Kotaku: Team Fortress 2

Get Blood on Your Suit With the Spy

Owen Good — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:00:00 MDT

While we're waiting for the real Spy updates and unlockables (and not fakes which momentarily fooled even Valve) OMFGNinja.com has gone and created an amazingly deep three-part advanced tutorial on how to play the Spy. It is mesmerizing, and showcases how any character in this game, with enough skill and planning, can become downright unstoppable. The leaping backstabs in part one, above, are jaw-dropping. The other two videos are at OMFGNinja, so follow the link and give them some credit. Youtube resolution sucks, but you get the idea of what the character class can do.

Advanced Spy Tutorial [OMFGNinja]

TF2 + Legos = Amazle

Owen Good — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:00:00 MDT

Swear, I don't have a sentry gun fetish. Although it would be cool to meet a girl who did (I don't judge). Last week we churned up a video of a guy who developed a paintball sentry, and now reader Mohammed I. passes along a less functional, but no less impressive version: A Lego Sentry. Props to the builder, and especially for the game-screen render around it. Seriously, new desktop pic. It's a work of art and should stand for all time. Until some bastard-ass Spy whips up a Lego sapper.

Team Fortress 2 Sentry [Lair of the Legomancer, via Shift Gamer, thanks reader Mohammed]

Sweet Pyro Costume from Down Under

Owen Good — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:00:00 MDT

Reader Paul from Australia sends in this pic (and two others) of his homebrewed homage to Pyro from Team Fortress 2. Naturally, because this is how my mind works, I thought "well if Pyro is a female character, this dude is running around in girls' clothes." I kid! I keeeed! The mask is right on, but the suit's not the same texture as Pyro's rubberized get-up, which in addition to being expensive would also look like fetish gear. What. What?!

No really, I think I have a strange form of Tourette's, that causes me to blurt out wildly inappropriate, if not profane, things. Fahey and Leigh can attest to that. So can my girlfriend from my senior year of high school. We saw "Ghost" on a date and, while she was crying during the scene where Patrick Swayze possesses the mystic's body so he can hold his wife one last time, I leaned in close to whisper, "You know, what's really going on here, is Demi Moore is actually dancing with and kissing Whoopi Goldberg." And I wondered why I was a teenage virgin.

Wow, that was a digression. Hit the jump for the images.

Paul also advises that it's available for sale if you want to buy it. You can e-mail him, just be sure to remove the ATs and DOTs.

Some Guy Went and Built a Sentry Gun

Owen Good — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:00:00 MDT

No, he didn't assemble it by whacking a large wrench against a pile of parts either. But this guy is a serious engineer, cooking up an auto-fire paintball sentry gun. And although this isn't necessarily gameplay footage, you can watch as some poor test subject wearing a BMX helmet gets pounded in several tests. So I'm gonna say its germane because, shit, it's Sunday, and sentries are a treasured friend/loathsome foe in Team Fortress 2, Perfect Dark, and other games. And this is PC gaming, if getting shot to shit by a PC is a game.

Note that this weapon is not being fired by remote control. It's recognizing moving objects and firing on them automatically. The distraction test is a pretty good measure of its abilities.

Of course, having the laptop that operates it right next to it probably would not do well in a real firefight. Maybe it'd be a good burglar-blaster, but then, forget your keys, step in the door, and you're taking a paintbath in the living room.

The Best Team Fortress 2 Dispenser Case Mod We've Ever Seen

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:40:47 MDT

The last Team Fortress 2 themed PC case mod we featured, one built to look like the Engineer's sentry gun, was as ludicrous as it was impressive. Hardware modder extraordinaire Ton "TiTON" Khodee has done it again, slipping the guts of a highly capable PC into a case that apes the Engie's dispenser. It's adorable.

Sure, having this kind of stuff sitting around your house might frighten the majority of visitors, but with the mounds of internet glory that await its creator, being shunned by your peers is a small price to pay. Bit-Tech has an extensive walk-through on the dispenser's creation, something we definitely recommend giving some eyeball time.

Team Fortress 2 Dispenser Mod [Bit-Tech]

Next TF2 Update Is A Pretty Heavy Endeavor

Mike Fahey — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:20:00 MDT

And so the rumors of a possible Scout class upgrade coming up next dissolve in a hail of mini-gun bullets as the newly-created Official Team Fortress 2 Blog discusses upcoming changes to the Heavy, every Medic's best friend. In designer Robin Walker's highly informative post he explores the process behind updating a Team Fortress 2 class in great detail, starting with the overall goal of making the Heavy more viable as a standalone, non-Medicated class.

