Team Fortress 2 in 2D!

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! Yes, I am back and this time I have something special I'd like to share with all of you. This isn't one of my own games, but it is one I've been playing a lot in the past few days and that will please any Team Fortress 2 fan out there who is seeking similar gameplay but in a different realm - the 2-dimensional realm, that is!

Now enters Gang Garrison 2, a freeware computer game that takes Team Fortress 2's "Capture the Intel" game mode and downsizes it into a game that looks and sounds like a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title but retains TF2's key gameplay components. And yes, all the classes are there! Scouts, Soldiers, Demomen, Heavies, Medics, Engineers, Snipers, Spies, and Pyros are all included and function similarly to how they do in Team Fortress 2.

Here is more information on each of the classes and what I personally think about them in Gang Garrison 2:

• Scout - Can double-jump like in TF2; has a scatter gun that has poor range but does good damage if all of your bullets strike opponents up close; is obviously the quickest class; great for capturing flags and also quickly reaching high platforms that may be out-of-reach for other classes

• Soldier - Fires slow rockets that take a second to boost out when fired; can actually "rocket jump" like in TF2; is tougher to hit opponent's feet and get the high ground because of the 2D perspective, but is still a tough class
  
  
• Demoman - Fires up to eight sticky grenades which are then all detonated by right-clicking; excellent for setting up traps and protecting the Intel; can detonate grenades in mid-air just like in TF2 and can "sticky jump," too!
  
  
• Heavy - Has a minigun that has decent range and great damage up close; is the slowest class in the game, but works great paired with a Medic; can often take down Sentries all by himself
  
  
• Medic - Can heal teammates with his Medic Gun and can also fire needles at the same time; does not have an uber ability like in TF2, but is still crucial for assaulting heavily-fortified bases to grab the Intel
  
  
• Engineer - Can place a single sentry which automatically fires upon enemies that are in-range but can't be upgraded and isn't very powerful versus large groups of enemies; also comes equipped with a shotgun that is good for spy-checking and base defending, but not quite as good as the Scout's scatter gun
  
  
• Sniper - Can use the mouse to move the screen to the left and right so as to see far ahead; when firing, the shots hit instantly and do good amounts of damage; is defenseless up close, however, as he has no secondary weapons
  
  
• Spy - Can cloak for unlimited periods of time; is more easily discovered, however, because of the game's 2D perspective and unlimited ammo for all classes; is equipped with a powerful revolver that does good amounts of damage; can uncloak behind enemies and stab them for one-hit kills and can also do the same to Sentries to destroy them
  
  
• Pyro - Has a flamethrower which is surprisingly lengthy in terms of its range; can use his "compression blast" from TF2 to reflect rockets; is excellent for catching enemies up close and burning them to a crisp

As you can tell by this list alone, each of the classes is very different and fun to experiment with. My personal favorite so far has been Pyro because his flamethrower is excellent for taking down incoming Scouts and killing Medics who are hiding behind the folks they're healing. You can run right through enemies, after all, so it's a little easier to quickly sprint past the guy he's healing and toast him before he has a chance to run away or be saved by his teammate.

The communication in-game is restricted to chat bubbles that appear over your character's head, but this does a great job of preventing chat spammers, bad language, griefing, etc. You can still press 'E' to make a red-cross bubble appear and alert near-by Medics, and you can also press C to bring up the rest of the bubble icons such as a thumbs-up, a finger pointing to the left or right, an alert for a nearby Spy or Sentry, and more. You would think that players would not pay much attention to these options, but I've been surprised at just how much they're used - especially the thumbs-up icon which is often used when successfully defending or capturing the Intel or even saving the asses of your teammates!

As with my other posts, I've recorded a special gameplay video showing Gang Garrison 2 in action. This shows me playing as a variety of classes and combating the enemy. I never really get close to the Intel, but I do kill some Intel carriers and show the diversity of the classes that makes the game so fun to play! Enjoy:


Well, what are you waiting for? It's free and it kicks ass!

Grab Gang Garrison 2 at http://www.ganggarrison.com/