Hmmm, lets try this....
Team Fortress 2 Goldrush Hands-On
Valve has a new map and gameplay mode for Team Fortress 2, and we die (repeatedly) to check it out.
by
Jason Ocampo
April 16, 2008 - There was an incredible amount of goodness in
The Orange Box, last year's compilation of Half-Life 2 and its two episodes, the brilliant and hilarious puzzle game Portal, and the cartoonish multiplayer mayhem of Team Fortress 2. Fans of wild multiplayer games were drawn to Team Fortress thanks to its colorful, Pixar-like look as well as its intense class-based warfare. However, as TF2 veterans know, there were only a handful of maps and modes to play with. But Valve is looking to introduce a brand new map and mode later this month, and we were on hand last night a Valve event to check out Goldrush for the very first time. And, heads up, it's really good.
Goldrush is both a new map and a new mode, and it's a fun approach to the age-old method of having to deliver a bomb into an enemy territory. In Goldrush, "Red" team plays defense while "Blu" team plays offense. The goal is to deliver a bomb, loaded onto a railroad cart, into the opposing base. The trick is that the railroad track that the bomb travels upon wends its way around the level. At least one member of Blu team has to stand next to the cart to move it; the more Blu members around the cart, the faster it goes. If the cart is left alone it stops moving, and if it's left unattended by Blu team for more than 30 seconds, it begins to move in reverse. So Blu has to basically escort the cart along the track while Red has to stop them. The bomb cart can heal and rearm Blu team members around it, but it's still going to be tough.
The map is divided into three stages, and the goal in each is for Blu to deliver the cart to the capture point at the end of the stage. There's only a limited amount of time for Blu to do so, but if they can advance the cart to certain checkpoints additional time is added to the countdown. If Blue can deliver the cart to the first capture point, the stage ends and the next one begins. The ultimate goal is to move the cart all the way to the third Red capture point, which destroys the Red base.
This cart dynamic creates all sorts of interesting challenges and strategies. Does Blu try to congregate around the cart? How does red set up defenses? This mode is designed so that each class can be useful. Snipers can have fun picking off anyone trying to stand near the cart, medics can help keep those pushing the cart alive, demomen and pyros can be incredibly deadly when the cart travels through narrow passages and buildilngs, and so on.
Valve will also use the upcoming Goldrush update to introduce a new unique item system to the game. This system will roll out throughout the year, and the first class to get an upgrade is the medic. By getting the new medic achievements you'll unlock three unique items for the class. There are 36 new medic achievements, so getting 12 achievements will unlock "The Blutsauger", a new syringe gun that drains health from an enemy when it hits them. Valve says that this is useful for the medic if he's trying to retreat from an advancing foe, since the medic can stay alive longer while killing the opponent.
The next new item, "The Critzcrieg", unlocks once you get 24 medic achievements. This is a new type of medigun. Unlike the original medigun, which can ubercharge an ally (basically make them invulnerable for a short period of the time), the Critzcrieg will boost the ally's chance of making a critical hit. So if a medic with the Critzcrieg charges an ally soldier, the soldier's rockets will inflict critical damage if they hit.
Finally, if you manage to get all 36 medic achievements, you'll unlock "The Ubersaw", which absorbs damage being done by melee assaults and transforms it into an ubercharge. Valve says four hits with the Ubersaw will ubercharge any medigun the medic has. So instead of having to sit there and wait for a minute to ubercharge a medic gun, whip out your Ubersaw, melee an enemy four times, and you've got an instantly charged medigun.
If this sounds like this might make the medic class a bit too powerful compared to the rest of the classes, rest assured that Valve says that upgrades to the other eight classes in the game will come quickly. The improvements that Valve is making are impressive, especially since these are all going to be free updates for the community. There's no word on whether this content will trickle down to the console versions of The Orange Box and Team Fortress 2, though. Still, PC fans will have plenty to look forward to. The Goldrush update and medic upgrades will be released later this month.
tf2 goldrush hands-on
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