From there he explores the process of achieving that goal, including constraints (will the changes overpower the Heavy/Medic team?), entertainment value (will the new tools be interesting?), and weighing the changes against the basic skillset of a successful Heavy. It's an intriguing look into the process behind making Team Fortress 2 a better game, and a great read overall.

A Heavy Problem [TF2 Official Blog - Thanks Overcow!]

Team Fortress Trading Cards: Collect All Two

Owen Good — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:00:00 MDT

Over on Valve's official TF2 blog are the fronts and backs to two trading cards built for promotional uses but never used. Valve promises more updates as time goes on, so all you get now are Engineer and Demoman. They're filled with fun facts. Engie's bio says he has "11 hard science PhDs." Jesus. I can only think of, like, four off the top of my head. And Demoman lost his parents thanks to "a terrible plan to kill the Loch Ness Monster."

Doesn't Scout carry a bat? Seems he'd be obvious for the first batch. Hi res cards after the jump, or you can go get 'em from TeamFortress.com directly.

TF2 Trading Cards [TeamFortress.com]

D&D Alignments in the TF2 World

Owen Good — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:00:00 MDT

Spot on and speaks for itself. I really can't disagree with a one of these. Plus it's nice to see Heavy as something other than the butt of a joke. He has feelings, too.

Full size version is at the link.

TF2 - D&D Alignment Chart [Halolz]

Team Fortress 2 and Its Less Juvenile Environment

Maggie Greene — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:30:00 MDT

Anthropology isn't my thing, but I like the idea of a "game anthropologist"; the column at GameSetWatch with that exact title is young yet, but had an interesting look at Team Fortress 2 this week. What exactly makes the environment seem so much more mature than other FPS? The older user base? The official taunts and animations that render inelegant cursing obsolete? Because team playing really is built into the game? Mike Walbridge isn't exactly sure, but has some ideas:

Exactly why most teammates are polite, patient, and helpful in a game that is violent and wildly popular is not easily answered, but I have some good ideas. The players seem older, and this may be because of its predecessor, Team Fortress Classic, which predates TF 2 by 10 years. Someone who is 24 may remember TFC, but someone who is 15 will not. I’m not saying it’s devoid of teenagers—but there are a lot more people in their 20s and there are a lot more women on voice chat online as well, signs of a more mature audience and community.

Or maybe it's the medic class. Or the critical hits? Or the team atmosphere ....

Steve at PlayNoEvil had an interesting take on the article, pulling out the critical issue as "the topic of griefing and how Valve's Team Fortress 2 seems to have less 'annoying griefing' because the game provides structured 'official griefing'."

Since a lot of griefing and abuse on Xbox Live and elsewhere comes from the rather inarticulate swearing of teenagers, perhaps the simple fact of giving players powerful, fun, but non-obscene, racially insensitive, or other insults makes the need to swear ... less.

Perhaps there's something to the idea. Hopefully there will be more interesting 'anthropological' explorations of games from this relatively new column in the future.

The Game Anthropologist: Team Fortress 2: Radical Departures [GameSetWatch via PlayNoEvil]

A Journey Into the Servers of Darkness

Owen Good — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:00:00 MDT

"The server I found myself on was an odd, unsettling place," writes Alec Meer, exploring Team Fortress 2's "Achievement Servers" for Rock, Paper, Shotgun. "The tiny, custom map placed the red and blue spawn points right next to each other, removed the wait period between respawns, dropped a single capture point in the middle and placed intelligence briefcases at either end. A small pool of water was placed awkwardly in a corner, and health packs scattered in bizarre columns. No-one could ever win this map - it was set up to repeat forever."

No sooner than Pyro's unlockable weapons drop than does the grinding and achievement farming begin again with great intensity. Alec visited an achievement servers to witness the depravity himself firsthand and, of course, found himself unlocking 14 achievements and getting the Flare Gun. "It’s as though someone’s stamped LIAR on my Steam page."

Loads of good vignettes in this piece. If you like TF2 or have an opinion on achievements, give it a look.

Achieving Nothing in TF2 [Rock, Paper Shotgun]

Save The Fire Hose Jokes: Pyro Is A She?

