Valve has just released the latest update to the PC version of Team Fortress 2, adding the new gameplay mode known as Payload—which is playable on the new map Gold Rush—plus three new weapons for the Medic and 36 new Medic-specific achievements. Steam users can get the update now.

If you're not currently a TF2 devotee, you can enjoy a free weekend starting Friday at noon PDT. Valve has crafted a handy Gold Rush update specific page, with details on the three dozen Medic achievements.

Team Fortress 2 Goldrush Update [Valve]

Look, I'm very sorry about not having readied a What Are You Playing This Weekend? post this past Friday. Thank the Lord for Superman and Owen Good, since the latter of the two polled you on your shameful gaming experiences. I do have a good excuse though, as I was locked in a room with my boss, frantically attempting to defeat the colossus that is Grand Theft Auto IV over the course of five days. Even after a thumb-crushing GTA IV marathon, I still found the time to play a little Team Fortress 2, something that didn't put too much strain on my wonderfully opposable digit.

Yes, it really does hurt. Sad, really. Once the pain subsides, I can revisit GTA Vice City (which I never finished) and play some Lost Planet: Colonies. For now, let's have it. What did you play this weekend?

Trailer: Meet the Scout

Valve had a nice little gathering of souls last night at Blondie's Bar and No Grill here in SF to show of the new Team Fortress 2 map, Goldrush. If you are reading this, you are probably a big Team Fortress 2 fan, so I'll skip explanations of the game and dive right into the details.

First of all, I loved the look of it. The name certainly describes what the map was like, looking like something out of Disney's Big Thunder Mountain railroad ride. Lots of wooden structures, water towers and mine car tracks. But the map isn't just a new area, it also features a new gameplay type called Payload. Basically how it works is this: the map has three separate areas and players are split into offensive and defensive teams. The goal of the offensive team is to push a mine cart loaded with explosives through the map, capturing the defensive team's bases as they go. The cart moves faster depending on how many people are surrounding it and leaving it unattended will cause it to start rolling back towards the beginning again. The other team of course, tries to stop the payload from reaching it's goal.

The map wasn't the only thing going however. We were also privy to the new item system that will be instituted with the next update. This also ties in with the thirty six new achievements for the Medic class. By gathering some or all of the new achievements, you can gain three new unique items. One third of the achievements will net you The Blutauger, a new syringe gun. This weapon does not give critical damage, but instead sucks health from the enemy on impact. Earn two thirds of the achievements and you will get The Critzcrieg, a new medigun that will rapid fire critical rockets. Getting all the achievements will see you receiving The Ubersaw which takes melee combat damage and converts it into Ubercharge. Four direct hits with it will charge up whatever Medigun your Medic has currently equipped.

Team Fortress fans are going to have a field day with this new map and if you want to get all those new weapons (and I know you do) take a gander at all 36 achievements after the jump!

Someone stuck this on reddit an hour ago — can't find the source, but love the filename: OH HAI. Indeed. That looks like at least half-a-dozen sentinel guns, and Engineer's enjoying his beer.

Good ole Engie. And just to justify this so-win picture, Machinima has an excellent video on how to play him in Team Fortress 2, including a sequence on playing him offensively. I mean, on offense. He's definitely playing offensively in that shot above.

How to Play the Engineer [Machinima.com, by EvilDaedalus]

Update: Reader Andrew "Duderman" Macintosh (commenter dudenextdoor00) claims responsibility for this picture. Nice job! Original is here.

According to a report from Shacknews, the PC version of Team Fortress 2 will see a major update in April, including the previously discussed new gameplay type, Payload, will arrive with the new map "Goldrush." In addition, the Medic may be getting his new weapon, the first of the new unlockable items.

In even better news that fans of achievements in awesomeness will appreciate, the "Meet The Scout" cinematic is confirmed for an April release, joining the Engineer, Heavy, Demo Man and Soldier. Shacknews says it will arrive on or about the April 20 game update, but we've heard previously that it will arrive some time next week. Given Valve's well known tardiness, we would put our money on it debuting later. But we're keeping hope alive.

