With its stylised graphics and arcade-focused gameplay, Team Fortress 2 is a world apart from the gritty realism of Counter-Strike, at least on the surface. But beneath TF2's cartoon fa¿ade lies a team-based first-person shooter that's surprisingly familiar, with players choosing from a selection of defined character types before working as a team to overpower the enemy.
In its new trailer, debuted at GC in Leipzig, Valve demonstrates each of the troop types in more detail, with a short clip on each character explaining their individual specialities. First up is the Engineer, a mechanical whiz kid who sets up automated turrets that open fire when an enemy strays into their path.
Next up, the Heavy Trooper is a muscle-bound meathead who packs a mini-gun that tears through skin and bone like paper. The trailer shows the gunner mowing down wave upon wave of enemy troops, until he meets an untimely demise courtesy of the Sniper. Perched atop a distant roof, the tobacco-chewin' hotshot pops the heads of his enemies with well-aimed bullets. But even his super-zoom scope cannot spot what's coming up from behind.
The Spy, a cigarette-smoking sophisticate, blends in perfectly with his background, emerging from the shadows to cut the throat of his victim with a switchblade before ducking back into cover. The Scout, on the other hand, relies on incredible speed to dodge death and whacks enemies with a baseball bat as he legs it past.
The Demo man uses explosives to deal with the bad guys. When faced with a turret previously laid by an engineer he ducks behind cover, lights the fuse of a wad of TNT and tosses it around the corner. A few seconds later the turret goes up in smoke and the following explosions wipe out nearby enemy troops. Bingo!
Last but by no means least is the Solider. Armed with a rocket launcher, these guys can wipe out a bunch of enemies in a single shot and also use their weapons to rocket-jump to different parts of a level. Dozens of the bazooka-toting dudes flying gracefully through the air is a spectacular sight and only helps to get us more excited by this innovative blaster. The combination of character types and the way they interact with each other is compelling stuff and promises to make for a fun, varied multiplayer experience. The question is, will it surpass Counter-Strike? Only time will tell.