The Team Fortress 2Gold Rush update is now available for free download via Steam. The update includes the Gold Rush map with its own gameplay style dubbed Payload. Perhaps more important than the map, this update marks the first set of new achievements and unlockable weapons.
The first class to receive the update is the Medic, who can earn three new weapons -- Blutsauger, Kritzkrieg and Ubersaw -- obtained by earning 12, 24 or all 36 new medic achievements, respectively. All the new achievements, including a complete Medic icon set (PNG files) can be found at the Gold Rush site. Update: It's also worth noting that this weekend, May 2 - 4, Steam users can play Team Fortress 2 for free. That includes the Gold Rush update. You can pre-load the game now.
We absolutely loved the short vignettes put together by Valve to advertise the different classes featured in The Orange Box's online multiplayer offering, Team Fortress 2. The scotch-slurping demoman, the six-string pluckin' engineer -- not only did they get us hyped up for one of our favorite first person shooters of last year, they brightened our otherwise dreary existences. Now, we know that most of you are familiar with the whole crew since the release of Orange Box, but in honor of last week's release of a standalone version of TF2 for the PC, Valve released what we assume will be the last of their advertisements for the game -- introducing the Scout, who apparently has the social graces and equipoise of a Real World cast member. Enjoy!
Want to see what the latest railroad-covered map to hit Team Fortress 2 looks like? Valve shared four screenshots and a video (embedded after the break) to give y'all a peek of their latest handiwork. We're still anxious to get our hands on the latest gametype – Payload – but this oughta do for now.
Team Fortress 2 took center stage at a Valve-sponsored pizza party in San Francisco last night. Well, to be precise, the team-based shooter's new Goldrush map and unlockable Medic weapons took center stage, and the pizza provided just the right ambiance. ShackNews got their pizza-stained hands on the new offerings, and also had a chance to talk with Valve's Robin Walker about plans for unlockable weapons for the other classes (they should be coming "faster"), difficulty in balancing new weapons (there's a "trade-off"), and plans for other news maps with the Payload gameplay like Goldrush ("you have a moving fortress").
The medic is the first class to get the new weapons – unlock a series of class-based achievements to earn each of the three new toys, including the Blutsaugher ("a new syringe gun" that draws health from enemies), the Critzcrieg (a "new medigun" that switches up the ubercharge), and the Ubersaw (melee attacks charge your medigun). The update should hit sometime in April; still no word on whether any TF2 downloadable content will make it to the consoles.
Read – Valve Reveals Final Team Fortress 2 Medic Weapons Read – Robin Walker on New TF2 Content, Future Maps, and Awesomeball Read – Team Fortress 2 Goldrush and Unlockable Weapon Hands-on Impressions
A fresh batch of content for the PC version of Team Fortress 2 is set to arrive during the week of April 20th, according to Shacknews. The update will add a new map,"Goldrush," to Valve's multiplayer shooter, along with unlockable weapons and a strong desire to succumb to the cartoonish mayhem all over again just when you thought you shook the addiction and got your life back on track which was becoming increasingly dominated by thoughts of playing the game which in fact you are considering right now at the expense of your ability to avoid run-on sentences somebody please please help us.
Ahem.
Goldrush will be the first map to support "Payload," a new game which tasks teams with pushing a mine cart (loaded with explosives, natch) into the opposition's base. In a stunning nod to real life, the cart will go faster when it has more players pushing it through the inevitable barrage of gunfire. Just so you know, most of that will likely be aimed at the Medic, the first class expected to benefit from the addition of unlockable weapons.
Perhaps you've been burnt by digital distribution in the past, and now refuse to even touch the likes of Steam. Perhaps you found one or more of the games in Valve's critically acclaimedOrange Box to be lacking in a peel. Perhaps you'd like us to stop with theexcruciating puns you jerks and report the news already geez.
So, have at it: Valve has confirmed to Joystiq that the individually boxed Orange Box PC games are due to hit physical shelves on April 9th. The separate SKUs, which will be available worldwide, consist of first-person puzzler Portal, caricatured multiplayer romp Team Fortress 2, and a crowbar double-whammy in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two. Valve has yet to officially announce pricing details, but retailers currently list Portal at $19.99 and the other two packages at $29.99 each. Expect more details soon.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but Valve's Doug Lombardi figures you already paid your meal ticket when you purchased Team Fortress 2 on the PS3 or Xbox 360. That's why he wants all future downloadable content for the console versions to be completely free of charge.