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:20:00 MDT

So Team Fortress 2 fans have been eagerly awaiting the Pyro updates, but the gents at Rock, Paper, Shotgun have been busy mulling gender issues. They found some evidence to support their theory that Pyro is a female character, and cited this CS-Nation interview with lead developer Robin Walker, where he conceded:

"Looking back, we should have shipped some of the classes as female and some as male."

Said Walker further on:

“We’ve never been terribly happy with the Pyro, in particular with her shallower skill curve than other combat classes. We really want highly skilled Pyros to be visibly more effective than the average Pyro, and the new features are designed to address that.”

Progressive! And speaking of progress, the same interview also hints that the Engineer might be the next class to get a bump-up:

“We’ve been playtesting an upgradeable teleporter, where the level affects the recharge time. It’s working out well, so it’s likely that you’ll see something like it in the Engineer pack.”

By the way, the header image for this post is a rather hazardous looking flamethrower handmade by Tom Swozzer, who sent us his pics of his Pyro-celebratory project. I want to say "Nice work, Tom," but I don't want to encourage anyone to assemble such flammable objects in their backyard.

Robin Walker Talks TF2 [CS-Nation via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Valve Gives A Peek Into TF2's Head On New Site

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:20:00 MDT

The populists at Valve have a new blog just for the Team Fortress 2 community, and explain:

Our hope is that we'll be providing you with a variety of interesting things to read, whether you're a hardcore TF2 player or whether you've just started. We'll be going into the details behind some of the gameplay, posting a bunch of the concept art we haven't released before, and showcasing the great content the community is creating.

Ooh! Up now is concept art for the flare gun, showing the different ideas that were considered before gameplay made the final decision. Watch that space, then, for more behind-the-scenes peeks.

TF2 Official Blog [Valve]

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:40:14 MDT

With the new changes to the Pyro class in Team Fortress 2, it's time to blow the dust off the PC—something I've been neglecting—and get my hands on those lovely new weapons. And those two new maps! Since there's a free TF2 weekend happening right now, you really have no excuse not to join in on the fun. Okay, you might have a half-dozen or so, but I really don't want to hear 'em.

I'll also be cruising through Metal Gear Solid 4 one more time, taking my time to enjoy the sights instead of constantly thinking "Must finish by Tuesday. Must publish review. Run, Snake, run!!" Other than that, I'll just be trying to beat the heat.

What are you playing this weekend?

Pyros Blow In The New TF2 Update

Mike Fahey — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:20:00 MDT

The Pyro isn't just getting three new weapons in tomorrow's Team Fortress 2 update pack. His main weapon is getting an upgrade that will completely blow you away. The standard flamethrower will now come with a spiffy new alt-fire mode that shoots a blast of compressed air, blowing away both opponents and incoming projectiles, meaning soldiers are about to get a taste of their own medicine in a very bad way.

On top of the main weapon tweaks, the Pyro is also getting the Axtinguisher, which we've already covered, The Flare Gun, teased in yesterday's Meet the Sniper vid, which allows you to set opponents ablaze from afar, and The Backburner, a flamethrower for the sneakier firebugs out there. While it lacks the compressed air feature, The Backburner guarantees critical hits from behind while granting the Pyro 50 more health.

Hit the link below for the full skinny on the Pyro update from Valve, including the two new maps and a full list of updated Pyro achievements!

The Pyro Update [Team Fortress 2 - Thanks David!]

Hey, Look! It's The Pyro's New Gun!

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:40:10 MDT

Eagle eyed trailer watchers may have already gotten a peak at the new weapon for the Pyro, due to hit this Thursday in the latest Team Fortress 2 update. For those of you who haven't been poring over the new "Meet The Sniper" trailer frame by frame, here are two pics of the thing in action, courtesy of Kotaku reader Bob Bobman. The better shot of the two is after the jump.

Not bad! Looks like we won't be getting any sleep Thursday night as we expend many, many, many hours in 2fort matches attempting to unlock... whatever this thing is. Thanks to Bob for the screen grabs!

Meet The Sniper

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:40:01 MDT

Valve has released "Meet The Sniper," the newest clip in the expertly animated and hilarious character profiles from Team Fortress 2. The introduction to the Sniper may rival "Meet The Heavy" in terms of laughs—especially if you pay attention during the time-lapse segment—and stands head and shoulders above every other release in terms of direction. Possibly my favorite "Meet The" so far. Thanks to everyone who reminded us of the new clip's release today.

