GameSpy's Free Agent is your advance recon into the world of free-to-play games. His mission: jump into a free game every week and put in some gaming hours to see how much fun can be had without spending a cent, then try out some paid items to see if they're worth the asking price. This week, he returns to Valve's colorful headdress symposium, Team Fortress 2, to take on the robotic horde in the new Mann vs. Machine co-op mode.
Team Fortress 2 exemplifies what the Valve name means to gamers. It's a polished, well-balanced shooter with a unique look, a terrific sense of humor, frequent free content updates, and a thriving community Valve encourages, supports, and rewards. And Mann vs. Machine completely ruins everything. I kid, I kid. The new co-op mode is a quality addition to TF2 and proves there is a ton of life left in the now five-year-old first-person shooter.
No Money Down
Like a few million of you, I actually bought The Orange Box back in the day -- before Team Fortress 2 went free to play in June 2011. So officially, I have put money down on TF2. It's also worth noting the obvious advantage TF2 has over the vast majority of other F2P games we've covered in this space: TF2 was a huge success as a paid game for years before going free, and when it made the switch it brought its existing rabid fanbase with it.
United to fight the robot menace... though all aren't suited for the battle.
No asterisk or detailed explanation necessary; Team Fortress 2 is free, plain and simple.
Team Fortress 2 is the model in free shooters right now. Download it, play as any and all of the classes on the many maps and modes, including Mann vs. Machine, and you'll never have to spend a penny. There is no level grind you'll desperately want to speed up with a paid XP booster, no in-game currency siphoning weapon repair or upgrade scheme, no powerful gun you covet that will give you a paid advantage on the RED vs BLU battlefield. Sure, there are oodles of hats and guns to buy in the Mann Co. Store, but they're all just different takes on the headgear and weapons you're given. No asterisk or detailed explanation necessary; Team Fortress 2 is free, plain and simple.It's also some of the most fun you can find in an FPS, free or paid, and the new Mann vs. Machine mode brings a welcome new co-op addition to the traditionally PvP gameplay. The setup: a third maniacal Mann brother wants control of Mann Co., and to get it, he sets an army of robots against both RED and BLU forces. Up to six players must team up to defend a base against waves of mechanized versions of the various TF2 characters (all with hilarious new robot lines of murderous dialog), as well as a handful of unique robot models large and small, including turret-destroying bombs on legs and tanks.
The bomb carrier emerges from the robot carrier. He'll be the first bot down.
The bot army comes in varied and increasingly difficult waves, but they're all packing their robot wallets.
The bots are carrying a single massive bomb, and they're attempting to deliver it all the way to your starting point on the map. The bot army comes in varied and increasingly difficult waves, but they're all packing their robot wallets. For every bot killed, a pile of cash is dropped. Players use that loot to buy critical weapon and ability upgrades back at base (more bullet damage for the Scout's shotgun or speed for his legs, for example). Think of it as a combination of traditional Horde mode mixed with the Payload mode from TF2's PvP.TF2 has always been special, in part because of its unique, well-balanced classes. In Mann vs. Machine, Valve makes the skills of particular classes imperative. For example, the flamethrower-wielding Pyro's second skill, the ability to shoot an enemy-pushing gust of air from the flamethrower instead of pure fire. In PvP, it's a distant afterthought for most players; in MvM, if you don't have a Pyro that uses it you could be in deep trouble. During the robot waves, teams can face a robotic Heavy flanked by not one, but two metal Medics. Almost instantly, this powerful threesome activates the Medics' uber-heal ability, making all three bulletproof. Unless a Pyro dashes in and pushes these Medics away from the heavy with air blast, thus breaking the uber chain, they'll make a lot of progress toward delivering the bomb to your base.
That's no baseball bat. That's my boom stick.
MvM is a six-player affair. There are nine total classes in TF2, so obviously players won't be utilizing them all in co-op, and quite honestly, two aren't really needed.
Compared to traditional PvP, some of TF2's classes take on slightly different roles in MvM. For example, the speedy Scout is no longer focused on racing to capture points or pushing the Payload bomb along double-time. In MvM, the Scout is all about the money. Those piles of cash the robots drop when killed disappear fairly quickly unless they're picked up, and with other players focused on blasting bots, the vast majority of cash would be lost if not for the Scout dashing through danger to pick it all up. Thankfully, Valve recognized the importance of this role in MvM and distributes cash to all players evenly.You may have noted earlier when I said MvM is a six-player affair. There are nine total classes in TF2, so obviously players won't be utilizing them all in co-op, and quite honestly, two aren't really needed: the Spy in particular, but also the Sniper. While the Pyro and Scout are given different, unique jobs to do in MvM, the Spy is basically left looking for work. The Sniper can do a decent amount of damage, but not at the same rate as the Heavy, the Soldier, the Demoman, or the essential, turret-dropping Engineer.
For players fond of playing either of these two classes, MvM might be a bit of a letdown. My other chief complaint about the co-op mode is its maps. There are currently three (MannWorks, Decoy, and Coal Town), and they're all pretty bland visually and filled with dead space. I found myself dashing to the same handful of key spots on each map while numerous routes went almost completely unused.
Insert Coin
Mann vs. Machine is free to download and play, but Valve does offer a couple of carrots in an effort to entice players into spending real-world money. If you want to play Mann Up mode, upping the MvM difficulty significantly while simultaneously adding impressive loot drops for victors, you'll have to purchase a ticket. It only costs $1, and it lasts until you actually win an entire Mann Vs MvM match (no easy feat), but I still felt disappointed that Valve's seemingly magical free TF2 run had been broken. Even if it's only four quarters, Valve is still keeping a small piece of MvM behind paid doors.
Wanna Mann Up? It'll cost your $1.
Squad Surplus Vouchers are also available for $2, granting an additional loot drop for winners, so if you're going to dive into the robot-filled Mann Up waters, you might as well go ahead and spend $3 in total to potentially get the most of that precious TF2 loot.
Free or Flee?
Flee! From the robot horde, that is. Team Fortress 2's Mann vs. Machine update is an entertaining new twist on horde mode that Valve pulls off with a flourish, right down to its '50's horror movie soundtrack.
MvM is just the latest example of Valve handing fans new free stuff to do, and while Spies and Snipers might feel left out for the moment, Mann vs. Machine has boosted Team Fortress 2 back near the top of Steam's most-played games chart for good reason: it's addictive fun.