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There aren't many games we can say we're still playing after years of prolonged lunchtime face-offs, but Team Fortress 2 has passed the test of time.
It's honed, refined and plenty of rough edges have been given the chop - but the winning elements are still in court and plenty more have been thrown on the pile. Time to get Steam on the work computers...
Manning the fort
The biggest and most welcome changes (besides the wonderful art still - it's like Pixar porn without the cars, fish and rats) are found within the game's nine character classes. If you're a fan of Team Fortress Classic, you'll know that the Medic and fire-dealing Pyro classes are pretty much useless and others (Scout, Spy) aren't as good as they could be.
Thankfully Valve hasn't overlooked the common and blatant favouritism in the last game's character classes, and taken some measure in making the least used roles a bit less... well, rubbish.
The Pyro - easily the most useless of TFC's line-up, has gone from a minor annoyance, spurting 2D flames that'll only get him rocketed in the face, to one of the most important members of the team. Flames now deal serious damage (and look fantastic to boot) - two full burns will finish almost anyone off.
The Medic is now a massive part of the team. A common strategy in our games was to pair a Medic up with a Heavy, allowing the big guy to take on the frontline while the Medic healed from behind. Of course this makes the doc a massive target for spies who'll stream in from the rear with their new cloaking toy, knife drawn.
This makes for a frantic see-saw act as the medic keeps the heavy topped up, while he scrambles to spot any imposters coming for his wingman.
For even the most rabid TFC players then, TF2 is looking like its going to live up to those nigh-on seven-year-old expectations. It's now available on Steam.