Team Fortress 2 Gets Pyro Achievements Thursday, Meet The Sniper Tomorrow

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:40:25 MDT

Pyro fans will have cause to rejoice this Thursday as the perpetually muffled Team Fortress 2 is getting Medic-style treatment in the form of three new unlockable weapons—one of which will be the already announced "Axtinguisher"—and 35 new achievements. On top of that, two new user-created maps are being added to the official rotation. The cherry? A new "Meet The" video, this one focusing on the Sniper. That clip hits mid-day tomorrow.

For those still unconvinced by the magic that is TF2, another free weekend via Steam is just around the corner, kicking off Friday at 11 AM PDT. Huzzah!

I'm Sorry I Have to Do This to You

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:00:00 MDT

Warning, this is supremely obnoxious and you should turn your speakers down.
Dad sometimes asks me for explanation of certain video games, and since his frame of reference stops at 8 bits, and todays titles are far deeper than anything I played as his dependent, the conversation gets a little difficult at times.

But If he ever asks me what Team Fortress 2 is all about, I'm gonna point him to this video.

This is shot through with Kodak moments:

• "I own Titanic on VHS. All four fucking tapes."

• The bitching about Titanic at the beginning. "All the hype around it just drove me away." He says it so sincerely. Like it totally would have been his kind of movie otherwise.

• "I'm in key, fuck you buddy."

• The rocket fire accompaniment to the chorus. I'm just imagining Celine Dion in the studio, belting this out, while the footage rolls. Yes, this is the kind of emotional climax that deserves her French Canadian ministrations.

• The death montage at 3:29. Right on time.

• The singing gets so intense I swear it causes server lag.

If you can make it through sudden death, you probably don't have any eardrums right now.

TF2 Karaoke: My Heart Will Go On[StumbleUpon Video]

TF2 Updates: May I Ax You A Question?

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 10:00:00 MDT

Limber up your fast-twitch weapon-switch reflexes. Valve's dropped word that the next update for Team Fortress 2 — centering on the Pyro class — will include a new weapon called the Axtinguisher, among other things.

The Axtinguisher does half damage as a regular axe, unless the target is on fire. Then it's an automatic critical hit. So my friend Sander, who plays Pyro relentlessly, will now add "swing ax if anyone gets close" to his "backpedal and barbecue" combat strategy.

Valve didn't say when the new stuff hits, only that it's "almost completely wrapped." This latest build incorporates feedback from the April update to the Medic class. That one delivered three new unlockable weapons. However, in addition to the Axtinguisher, Valve says there will be "significant changes to the Pyro class for everyone," regardless of unlocked items, but didn't specify. So stay tuned.

Axtinguisher, Other Changes for Pyro in the Works [Steam]

Team Fortress 2 Unlocks Its Feminine Side

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:00:39 MDT

Team Fortress 2 classes decked out with doe eyes and D-cups? Inevitable. We're surprised it took this long to come to our attention, but artist "ghostfire" has launched a thousand shameful clean up sessions with her—not a typo!—rendition of the Red Team in cute outfits that are wildly inappropriate for battle. Yes, prints are available!

Select A Class... by ghostfire [deviantArt - thanks, Marc!]

Team Fortress 2 To Add Achievements, Weapons To Pyro Next

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:40:01 MDT

According to a CVG report culled from the latest issue of PC Gamer magazine, the next Team Fortress 2 class to get Achievements and unlockable new weapons will be the flamethrower and axe-wielding Pyro. Like the Medic, it seems that the Pyro will get a few dozen class specific achievements and a load out of new gear. That's either good news if you're a Pyro fanatic or horrid news if you're not looking forward to seeing public games clogged with achievement-hungry Pyro noobs.

The unquestionably good news, however, is word from Valve that "Meet The Sniper" is due next in the series of expertly crafted class videos.

Pyro unlockables next for Team Fortress [CVG]

Xbox 360 Team Fortress 2 DLC Details Soon-ish

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:30:40 MDT

PC gamers are enjoying new Team Fortress 2 updates right now. Things like new maps, the new Payload gameplay mode, new weapons, and balance tweaks are old hat to the Steam set. Console gamers, however, are pretty much stuck with the stock Team Fortress 2 experience that shipped with The Orange Box. That all may change—and soon—as Shacknews reports that details on console DLC is coming "pretty soon." Probably.

