GGL Wire

Aug

TF2’s “Heavy Update” fully detailed

Filed under: achievements, first person shooter, Heavy, multiplayer, Orange Box, PC, Steam, Team Fortress 2, TF2, unlockable, Valve

Well today is the day. Valve has finally announced everything that will be included in today’s Team Fortress 2 “Heavy Update”. Aside from the previously mentioned KGB and achievements, the update is bringing 5 maps, two of which, “Lumberyard” and “Ravine” are completely new. The other three, “Well,” “Granary” and “Badlands” have been reworked for the new game mode.

The new game mode, Arena, focuses on combat rather than overall strategy. According to Valve: “Arena features smaller maps that play out in shorter periods of time. The round ends once one team has no players left in the arena, or when the central capture point has unlocked and been captured. Rounds tend to be very fast and highly competitive, with an emphasis on your team’s class makeup and your plan to counter the opposing team’s class choices. Arena mode is great for smaller matches of three vs. three players, while still comfortably supporting huge knockdown twelve-on-twelve brawls.”

For the the Heavy’s two new weapons hit the jump. Continued…

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Aug

First new weapon for the Heavy announced

Filed under: achievements, Heavy, KGB, Orange Box, PC, Steam, Team Fortress 2, TF2, The hunted, Valve

Yesterday I posted a news item about next week’s Team Fortress 2 update and the changes it will bring, including new weapons for the Heavy class. Today Valve announced the first of the Heavy’s new weapons, the KGB. KGB stands for the”Killing Gloves of Boxing,” and Valve goes on to explain: “Any time a Heavy kills an enemy with the K.G.B he receives five seconds of guaranteed critical hits. This crit-boost can be used to punch and kill further enemies, extending the boost time. Alternatively, the Heavy can switch to another weapon and use the boost to take out an enemy at range. The Heavy’s slow movement speed, and the K.G.B’s slower swing speed, make it a risky prospect.”

Also included in the announcement is the list of new Achievements for the Heavy. Valve is still keeping their lips seals when it comes to details on how they are obtained. Just glancing over the names, a few of my favorties are: “Iron Kurtain,” “Party Loyalty,” “Division of Labor,” and “Communist Mani-Fisto.” As someone with a somewhat morbid facination with the U.S.S.R., mainly stemming from 80’s movies like Red Dawn, I absolutely love these Achievements. I can only hope there is one for only playing on the red team.

Read: The Killing Gloves of Boxing.

Aug

Team Fortress 2 update hits Aug 19

Filed under: Heavy, Orange Box, PC, Steam, Team Fortress 2, TF2, The hunted, Valve

Next Tuesday, Aug 19, Team fortress 2 will get, “the largest update to Team Fortress 2 since it was first released.” Included in the update are five new maps, a new game mode, new Achievements, and new weapons for the Heavy class.

The guns being added to the Heavy are still a mystery. Valve has stated, on the Team Fortress 2 blog, that the focus of the update is to “make the Heavy more viable when he has no Medic to pair with.”

Sounds good to me. When I’m not playing on my PS3, I’m on my computer tearing up Team Fortress 2. As strange as it sounds, the update to the Heavy is what excites me least. What really gets me going is the new game mode. Every fiber of my being hopes that Valve is bringing back escort missions with “The Hunted.” If you are too young to remember “The Hunted,” or just weren’t part of that scene, do a little research on wikipedia. It has by far made up some of the best online gaming experiences I’ve ever had. I wait with baited breath.

Read: Team Fortress 2 Heavy Update Hits Next Tuesday.

Jul

Valve asks for gamers help with next TF2 update

Filed under: EA, Heavy, Orange Box, PC, ps3, Steam, Team Fortress 2, TF2, Valve, xbox 360

If you guys are anything like me, you just can’t get enough Team Fortress 2. Valve revealed, via their blog, that the next update will deal with the Heavy Weapons Guy. The guys over at Valve posted an article discussing the thinking process that is involved in coming up with achievements as well as new weapons. Valve went so far as to ask for help thinking up stuff for the Heavy.

According to the blog post, the goal of the Heavy’s update is to, “Make the Heavy more viable when he has no Medic to pair with.” Valve even release a list of constraints and extra things to consider so that gamers could help out.

The list of constraints is after the jump. Continued…

Mar

TF2 maps for free? Valve says so

Filed under: 360, class based, first person shooter, FPS, multiplayer, Online, Orange Box, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, ps3, Steam, team based, Team Fortress 2, TF2, Valve, xbox 360

Valve has already given gamers more than they bargained for last year with The Orange Box. Now they want to increase the value of gamers purchases by supplying free add-on content for their popular online shooter, Team Fortress 2.

Valve’s VP of marketing, Doug Lombardi, went on the record to say that they wish to give gamers as much add-on content for free as possible.

He goes on to explain how Valve views it as an investment in their next product. By providing free content for gamers, Valve is hoping that potential buyers will no longer contemplate purchasing their games, because the consumer will know they will get their value for their dollar. Bravo!

