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Team Fortress 2 knocked to $2.49 ... for the next two hours [update: it's over]

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 29th 2009 at 3:35PM }

Update: The sale is over. We hope you managed to grab TF2 -- for yourself or a friend -- while the getting was good.

Original: Actually, it's less than two hours now, so what are you waiting for? It's two dollars and fifty cents! It's usually twenty whole dollars. Go buy it. Now. Go!

If you grab it now (or if you already have it), you can enjoy the first annual Team Fortress Haunted Halloween Special, which will bring new haunted maps, exploding pumpkins and update-specific Steam Achievements. We'd write more, but that would only waste more time. Time you could spend buying Team Fortress 2.

[Via TF2 Official Blog]

Spy kills Sniper, everyone gets free Team Fortress 2 weekend

by Randy Nelson { May 20th 2009 at 11:59PM }

In memorial of Team Fortress 2's ill-fated Sniper -- and Thursday's impending Spy and Sniper class updates -- Valve is holding a free-play Memorial Day weekend for the game via Steam. This time it's a long one; the game will be open to all from tomorrow, May 21 through Monday, May 25.

According to Valve, those few gamers who don't already have the multiplayer classic installed on their PCs can begin pre-loading the game files now via the Steam client. Then, come Tuesday morning, the game will politely ask if they'd like to pony up the cash to ~~feed the addiction~~ keep playing.

Until tomorrow, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the one character most likely to stab you in the back. We bet the Sniper wished he had.

'It was obvious!' ... Meet Team Fortress 2's Spy

by Xav de Matos { May 17th 2009 at 10:30AM }

We thought Valve had given up introducing us to its Team Fortress 2 cast (considering The Orange Box launched in 2007), but a new video has shown us to be a little too hasty. This time, players get a glimpse into the world of the Spy. Devious, brutal and womanizing ... the Spy is a force to be reckoned with. We've loved the short introduction vignettes Valve has developed to promote the game's classes so far, but the Spy's video is definitely our favorite of the bunch. Enjoy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

Team Fortress 2's Spy murders Sniper, both receive updates

by Griffin McElroy { May 16th 2009 at 11:30AM }

We thought Valve had straight up flipped their melon (whatever that means) when they started announcing the upcoming changes to Team Fortress 2's hawk-eyed class, the Sniper. A bow and arrow? Okay, fine -- but a shield that prevents you from getting backstabbed? Why not just allow them to turn on God Mode? However, our worries were assuaged by the latest revelation for the Sniper update, in which said Sniper gets Julius Caesar'd by a Spy -- the proud recipient of yet another TF2 update.

The betrayal-prone class will be getting two new tools in the update -- the Cloak and Dagger Spy Watch, which allows you to stay camouflaged indefinitely (as long as you're standing completely still) and the Dead Ringer Spy Watch, which instantly cloaks you for eight seconds when you get hit, dropping a fake corpse in your stead. Oh, we're going to do terrible, terrible things with that.

TF2 Sniper update adds touch of Ted Nugent, available later this week

by David Hinkle { May 12th 2009 at 10:15PM }

Valve just sent a press release our way confirming that the upcoming Sniper update for Team Fortress 2 will be a bit less, uh ... upcoming. The update will be available to download through Steam sometime later this week, as Valve could not provide us with a definite date of release for the new goods. So, what is there to look forward to?

Well, the Sniper is going to go all Ted Nugent with a new bow and arrow, apparently, as you can see in the image above all of this text. The weapon is called The Huntsman longbow, and it will allow our fan of the long range an opportunity to pin those bothersome bobbers and weavers against the wall. Hey, Scout, think you're going to zig-zag all over the place? Well, not when you've been bowed to the wall.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Sniper getting next TF2 class update, still working on 360 update

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 3rd 2009 at 12:30PM }

All of the monkeyshines which occurred this past April Fools' Day weren't completely without newsworthiness. For instance, Valve's April 1 update revealing the Sniper's newest (and fakest) armament -- weaponized jars of urine -- was a hint that the Sniper class would be the next Team Fortress 2 class to get the update treatment. In fact, Valve promises it will be the biggest update thus far, with new maps and gameplay tweaks. In addition, a second update, due to arrive before the Sniper pack, will add "some new content for all classes." Probably no jars of urine, though.

Also, if you're a member of the incensed mob of players of the (mostly) non-updated TF2 for the 360, the latest Valve update includes word that the developer is still working to bring new content to the console. So please, put down that torch and pitchfork. You'll put someone's eye out.

Alert to all Jerks: Valve to rate Team Fortress 2 servers

by Xav de Matos { Mar 13th 2009 at 7:45PM }

After racking their brains and kicking around a few of different proposals, Valve has figured out how to rate servers automatically in the back end of Steam for Team Fortress 2. Valve's Robin Walker detailed how the system will work and help players in search of a decent game (Read: Not achievement farming): New servers begin with a score of 0, each time a player connects it loses 15 points but gains 1 point per player for each minute they remain inside (with a 45 point max per user).

"In short," Walker writes, "servers that have lots of players joining & leaving rapidly will score badly." The rating will ensure players are walking into honest assessments of a server's quality -- sometimes server hosts write false descriptions to entice people to join. Well, with the new system those jerks can keep their phony servers because the first order of business on Valve's end is to completely "delist" them. The server breakdown (pictured above) shows last week's server statistics, ignoring all password-protected servers as well as servers had fewer than 200 connections per day. Walker also notes that Valve will continue to improve their ability to measure these types of server problems.