The bad news is that new content for the PlayStation 3 version of TF2 sounds like it's up in the air. Maps like "Goldrush" and new Achievements sound inevitable for the Xbox 360, but Valve's Doug Lombardi told Shack "unfortunately I don't know that any of that will make it to the PS3." Hopefully, Mr. Lombardi is just playing it safe and EA is working diligently to support the PS3 base, but we'll refrain from breath holding.

Team Fortress 2 360 DLC Details Due 'Pretty Soon,' Fate of PlayStation 3 Content Uncertain [Shacknews]

Reminder: Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend Underway. ...

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:20:00 MDT

Reminder: Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend Underway. If you were planning on kicking some dust around this weekend, your gaming cupboard dry of thrills, remember that Team Fortress 2 is free all weekend. It's got that fancy new Payload game type now, so if you don't mind playing with ten thousand Medics starved for Steam achievements, fire it up. You can't beat the (temporary) price. Details here.

Team Fortress 2 Goes Gold Rush

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:20:49 MDT

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]

What Did You Play This Weekend?

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:40:19 MDT

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

ogood — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:00:00 MDT

Another highly entertaining "Meet the" video for Team Fortress 2 is up at Gametrailers. Here we get acquainted with the Scout, who has kind of a Kevin Bacon mien about him. Just one thing, why does everyone have to pick on Heavy when he's eating? Real freakin' original there, Scout. Let him enjoy his sandwich, willya?

Meet the Scout [Gametrailers]

Medic! Hands On With The New TF2 Map Plus New Medic Achievements And Weapons Revealed

fdemarco — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:30:00 MDT

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!

First Do No Harm: Play a full round without killing any enemies and score the highest on a team of six or more players

Quadruple Bypass: Heal a teammate who is taking fire form four enemies at once

Group Health: Work with two other medics to deploy three simultaneous Ubercharges

Surgical Prep: Have an Ubercharge ready before the set up phase ends

Trauma Queen: Deploy three Ubercharges in less than five minutes and assist in five kills during that time

Double Blind Trial: deploy an Ubercharge within eight seconds of a nearby enemy medic deploying his

Play Doctor: In a team with no Medics, be first to switch to Medic after a teammate calls medic and heal 500 health

Triage: Deploy an Ubercharge on a teammate less than a second before they are hit by a critical explosive

Preventative Medicine: Block the enemy from capturing a control point with an Ubercharged teammate

Consultation: Assist a fellow Medic in killing five enemies in a single life

Does It Hurt When I Do This?: Kill fifty Scouts with your syringe gun

Peer Review: Kill fifty Medics with your bone saw

Big Pharma: Assist a heavy in killing thirty enemies where neither of you die

You'll Feel a Little Prick: Assist in killing four enemies with a single Ubercharge on a Scout

Autoclave: Assist in burning eight enemies with a single Ubercharge on a Pyro

Blast Assist: Assist in exploding five enemies with a single Ubercharge on a Soldier

Blunt Trauma: Assist in punching out for enemies with a single Ubercharge on a Heavy

Medical Breakthrough: Assist in destroying eight enemy Engineer buildings with a single Ubercharge on a Demoman

Midwife Crisis: Heal an Engineer as he repairs his sentry gun while it's under enemy fire

Ubi Concordia, Ibi Victoria: Assist in killing five enemies on an enemy control point in a single life

Grand Rounds: Heal two hundred teammates after they have called for Medic

Infernal Medicine: Extinguish one hundred burning teammates

Doctor Assisted Homicide: Assist in killing twenty nemeses

Placebo Effect: Kill five enemies in a single life, while having your Ubercharge ready but undeployed

Sawbones: Hit enemies with your bone saw ten times in a row without dieing or missing

Intern: Accumulate seven thousand heal points in a single life

Specialist: Accumulate ten thousand heal points in a single life

Chief of Staff: Accumulate ten million total health points

Hypocritical Oath: Kill an enemy spy that you have been healing

Medical Intervention: Save a falling teammate from dying on impact

Second Opinion: Ubercharge two teammates at once

Autopsy Report: Provide an enemy with a freeze cam shot of you taunting above their ragdoll

FYI I am a Medic: use a bone saw to kill five enemy spies who have been calling for Medic

Family Practice: Ubercharge ten of your steam community friends

House Call: Join a game that one of your friends is in and then deploy an Ubercharge on him

Bedside Manner: be healing a teammate as he achieves an achievement of his own

This Is How You Play the Engineer

ogood — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:00:00 MDT

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.

