket does damage in an area. This class does not yet have unlockables, but will for sure soon have some. A noticeable trait about this character, is his ability to rocket jump. What this is, is pretty much shooting the ground while jumping. By doing this the Soldier is able to propel himself higher than normal, and reach places that perhaps not even the Scout could reach.
The final Offensive class is the Pyro. Having a considerable amount of health, as well as a normal movement speed, the Pyro is quite an easy class to play. The Pyro wields a flamethrower, a shotgun, and a fireman's axe. The reason this class is so easy to play is quite simple, the only thing you need to do is get close to your enemies, and flame then with your flamethrower. This causes the player you are attacking to not only sustain damage while you attack them, but sustain additional burning damage as they are on fire. Unlockables were in fact released for this class, who can unlock a flamethrower that does additional damage from behind the enemy, a gun that shoots flares that set people on fire, or a special axe that does additional damage to players who are on fire. A noticeable trait about this character is his inability to be understood. As he has a mask on it is almost impossible to understand what is being said by him.
One of the defensive classes in this game is the Engineer. He is the most defensive of the defensive classes, and has quite low health and moderate moving speed. His most notable ability is the ability to build. The Engineer can set up 4 different buildings to assist his teammates. The first and most important is the Sentry Gun. Once it is set up, it will fire upon any enemy that it spots within it's range. It is one of the most powerful forces in the game, and can take down any class within seconds. Like the rest of the buildings, it has three levels an can be upgraded by the Engineer. The Engineer wields 5 different items, a shotgun, a pistol, a wrech, a computer for building, and a computer for detonating buildings. With the wrench the engineer can accelerate the rate at which his buildings are automatically built, hit enemy players, and upgrade his buildings. The other buildings are teleporter entrances and exits, which allow the team to be transported over large distances instantly, and the dispenser, which restores the teams health and ammo.
Another defensive class, is the Demoman. He is much like the pyro in terms of health and speed and his the concept is pretty simple: explode stuff. The Demoman wields two types of grenade launchers, a pipe bomb launcher, and a sticky bomb launcher. He is also has a bottle of booze, which can break open upon impact. The stick bombs can be remotely detonated which makes them great for planting on points where you expect enemies to come out of. This class is also excellent for taking out the buidling created by Engineers. A notable thing about the Demoman is that he is a " Black Scottish Cylclops" as he describes himself. He wears an eyepatch and speaks with a scottish accent
The last defense class is the Heavy. The Heavy, or Heavy Weapons Guy, is the slowest of all classes, but also has the largest amount of health. He wields a Minigun, a Shotgun, and uses his Fists when needed. This is basically the ultimate class in terms of firepower. The gun he wields "Fires 200$ custom made cartridges at 1000 rounds per minute" as he says. There are unlockables available for this class, including a Minigun that slows targets upon impact, a Sandwich that restores health, and Boxing Gloves. A notable thing about this characters is that he is Russian, and many of the achievments available to him have to do with the Soviets.
The first support class covered is the Medic. This is the ultimate support class, who runs faster than moderate, and has low health. However he makes up for his low health with his ability to heal fellow teammates health. Wielding a MediGun, a Needle Gun, and a Bone Saw, the medic can usually be seen accompanying a heavy or soldier, healing them as they go along. The thing about Medic that makes him so important is his ability to use something called an übercharge. What this does is drains the "über meter" which is filled by healing teammates, and it makes the medic and whoever he is targeting invincible for a small amount of time. This can be used in a variety of ways depending on which class is übered.There are unlockables available for this class like a MediGun that grants the person being healed additional damage instead of invincibility, or a Needle Gun that drains health, or a saw that fills the über meter. A notable characteristic about this class, is the fact that he is German, and speaks German various times.
Another support class is the Sniper. All players of first person shooters should be familiar with this type of character, moderate speed and low health. But the Sniper has an extremely important role in team play. Wiedling a sniper rifle, submachine gun, and a Machete, the Sniper is the perfect long range class. He can sit at the back of the map and pick of big enemies, like heavies, or soldiers, and in some cases, other Snipers.There are no unlockables available for this class. Once someone becomes quite skilled at this class, they become a very important player on team. They can take out enemies that are preventing team mates from accomplishing objectives. A notable characteristic is the fact that the Sniper is Australian. He speaks with an Australian accent, and uses Australian words like "mate" and such.
The final, and my personal favorite support class is the Spy. This is the most hunted and feared class according to some and is quite difficult to play as. With low health, and moderate movement speed, the Spy wields 4 items to choose from. A revolver, an electro sapper, a butterfly knife, and a disguise kit. The Disguise kit is the most important aspect of the spy. The Spy is able to disguise himself as one of the opposing team. This allows him to sneak by, but most importantly, take out Engineer's Sentry Guns. By placing an electro sapper, the Spy can quickly take out Sentry Guns, as well as other buildings. Another important aspect of the Spy is his ability to go invisible, useful for sneaking by enemies and placing himself to blend in with them. Another thing is that the Spy can instantly kill any class by stabbing them in the back with the knife. No unlockables have been released for this class yet.
So, whether its the games cartoony looking graphics, great sound affects, or diverse class system, it is still one of the best multiplayer first person shooter experiences out there. It is everything an online game should be.