[Via Big Download]

TF2 Scout's new shotgun: The Force-a-Nature

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 24th 2009 at 12:50PM }

Valve has officially revealed the second new Scout weapon included in the upcoming Team Fortress 2 update. Called the Force-a-Nature, the double-barreled shotgun packs a wallop so big it will knock back any enemy it hits, even the Heavies. If fired in the air, it will also knock back the Scout himself, essentially giving him a third jump.

Don't get too worked up though, like most other unlockable weapons in the game, the gun comes with a caveat. The Force-a-Nature only has two shots -- makes sense, given it's a double-barreled shotgun and all -- and it reloads slowly.

Additionally, Valve has posted a poll asking players to choose which Scout update item should be released first: The Bonk energy drink, the Sandman bat or the Force-a-Nature? Cast your vote here. You'd better do it quickly because the update is expected to drop sometime today!

[Via Big Download]

Valve blames 'bandwidth' for lack of PS3 support

by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 23rd 2008 at 8:00PM }

"We don't have the bandwidth." That's the explanation Valve co-founder Gabe Newell offered up when poked by 1UP for answers regarding the company's lack of PlayStation 3 support. Put another way: "We don't have PlayStation developers," marketing director Doug Lombardi explained. While hardly a new revelation, Valve's dilemma continues to prevent the company from creating in-house PS3 content.

In the short term, this means -- for the last time -- no Left 4 Dead on PS3, and also, no Team Fortress 2 updates. But...? Uh-uh. "They're not doing ongoing development on The Orange Box for the PS3." They, of course, is EA, developer of the PS3 version of The Orange Box. To file a complaint, please contact the office of your local EA representative. Oprima el dos para continuar en español.

Xbox 360 TF2 getting yummy sandvich by year's end

by Kevin Kelly { Aug 22nd 2008 at 5:30PM }

The much ballyhooed Team Fortress 2 Heavy Update that Valve released this past Tuesday will be heading to the Xbox 360 by year's end, according to Gamespot. At last, you can start cracking your knuckles and bone up on your sandvich eating skillz. Just watching those videos made us want to start playing TF2 again. We know, you're saying, "What?! Why'd you put it down in the first place?"

New maps, new weapons, and new achievements? What's not to love? Anything that can extend the wonderment of TF2 is just fine by us. Now get cracking on a massive Portal update, already. The XBLA title is only going to keep us sated for so long.

Team Fortress 2 updates on 360 this year (for a price) [update]

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 22nd 2008 at 5:00PM }

Update: It seems GameSpot has pulled this story, though as of this update the story headline is still displayed on GameSpot's 360 page. For what it's worth, Kotaku is reporting the same thing, so we're not sure exactly why GameSpot's article has been pulled. See our original post below.

Gamers with the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2 have had kind of a rough time. First we see the PC version get Medic updates and achievements, then the Pyro gets the same treatment, and now our good friend the Heavy is getting his own update (not to mention the Sandvich). We 360 gamers have sat idly by as PC gamers get to romp about with new weapons and there's a even a new map on the way. It's time to cheer up fanboys, because Valve has confirmed to GameSpot that all of the TF2 content released thus far should be hitting the Xbox 360 before the end of the year.

And now be sad again, because it looks like it's going to cost you. In an interview with VideoGaming247, Valve boss Gabe Newell spoke about the updates saying, "On the consoles, they want us to charge money for them, because that's in their model, and our model is very much more to grow the community by giving out free updates." Boy, we like the sound of Valve's model much better. From the sound of things, it's soundling like Microsoft wants Valve to charge for their content even if Valve doesn't want to (now that sounds familiar).

Team Fortress 2: Meet The Sandvich

by Kevin Kelly { Aug 20th 2008 at 1:00AM }

Meet Team Fortress 2's "Edible Device" and shotgun replacement, the Sandvich.

Valve really missed a good opportunity for a bad pun here by not calling it "Meat the Sandvich," but hey, it's still pretty damned funny. What's next in the series of loony videos? Meet the Bullet? Seriously though, we'd watch them all. Heck, just throw a TF2 cartoon on the air as part of Adult Swim and we'd be glued to our sets.

[Thanks Giroro, Alistair and Vandell]

Team Fortress 2 bulks up with whopping Heavy update August 19

by Ross Miller { Aug 13th 2008 at 4:00AM }

The perpetually patched Team Fortress 2 is about to get its "largest update ever" (dare we say heaviest?) next week on August 19. In the lead-up, Valve is releasing new information and screenshots about the patch each day, as well as a "special installment to the 'Meet the Team' series of video shorts," according to the press release. The community map cp_steel was revealed on the first day.

Besides new weapons and achievements for the Heavy class, the next update will include new multiplayer maps and a "brand new gameplay mode," possibly related to the new type of environment we heard about earlier this month. As with the other updates, Valve is offering a free Team Fortress 2 weekend starting August 22 at 2pm ET.

Next TF2 update may feature 'new type of environment'

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Aug 4th 2008 at 5:50PM }

Yes, we're still playing Valve's classy, cartoonish shooter, Team Fortress 2. We'll continue to do so for as long as the game keeps receiving updates -- and there's at least one more on the way. Posting on the official Team Fortress 2 blog, Valve's Jakob Jungels has suggested that our multiplayer mileu may be due for a makeover.

"One of the things we're looking at for the next update is the creation of a new type of environment for our levels to be built in," he wrote. "We're pretty happy with the way our environments have turned out so far, but as we create more and more maps with these achievement packs, we want our level designers to have more to work with in terms of giving their settings a unique look."

Jungels notes that before making it into the game, each potential environment has to satisfy a list of requirements. Does it allow for new gameplay? Does it support existing gameplay types? Is it completely awesome? We anxiously await a chorus of yeses.