Team Fortress 2 - The Love and War Update - Day 1

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[size=+1]Team Fortress 2 - The Love and War Update - Day 1[/size]​

I am a pretty big TF2 fan. I love this series to bits. The game is solid action with enough depth to keep you trying new stuff out should you be inclined. It's fun, it's funny. It's also incredibly silly. There's a great deal of talent, intelligence and fun that went into this game. When I want to shoot my fellow man for an hour or so, I do it with a rocket launcher I made myself out of scrap and I do it on TF2.

You know what I love almost more so? The backstory.

If you find yourself with a spare afternoon, go and read up on the TF2 backstory because it is not only hilarious but apparently becoming very relevant now. The game can only deliver so much in the way of personality for these nine nutters with weaponry so the regular comic series they've commissioned has allowed for these big characters to start coming out of their shells while they tell the story behind the battles.

Want a quick version? Eh...I'll try...

The first part you should know by now: Two brothers have hired teams of mercenaries (that's you) to fight over largely worthless plots of land and control over the Mann Co. Gravel Empire. The company is owned by muscle-bound hyperman Saxton Hale. There is also the Administrator, and her assistant Pauline, who have been playing the opposing teams of mercenaries off against each other for her own gain for years. The two brothers in charge have grown so old from this constant fighting that they actually build life-support machines to keep them alive as long as possible to hopefully outlive the other. This has not worked.

Primarily because a third, estranged brother has killed them himself.

Gray Mann and his army of robots has attempted to wrestle the Mann Co. company from Saxton Hale for a while now. However, he's finally done it. Using what appears to be his daughter, Hale has been defeated and Gray has taken over the company. This means that the Mercenaries have been fired and the fighting ceased.

Gray attempts to find the store of Australium Hale is supposed to have been locked away by Hale but it's apparently all gone. This is what's needed for Gray Mann to recharge his own life-support machine. With his own life in the balance and the Administrator apparently vanished along with this priceless metal, Gray searches tirelessly for her and the Australium.

Meanwhile, Pauline has been reassembling the Mercenary Team, one by one. Why? I don't know but as long as Soldier doesn't have to live in a box, the Demo has a job, the Spy and Scout don't have to hang for crimes they didn't commit and the Pyro gets to keep that Puppy, I don't mind.

However, Gray Mann is plotting to get them. He's hired the now elderly characters from Team Fortress Classic to try and deal with the Mercenaries with only one addition: the Red Team Medic has joined them in the hunt for his former comrades. Does he care? Nope! It's a chance to see whether his experimentation has gotten better over time.

You see, this world is insane. However, it's also incomplete.

If there's one problem with all this, it's that the backstory now has a large hole in it. The comic book stops just as they're about to find The Sniper. So...Why is he right there and...What is the Medic doing there in the video? Clearly there's a little time skipping that no-one's gapped yet which saddens me. I'm being robbed of a TF2 verses TFC battle here! On top of crucial plot threads!

Am I too disappointed? No, because this video was hilarious and awesome. I adored the interaction between the characters because, by jiminy, it's so rare to see from Valve. It's also so much fun! There's jokes and back chat from almost all the characters. There's even continuations from the comic's trends, like Scout's crush on Pauline and the Soldier's uncanny ability to get them all in stupid amounts of trouble.

The guy was roommates with a wizard and killed Tom Jones, he's a walking disaster area.

I'm seriously enjoying all of this because it's just so well paced and scripted. I was even gripped by the death plot as it genuinely could have been the end for these bright and colourful characters. That hooked me in so much! I care about these guys and it's such a simple plot device to keep you watching.

It's masterful. It's an artful piece of comedy and action. It's part of the reason why I love Team Fortress 2 so much.

I suppose I should talk about the new taunts too? Umm...They seem OK. Kinda like the interactions you can use in Portal 2 between the two robots in the 'Co-Operative Testing Initiative'. Again, it's another outlet for the mad cartoon that is this game.

Still, I cannot wait for day two. It might be greedy, but I'd love another short. Or even another comic to start plugging the time gap and continue the story. There's also been a hint of new weapons and items. I say, neat! TF2 can always use new weapons. I just wonder what they'll be.

Oooo...It's like a mini-christmas!