Team Fortress 2 Getting Major Updates Mid-April

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:30:00 MDT

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]

TF2's Romantic Shenanigans

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:20:00 MDT

Poor Heavy. For such a cuddly guy, he sure is unlucky with the ladies. Maybe it's all that killing he does for a living. I don't know. What I do know is that those unable to find a mate using more traditional methods can always resort to the internets. There's always that special someone waiting for you on the internets. Full, original comic's in a vertical format, so sorry, you'll have to click through for it.

19/f/Medic 19/f/medic [monkeyblah]

Team Fortress DLC Price Is Up To Microsoft And Sony

Mark Wilson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:40:39 MDT

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

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:30:00 MDT

What you already know is that Valve is splitting the Orange Box up on April 9. The PC version, anyways. It's had a good run as a compilation, but there's money to be made separating the HL2 episodes from the multiplayer shooter from the award-winning mind-fuck, so it's time for the games to say their goodbyes. What you didn't know was how much the individual titles would cost, or what they'd look like freed from that awful "greatest hits" boxart. So arm yourself with these facts: Portal will be $20, Team Fortress 2 $30 and the HL2 "Episode Pack" (which includes Episodes 1 & 2) $30. As for the individual covers, well, those are below.

Valve Releases GDC Slides, Sheds Light On All Things Orange Box

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:40:27 MDT

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

Mark Wilson — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:40:36 MST

Let's state the obvious: Valve gave us a heck of a deal with The Orange Box. And if a developer were ever justified in charging console consumers for DLC, it would be Valve through a Team Fortress 2 map pack. But here's the thing, Valve has no interest in charging us for more maps. Valve's VP of marketing Doug Lombardi explains that they'd like to offer content...

...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.

He continues:

For us, we see it as an investment on our next product. Gamers won't hesitate when they see a game coming out from Valve. They'll think 'I've heard of this but will it be worth my money?' We want to take that off the table.

So now the ball is in the courts of Microsoft and Sony. Given that Epic is struggling to keep mods free on the 360, we're assuming that Valve is in the midst of the same situation. As for PSN, that platform seems to offer more leeway (but that's our own logic, not something coming from Valve).

One thing's for sure—if PSN users are downloading the same content for free that Xbox LIVE demands money for (on top of subscription costs), Microsoft will reaffirm the evil corporation stereotype that the Xbox brand has done so much to negate. Let's hope that Microsoft is smarter than that and shows its customers a bit more gratitude for their loyalty.

Valve hopes to keep TF2 content free [Eurogamer]

TF2 Plushies Inbound

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:30:00 MST

Via G4TV, it's been confirmed that Valve's desirable, adorable line of plushies are about to expand beyond the Half-Life universe. They'll also be releasing plushies based on Team Fortress 2's iconic characters, with the big, cuddly Heavy to be first in line. All well and good, I say, but don't dilly-dally from the HL ones too long - my future, unborn son will not want a Wallace Breen plush toy, he will need one.
[GameTrailers TV]

Team Fortress 2 Update Released

Maggie Greene — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:30:03 MST

An update for Team Fortress 2 was released on Thursday; the updates will be applied automatically. Additions such as adding a 'custom' tab to the server browser and fixing some class balancing issues are included, but there is a lengthy list of other updates, additions, and fixes over at the Steam website.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released [Steam]

Team Fortress 2 Welcomes Badlands To Map Cycle

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:20:00 MST

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!

Team Fortress 2 Thursday Update Brings New Maps, Changes

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:40:58 MST

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]

Fall In Love With These Team Fortress 2 Valentines

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:20:03 MST

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

Mike Fahey — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:20:59 MST

This week Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of X-Play fame takes a look at SimCity Societies and doesn't quite like it, coming to the conclusion that drawing your own city in MS Paint would be a more fulfilling experience - but that's not important. What is important is the touching story of love and loss that follows the review, featuring characters from Valve's Team Fortress 2 and a musak version of "Up Where We Belong" from 1983's An Officer and a Gentlemen. It'll bring a tear to your eye. Share it with someone you love this Valentine's Day.

Zero Punctuation [the escapist]