Of course, it's not entirely up to him, but Lombardi hopes to get at least some content -- like the upcoming map packs -- over to players at no additional charge. According to him, DLC isn't about earning increased return on games, but rather about "keeping the customer happy." He sees the work as being an investment in future projects, as it builds consumer trust with the Valve label.
No official date has been set for the first TF2 console DLC. Let's just hope that Valve's admirable philosophy wins out in the end.
An update for Team Fortress 2 has come to the Xbox Live. Unlike the PC patch from over the weekend, there are no balance changes to the classes themselves. Instead, a number of glitches have been fixed, as well as the inclusion of rumble for weapons and the addition of 10- and 14-player team sizes. No indication of a PlayStation 3 patch, so if you've gotten an update, let us know in the comments below. Full details (via Steam forums) after the break.
We've got a complete list of changes after the jump, but here's a few highlights: A Tournament mode has been added, complete with a team creation UI and win/loss tracker. Sorting through custom games is now easier, as server hosts can now add searchable description tags to their rooms. Most importantly, players who tire of being on the receiving end of high explosive weaponry will be pleased to hear that the maximum ammo capacities for the Soldier and Demoman classes have been sharply reduced (much to the chagrin of rocket-jumpers and Scotsmen, no doubt).
Whaddyaknow? We weren't the only ones to get floating pink hearts in our eyes thinking of Team Fortress 2 on Valentine's Day. It's not enough that Valve dropped a major update for the shooter on us today, but Alexandria Neonakis has whipped up five incredible Valentine's Day cards for your special someone (and if they'd appreciate a TF2 Valentine, they're a keeper!). We've covered her other amazing Valentine's before, so you've got a nice selection to choose from if shooting cartoons in the face isn't their idea of romantic.
If you believe that Zero Punctuation's only reason for playing SimCity Societies was to make a totalitarian government in the vein of the Nazi regime -- well, you'd be right. This week Yahtzee takes on the fantastically average game and ends up complaining about it more than making fun of it. In the end he says that SimCity Societies isn't worth the player's time, but then anybody who actually bought SimCity Societies probably already knows that.
After the break you'll find this week's NSFW review of SimCity Societies, with special Team Fortress 2 homage to the love which dare not speak its name.
The romantic Lotharios at Valve have a certain something special planned for you on Valentine's Day, tomorrow. No, not cake you silly goose, this is way more romantic. They want to take you on a trip, to an exotic map called "Badlands." But it won't be just you; they've invited 9 of your friends (pictured above) so you can all spend a wonderful V-Day together, in Team Fortress 2, fragging the night away.
Tomorrow's update isn't simply a new map though. They're also updating the Dustbowl, Granary, and CTF Well maps with various tweaks as well as improvements to the Source Engine and SourceTV, all in what they're saying is the "largest update" since the game's launch last Fall. It's still unknown if the updates (and new map!) will make their way to the console versions, so we've asked Valve to weigh in on it. Give them some time to get back to us, and we'll let you know what they say, deal?
We find the Team Fortress 2Pyro papercraft hilariously ironic, given how flammable we suspect him to be. (Disclaimer: Joystiq advises against the use of flames. There is no respawn in real life.) Check out the highlights for today:
Though we'd be GlaDOS can be to have another slice of Portal's topsy-turvy displacement gameplay, we'd almost certainly be unsatisfied with a quick 'n dirty content boost to our 2007 game of the year. Thankfully, Valve's Doug Lombardi has told Eurogamer that the developer isn't looking to simply throw a handful of new puzzles at us. "There'll be more Portal, for sure," he said. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."
Also being worked out at Valve headquarters are the continuing adventures of crowbar-wielding physicist, Gordon Freeman, who's due to appear in Half-Life 2: Episode Three. "With Episode Three we want to live up to the promise of where we are taking things to; there's a lot of work being done to make sure we deliver on that promise." If you're dying to learn more about where said things are being taken to, you're going to have wait a bit, "probably months not weeks." And don't even get us started on how long you might have to wait for the actual game.
At least you'll have some upcoming Team Fortress 2 content to keep you busy which, as per Valve's desire for all its additional content, will be free.
We love those image manipulating wizards at Something Awful. Their latest project is new (and much needed) achievements in Team Fortress 2. Enjoy the four pages of photoshoppery and check out the highlights for today:
