Valve's major Team Fortress 2 changes

The UK’s PC Gamer has got a load of new info on the major changes coming to Team Fortress 2, which Valve teased us with earlier this month.

Referred to as a 'large-scale modification' by the developer, unlockable weapons will be made available to each of the game's nine classes. This change will roll out first for the Medic, which will receive two new items, but Valve will then gradually introduce unlocakbles to the remaining roster.

"These will be alternative versions of their current loadouts that, once unlocked by earning a certain number of achievements, you can pick and choose from on a new 'Loadout' menu," PC Gamer UK explains.

"The unlockables aren't just beefed up versions of the weapons, they balance major advantages and disadvantages to fundamentally alter the role of that class.

"The first Medic unlock, for example, is called the Overhealer. Instead of temporarily buffing people's health to 50 percent above their normal maximum, it permanently boosts them to double their standard health. The downside is that it'll be dramatically worse at building Ubercharge - in fact, Valve are toying with not letting it Uber at all."

Details on the Medic's second unlock are scarce, but it's said it'll be another healing ray that alters the way the plays.

The first unlock is earned by acquiring half of the thirty-five new Medic achievements, the second for acquiring them all. So a bit like Call of Duty 4 multiplayer then?

As for the new game mode, that's currently unnamed but it'll feature in Goldrush, a second new map that will release with the already-revealed re-worked version of TFC map, Badlands.

PC Gamer UK explains, "One team must escort a small mining cart through a series of Dustbowl-like map segments. The cart moves faster the more Blue players are near it, but stops entirely if even one Red player is in range. Blue have to escort the cart all the way to Red's headquarters within a certain time limit."

Courtesy of CVG.

Jan 23, 2008