New Team Fortress 2 Content Scheduled for Mid-April; Includes Goldrush, New Weapons, Meet The Scout [Shacknews]

Team Fortress DLC Price Is Up To Microsoft And Sony

Recently, Valve went on record saying that they'd like their upcoming Team Fortress 2 map pack to be free on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but admitted that such a situation might not be possible. Many wondered if this uncertain future was the result of EA meddling or interference from the platform holders themselves.

We contacted Valve to clarify and their VP of marketing Doug Lombardi informed us that, "The platform holder owns the final call." So just as we'd suspected, whether or not we see these maps for free is indeed up to Sony and Microsoft.

Valve Price, Show Off Remnants Of The Orange Box

Didn't make it to this year's Game Developers Conference? If you were particularly excited about attending some of Valve's various sessions, you can virtually attend through the power of the PDF. The house of Half-Life, Portal and Counter-Strike has released the slides from its four GDC presentations which cover all aspects of The Orange Box. The presentations "Integrating Narrative and Design: A Portal Post-Mortem" and "Stylization With a Purpose: The Illustrative World of Team Fortress 2" may be the most layman friendly, giving regular folk a look beyond The Orange Box's developer commentary. All four are worth a peek at the very least.

Valve Publications [Valve via GameSetWatch]

Valve Wants Team Fortress 2 Maps Free On Consoles

...for free, definitely, as much as we can. You know, we don't have full say over that, but we have some say over how that works.

TF2 Plushies Inbound

Reminder! PC gamers looking for a batch of fresh content for Team Fortress 2 ought to log in to their Steam accounts, as the promised update for the team-based shooter has arrived. That shot above? That's the new map Badlands, something I desperately want to play right now. Unfortunately, with NPD Group sales data arriving any minute now, plus a Valentine's Day dinner to cook and a billion other things to do, I'll have to wait a bit longer than the rest of you. Have fun!

Valve has its own Team Fortress 2 Valentine's Day gift planned for fans, a Whitman's Sampler of a Steam patch that brings with it new map "Badlands" and a slew of tweaks, changes and bug fixes. There's some general housekeeping being done with SourceTV and the Source Engine itself, but the patch makes changes that should affect gameplay on popular maps like Dustbowl, as well as fun updates like "Added flamethrower 'sizzle' sound when the Pyro is hitting a target."

These updates are for the PC version only, with no new information on when Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 The Orange Box owners can expect their goodies. Interested parties can read up on all the changes that are sure to be the bane of TF2 players' girlfriends at the official site.

Updates for TF2, Source Engine, SourceTV Coming Tomorrow [Steam]

We featured artist Alexandria Neonakis' art last Valentine's Day, but her new series, bringing the best of romantic hokeyness to Team Fortress 2, is even more deserving of some special attention. If you've found yourself without a V-Day card to your name, fire up the old color inkjet and print out one of her five beautifully rendered cards that feature the Scout, Spy, Heavy, Pyro and Medic, famous for their appearances in Valve's The Orange Box. Amazing how Team Fortress 2 seems applicable to so many holidays.

If you're more of a World of Warcraft, Shadow of the Colossus or Katamari Damacy romantic type, those Valentines are still available.

Art [Nuts N' Beavers - thanks, Tobias!]

Zero Punctuation Plus A Touching Love Story

Zero Punctuation [the escapist]

EA Splits Up Orange Box For Retail

If you're one of the five PC gamers on the planet who didn't suck it up and join Steam in order snag the contents of The Orange Box individually rather than go for the total package, you're in luck. During yesterday's conference call to investors, EA revealed plans to deliver Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 to retail shelves individually by March. No details on the pricing, but VideoGamer.com's suggestion that they would stay in line with current Steam prices seems like a sound one. I firmly believe that $50-60 for a chance to play through the sublime goodness of Portal alone was well worth the price, so a potential $19.99 is a steal, though let's face it...if you haven't played through Portal yet and your PC is fully capable there is something seriously wrong with you.

Orange Box contents to be separated at retail [VideoGamer.com]