Here’s where I stand after one week of playing Team Fortress 2.
There is enough of an improvement to make me cling to the hope of one day of appearing competent.
The key word there: appearing.
As one might surmise from the name, Team Fortress 2 is the sequel to Cooking Mama. No, it’s not. It’s actually the sequel to 1999’s Team Fortress Classic, in turn a remake of a Quake mod released in 1996. No cooking is involved whatsover. Wait, there is the Pyro. Okay, some cooking.
The game features two teams locked in eternal struggle. What is the source of the conflict? Did the RED Spy once sleep with the BLU Engineer’s wife? Did the BLU Heavy beat up the RED Scout in kindergarten? Regardless of the reasons, two teams are now in a constant state of conflict. The red versus the blue. No quarter asked, no quarter given. Wait for the countdown, let the gates open and let loose the dogs of war.
The dogs in this case come in nine different breeds. The Heavy lays down suppressive fire and absorbs more damage than any other class, the Medic heals and buffs, the Sniper specialises in placing eBay bids at the last moment … wait, no, he doesn’t.
The diversity in classes leads to different experiences for no two classes play alike. The neophyte should quickly find a class to his or her liking. The patient gamer will undoubtedly opt for the Sniper, quiet and forgotten until he announces his presence with a lethal headshot. The sly gamer will choose the Spy, invisibly stalking her unsuspecting prey before the fatal stab in the back. The berserker will take to the Heavy, stomping around the battlefield, minigun blazing away, intimidating everyone before him.
While each class is relatively easy to figure out, trying to decode the various synergies and interactions between different classes can take a while. Each class may have its strengths but there are counters to each and every one. Take, for instance, the Heavy. He may be stronger than others and the hot lead sprayed from his minigun may make mincemeat of foes but he is not as unconquerable as he might seem. His ponderous speed on the battlefield makes him susceptible to the Spy’s backstab or the Sniper’s deadly headshot.
Ping and lag
This is a pure online PvP game. There’s no single player mode, no bots to beat up on. You’re thrown straight into battle against other players.
The great news is there are a number of different servers with ultra-low pings available to local gamers. Malaysian and Singapore servers will have pings less than 100 and if those are empty or full, servers in New Zealand and Australia are still playable with pings less than 200. In the 12 years I’ve been playing online games, I’ve never experienced pings this low.
That’s not to say there’s no lag involved.
TF2 was first released in October 2007 and a year is an eternity in online gaming. Plenty of time to sharpen skills, to know the maps like the back of one’s hand, time enough to establish winning plans.
Pity the newbie, lagging behind in terms of skill and experience, for death and abuse await him at every corner. Opponents will welcome the new player as fodder for a bump in scores; teammates will curse him for his cluelessness.
As with most games, knowing how to play is easy; knowing how to play well is a different matter altogether. The consolation is win, lose or draw, the game remains entertaining.
