OK I wanted to hate this game. it sucks, but I was pissed at valve for the release date woes, in which they screwed everyone over. It's not like I was hunched over the computer waiting but it would have been nice to play when they said it was ready to play. I wasn't sure about the graphical style, or the lack of character upgrading (having been spoiled by cod4). But this game rocks. I'm a huge fan of twitch shooters like goldeneye, UT04, and timesplitters, and here's the problem with a game as beloved as team fortress: meddle too much with the formula and hardcore fans complain, keep it the same and critics whine: "its not an update" and "where's the next gen" whatever the fuck that means. as an aside, stop calling shit "next gen." it's here, we're playing it. what are we going to say for the Xbox 720, "further away future generation"? just stop it.

There are 8 classes, pretty well-balanced, and I really like the acme cartoon style. They obviously went "What made team fortress 2 so fun? graphics and upgrades or rock-solid gameplay?" well it's fast, even and intense, and from just a few rounds and most classes I can say this is an excellent add-on for half-life2. I say add-on, because I don't think I would buy it seperately (see above lack of unlockables other than achievements) that I will keep coming back to. nothing like being an invincible dude with a chain-gun.