In the end it’s up to the two platform suppliers to make the call. Traditionally in the past add-on content such as maps has always had a price tag strapped to it, at least for a specific period of time. One thing is for sure: it is nice to hear that there are still game companies out there concerned about giving their loyal gamers the best bang for their buck. It’s just another reason why Valve is such a highly respected company in the industry.

Source: Kotaku: Valve Wants Free Team Fortress 2…

Darren Marshall

Feb

Team Fortress 2: Goldrush coming this month

Filed under: 360, class based, first person shooter, FPS, Goldrush, multiplayer, Online, Orange Box, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, ps3, Steam, team based, Team Fortress 2, TF2, unlockables, Valve, xbox 360

If all goes well at Valve, a new game mode will be added to Team Fortress 2 this month: Escort.

The first Escort map will be Goldrush, which features the blue team attemping to progress a mining cart through the map, while the the red team tries to stop them. The more blue players near the cart, the faster it moves, while one lone red player can stop the progression.

This new mode, in addition to new weapons and class abilities, should give players a reason to stop complaining that the game is stale.

News, E-Sports

Mahmood Ali

Jan

Team Fortress 2 to get rebalanced with unlockable weapons

Filed under: 360, achievements, class rebalancing, cp badlands, Demoman, Engineers, Goldrush, Medics, Orange Box, Overhealer, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, ps3, Sentry Guns, Steam, sticky grenades, Team Fortress 2, TF2, Ubercharge, unlockables, Valve, xbox 360

Some light has finally been shed on those cryptic hints that Valve kept dropping about Team Fortress 2 changes, with PC Gamer reporting that unlockable weapons will be revealed for all classes in the game.

The Medic is the first one to get a new weapon dubbed the “Overhealer.” The Overhealer will permanently double the health of the target at the cost of reduced, or eliminated Ubercharge capabilities. He’ll also get another, as-yet-unnamed gun.

Eventually, all classes will receive two guns unlocked by way of achievements. After attaining half of the achievements, you get the first unlock, and after performing all 35 achievements you’ll get the second.

Cue teams getting together to plow achievements all day until they unlock everything.

By the way, the new weapons are meant to rebalance the game, but one has to wonder if this just means that every class is going to receive a boost in effectiveness. If (hypothetically) sentry guns are upgraded with longer range, but Demomen get better sticky grenades, does that cancel everything out? If Medics are allowed to permaboost one target to 200% health, but all the classes do more damage, what was the point? Continued…

Opinion, News, E-Sports

Mahmood Ali

Jan

EA announces free game, Battlefield Heroes

Filed under: AAA title?, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Heros, Cartoon shooter, DLC, EA Games, Electronic Arts, microtransactions, PC, Team Fortress 2, TF2

EA Games has announced that they are making a new game in the Battlefield series. Battlefield Heroes will be a free online multiplayer shooter with Team Fortress 2-esque graphics. Money will be made via in-game advertising and microtransactions.

I have been a fan of the Battlefield games for some time–I love the unique blend of vehicle and infantry combat, along with the control point game mechanics. So naturally, I can’t wait to get my hand on Battlefield Heroes, however the price has me worrying. Can we get AAA quality from a free game?

The full press release is after the jump. Continued…

Jan

Team Fortress 2 Pyro changes detailed

Filed under: class changes, microsoft, multiplayer, online play, PC, PC Gaming, Pyro, rebalancing, Robin Walker, Sierra, Soldier, suicidal tendencies, Team Fortress 2, TF2, Valve, xbox 360

Team Fortress 2 Pyro These past few days the Internet has been set ablaze with Team Fortress 2 talk. Ever since Valve came out and said that there will be “a large scale modification” to gameplay, the speculation has been off the hook.

Recently, some new info has been released and it involves the Pyro class.

According to Robin Walker, a software developer at Valve: “As for the Pyro scoring, we have a minor tweak coming down the pipe. He’s going to get a small amount of points for every enemy he ignites. This should reward you for those moments where you drop into the middle of an enemy pack and light them all up, hurting them all and disrupting their plans, but not managing to actually kill them.”

Next in line to be changed is the Soldier class. Walker said: “We are indeed investigating Soldier changes, and one of the changes we’re trying out is focused on making Soldiers a little more careful firing their rockets at point blank targets.”

I am a huge Team Fortress 2 fan boy. I just wish that Valve would stop with all these changes until they release a new version of “The Hunted”.

Read: Valve confirms TF2 class changes.

1 Comment

Dec

Team Fortress 2 gets new content

Filed under: patch, Team Fortress 2, TF2

Valve announced that it will be releasing a patch for Team fortress 2, addressing several issues and adding new maps. Primarily, the patch will improve bandwidth usage, fix several exploits and improve statistics reporting. The big news is that the patch will also include some new maps. Valve has not said which maps or how many will be released, but I’m pulling for the Team Fortress Classic map “The Hunted.”

The patch still has to go through Microsoft’s certification process, which takes about two weeks. That means we should be fragging at some new location before Christmas.

Read: Team Fortress 2 - patch and new maps coming

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