Gamernode: Previews - Hands-on: Team Fortress 2

Hands-on: Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2, man. Just saying those words gives me shivers, because it's been a heck of a long time. With the beta finally out for the folks who pre-ordered The Orange Box, I've gotten some juicy hands-on time and I'm pretty damn impressed with the game. With a new coat of paint, an entirely new engine and other accessories behind the game, TF2 will be the game PC fans will be talking about for quite a while.

At first, I played the soldier. Armed with a shotgun, a rocket launcher and a shovel, the soldier is your usual 'pick up and go' type of character. Rockets are slow but their splash damage is a doozy, so aim for the feet. While the shotgun is very handy in close-quarters and seems to have a higher rate of fire than other usual shotguns, the shovel can get things done when you're in a critical situation.

But the class I ended up sticking with is the medic. The medic is someone I've grown accustomed to over the years, thanks to Return to Castle Wolfenstein's multiplayer. In TF2, all medics are equipped with a healing "gun", a needler (well, syringe shooter) and a saw. Of course in the midst of battle, you're not going to pull out your needler to start firing away, so your main job is to heal. Normally in any beginning of a level, your time is spent following either a heavy or a soldier -- not only to continually boost their health at the frontlines of war, but also to charge up your "Uberpower."

Yes, Valve went to that level and used "Uber" as an actual power and term in the game. When you consistently heal for a good amount of time, you'll max out your Uberpower, giving you the ability to not only heal but also gain some invincibility for a period of time. The invincibility is rather crucial during heavy battle and can easily turn the tide.

The level designs are awesome. I got my hands rather dirty playing both 2Fort and Dustbowl. I swear, the first time I was waiting for the match to start in Dustbowl, the anticipation was crazy. Starting on the offensive side (you switch after a round) with the blue team, we all huddled together to emerge from our caves to the main desert area surrounding a canyon.

(The beginning is just the beach landing in Normandy, but with cartoon-like characters. The gore, the bodies and the carnage is all in TF2, but in a less horrifying fashion.)

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